Recent article by Tim Flannery

[ango]

Hi all,
Anyone seen the recent article by Tim Flannery "To Preserve Port Phillip Melbourne Should Learn From Sydney"?

Full of inaccuracies in my opinion, he says he caught an elephant fish in Port Phillip where "they slip into the shallows to lay their eggs" and it had green flesh. Also he says "then came then season for dusky flathead" I have caught my share of elephants, never seen one with green flesh, also I have never seen a dusky in PPB.

He also says that "Port Phillip desperately needs more marine reserve areas" and that "those that exist are pitifully small, their margins thronged with fishers eager to take anything that wanders outside their bounds"

I am thinking, what drug is this guy on? I suppose he could afford something pretty good given that while he was Chief Commissioner of the Climate Change Commission he was on a taxpayer funded $180,000 P/A salary, your taxes at work!

Cheers from
Ango.

[4liters]

Minor inaccuracies aside, I think it is a good article. I don't think any more marine parks will be needed in the bay once the commercial fishing is bought to a halt though. He's just another guy who used to fish the bay and would like to see it returned to its former glory. If you put aside the ideology and politics that surrounds any debate about the environment his goals are the same as nearly every other fisho - more fish.

[Mustang38]

Wow,
I just read his report. That is scary what he is saying most of it isn't true. It reads to me like he is fishing for a job. From what I hear locally the bay is fishing better than ever. Sydney Harbour is the one that is very polluted. I have dived the bay solid for the last twenty years. When they stopped the scallop dredging the visibility got better we actually started getting good feeds of scallops again. Its interesting in his article that he doesn't mention the fact that some of the beaches have been disappearing (for example Portsea ) Or further up near Sorrento, piers have actually been covered by sand right to the end. He makes no mention of beaches being eroded along seaford or mentone, south road or sandy. This has nothing to do with toxins or whatever just plain and simple dredging of the heads.
He makes this statement
If nothing is done, the nutrients will build up until a vast algal bloom is triggered. A toxic bay, its waters green with algae and covered in dead fish, its shores piled with stinking vegetation and animal life, will be the result.
He's being a bit dramatic isn't he. Thanks for bringing this to my attention I don't know why but I feel really upset by it. I feel that I have missed something. I have been teaching diving, running tours and introducing others through snorkeling for the last 20 years and I thought the bay was in good condition. This guy comes along and writes this rubbish.
I think I better take a chill pill and lay down, clearly I need to relax a bit. I feel passionately about the bay and i love using it which I do just about every weekend. To hear this makes me feel so bad like i have done something wrong. I haven' looked after it.
:angryfire: :angryfire: :angryfire: :angryfire: :angryfire:
RAN"T OVER

[cobby]

I want whatever drugs he's on. Fishing for another cosy job sounds like it's more factually accurate than his article

[frozenpod]

Mostly emotive garbage which ruins the articles as there is a small amount of truth.

Re duskies, I have caught 3 in the bay in recent years.

Not a common catch but they show up occasionally.

[Nude up]

I just read his article I think his memory has been affected a bit. Especially the flesh of elephant fish he wants to have a look around the bellarine the water clarity is better than it has been for years. I hope he is not on the global warming bandwagon

[ducky]

I think it's the sperm of a male elephant that is blue in colour and it can definitely give the flesh a greeny colour if it gets on the flesh while cleaning.

Not a big deal. Not environment related either.

[re-tyred]

Tim is the guy that in 2005 said "this is the new climate,it will never rain again like it used to". Then talked governments into building desal plants. Need I say any more?

[barra mick]

Tim is the guy that in 2005 said "this is the new climate,it will never rain again like it used to". Then talked governments into building desal plants. Need I say any more?

yep thats him....

[jb2020]

'no more rain' flannery is nothing more than a snake oil salesman with NO qualifications in areas that the abc/fairfax constantly spruik him as an expert in.