Bream slot limit

[re-tyred]

https://vfa.vic.gov.au/about/news/new-s ... lakes-plan.
Black bream in the Gippsland lakes

[Tackleberry]

Well this is going to be hilarious most people I run into including fisheries officers don't even know the difference between a Southern blue spot flathead or a dusky let alone the differences between a yellowfin bream and a black bream .

[ducky]

Such specious reasoning used imo. One of the most prolific species in Australia. On the back of a netting ban and higher than average recruitment they are adding a slot limit. Dumb as.

[purple5ive]

The final outcome of this project is to boost tourism via bringing back the black bream fishery to what it was like back in the day.
Id be happy to see this endorsed in all Victorian waterways.

[hornet]

"The new black bream slot limit of 28-38cm was strongly endorsed during consultation"

I would have thought 28-35cm have been a longer breeding cycle within the extra 3 cm of protection length.

I don't eat bream so it does not impact me personally... I release all bream.

[re-tyred]

Well this is going to be hilarious most people I run into including fisheries officers don't even know the difference between a Southern blue spot flathead or a dusky let alone the differences between a yellowfin bream and a black bream .

This is always in my mind when catching bluespot offshore, then coming back into lakes with 15 or 20 and having fisheries take a look. Also have had Bluespot over 60cm. Even the recreational fishing guide is somewhat confusing as to which is which.

As far as the Black bream are concerned I doubt that breeding stock is much of an issue. The issue is the salinity in the lake, is not correct for them to breed. They only spawn in the rivers, with the exception of this last year they have not spawned in the lake since the late 1980s.
While we use the waters out of the rivers, for farms and domestic supply, the lake system will remain too salty.
For those that blame the entrance dredging, the depth of the ocean outside the entrance has nothing to do with the lake salinity. The width and depth of the entrance channel ,i.e, the bit between the rock walls is what controls the quantity of water entering and leaving the lake system on each tide. That area has not changed since 1888 when it was built. The depth did shallow 2001-2007 as a consequence of the side caster dredge, but is now back to it's "normal" depth. Bream fishery collapsed after the Thomson dam put the final nail in the coffin of the water flows. The Thomson river enters lake Wellington and flushed the entire lake system