stop the netting

[re-tyred]

Exactly right Boldaussie. The most important thing we can do to maximise our fish population is to look after the environment and water quality and STICK to the size and catch limits. These limits are set by fisheries scientist to preserve the stock. They also allocated a portion to profishers who are very very strickly monitored. I have first hand experience in these matters.

[anth2013]

I have no problem with Pro Fisherman making money , after all not everybody who eats fish likes to fish. What I do have a problem with though is when they decide that their bank balance is more important than the bigger picture. Places like St Leonards rely on holiday makers for their survival. Take away the tourists and fisherman and the locals can't keep the local businesses afloat. I don't know how many times the local pro's around here have gone out before a long weekend , set their nets in the grounds that not only locals but tourists fish , only for the latter to come down and catch next to zip. Logic tells me that if enough of them don't catch zip they aren't going to come back. Would any of us travel to say Eildon if we knew that the chance of catching anything was next to zip of course not , same deal here. I remember a picture in the local rag here a few years back where litterally hundreds of undersized snapper washed up dead on Clifton Springs beach , was easy to see how they died , net marks on all of them.

Ozzy

:good: OZZY Im ur side at least u speak out about bloody nets,should be ban for good i really concern how much impact does nets can harm environment.Nets are easy,quick and effective why dont pros do the hard yakka use bloody lines

[re-tyred]

They wouldn't be able to make a living using lines. Do you have any idea how profishers catch their quota?? Honestly everyone out there impacts the environment. There are very few pro fishers compared to recreational boaters and fishers. There environmental foot print is small compared to everyone else.

[boldaussie]

I have no problem with Pro Fisherman making money , after all not everybody who eats fish likes to fish. What I do have a problem with though is when they decide that their bank balance is more important than the bigger picture. Places like St Leonards rely on holiday makers for their survival. Take away the tourists and fisherman and the locals can't keep the local businesses afloat. I don't know how many times the local pro's around here have gone out before a long weekend , set their nets in the grounds that not only locals but tourists fish , only for the latter to come down and catch next to zip. Logic tells me that if enough of them don't catch zip they aren't going to come back. Would any of us travel to say Eildon if we knew that the chance of catching anything was next to zip of course not , same deal here. I remember a picture in the local rag here a few years back where litterally hundreds of undersized snapper washed up dead on Clifton Springs beach , was easy to see how they died , net marks on all of them.

Ozzy

As it happens one of the places I "used" to fish not so long ago was St Leonards pier. I spent many, many fruitless hours over many days/seasons fishing there. I go fishing because I enjoy the relaxation of it and the chance to catch a fish for dinner. I have no problem if others are catching fish and I am not, but when a pier/s full of people are enjoying the same lack of bait loss its an issue. I took my boys there several times to get them interested. I have to tell you trying to keep 2 boys interested when there is NOTHING trying to take their bait is impossible. They no longer want to go fishing with dad, that's disappointing to say the least. I have driven past there on perfect days for fishing and seen it virtually deserted, I really don't wonder why from my experiences there. If it is crowded and you're passing by it means the squid are on, pack your squid jig box for fishing st leonards, unless you're prepared to fish very long hours in poor weather for snapper.
So I do believe Ozzy has a valid point.

[frozenpod]

I have no problem with Pro Fisherman making money , after all not everybody who eats fish likes to fish. What I do have a problem with though is when they decide that their bank balance is more important than the bigger picture. Places like St Leonards rely on holiday makers for their survival. Take away the tourists and fisherman and the locals can't keep the local businesses afloat. I don't know how many times the local pro's around here have gone out before a long weekend , set their nets in the grounds that not only locals but tourists fish , only for the latter to come down and catch next to zip. Logic tells me that if enough of them don't catch zip they aren't going to come back. Would any of us travel to say Eildon if we knew that the chance of catching anything was next to zip of course not , same deal here. I remember a picture in the local rag here a few years back where litterally hundreds of undersized snapper washed up dead on Clifton Springs beach , was easy to see how they died , net marks on all of them.

Ozzy

Restricting pros from the area and restricting dates around holiday periods if not in place already seems a suitable fix.

BTW many landbased locations on the east side well away from netting grounds fish exceptionally poorly.

[frozenpod]

BTW Anth if you want to work for fisheries can I suggest you work on your communication skills and have some facts backed with scientific evidence instead of spouting bull.