By
bjorn2fish
Most would know about this topic and most would have seen the article. Have you voted 'YES' or 'NO' to the call to ban sea nets in the Gulf of St Vincent? You can find the poll on the article page and also view the results.
Article from The Advertiser (not sure how it will paste) Link to original article - http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/calls-to-ban-sea-nets-after-thousands-of-dead-fish-found-dumped-off-ardrossan-jetty/news-story/2050a17b1edbc66de3a7865ad065b81d
Calls to ban sea nets after thousands of dead fish found dumped off Ardrossan jetty
CRAIG COOK, The Advertiser
October 11, 2017 7:01pm
THOUSANDS of dead fish dumped by the BHP jetty at Ardrossan have caused outrage among recreational fishermen.
The Advertiser has been told the catch of around 400kg of Australian salmon was released by a commercial fisherman based at Stansbury when his nets snagged on the jetty.
Danny Simpson, executive director of Recfish SA, that took video of the dead fish lying in shallows, said his members “strongly condemn†the dumping.
â€He appears to have dumped them there and just disappeared which we regard as a pretty irresponsible act.†he said.
“From our perspective this is outrageous behaviour and why we want to see sea nets removed from Gulf St Vincent.â€
He questioned why the fisherman was netting so close to shore.
“We want to know why he was apparently netting in front of the jetty of a major Yorke Peninsula township,†he added.
Still grab of part of the huge fish catch seen at the bottom of the Ardossan Jetty.
The Marine Fishers Association (MFA), representing the interests of South Australia’s 300 Marine Scalefish Fishery (MSF) statutory licence holders, said one of its members was responsible for the dumping.
MFA executive officer, Nathan Bicknell, said in a Facebook statement that “gear failure†and the operator’s decision to “operate outside industry norms†were to blame.
Clarifying the statement, Mr Bicknell told The Advertiser: “The operator’s decision was to keep his whole catch and that’s how he got himself into mischief.
“There’s nothing illegal in what he did but there is strong peer pressure to do the right thing.â€
Chief executive of Yorke Peninsula Council, Andrew Cameron, who lives in Ardrossan said he was seeking more information from staff in the town but was “extremely disappointed†with such “irresponsible behaviourâ€.
RecSA member David Bryant posted on Facebook:
“Absolutely disgusting, remove his netting license, problem solved, total disregard for our marine life and local fishers. This behavior (sic) is way too common from netters. I call to ban all netting in any areas close and around our gulfs. Absolutely horrifiedâ€
Tragic waste ... around 400kg of prized Australian salmon, similar to the one above, was released by a commercial fisherman when his nets snagged on the jetty.
A statement from the Department of Primary Industries and Regions said: “PIRSA received reports regarding a significant number of dead Western Australian salmon near the southern Ardrossan jetty on Monday and dispatched fisheries officers to the area to make inquiries to determine the cause and circumstances.
“The commercial fisher responsible subsequently identified himself and has assisted fisheries officers with their inquiries.
“Based on the available information, it appears that a combination of gear failure and poor fishing practices resulted in the unintended release of part of a school of salmon caught by the fisher about 300 metres from the BHP jetty.
“We understand the fisher initially unsuccessfully attempted to retrieve all of the released fish and has since returned to the area to collect what fish he can.
“Although a rare occurrence, PIRSA is none the less disappointed with this incident and will continue to work closely with industry to ensure all fishers adopt best practice commercial fishing operations in SA.â€
By bjorn2fish
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