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People taking undersized fish


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G'day all,

I'm wondering how we educate the general public as to size limits of various local & frequently caught species.

I spent a couple of hours having a flick today, firstly off the Largs jetty & then at Birkenhead for a few follows but nothing else.

At Largs were a group of people, early 20's, fishing & crabbing. They caught a couple of ST, small looking to me, which they were going to keep. 

I asked them if they knew what they had caught & the minimum length, which they did. So how did you measure them? Oh, I put them up against my phone? WTF? 

Her phone was about 18cm long. I measured the fish for them, both undersized. I suggested they release the fish, which they did & that they get themselves a measure. There is a

measuring station on the jetty. I can only assume that they would have kept these small fish & any more they caught if I wasn't there.

At Birkenhead, a family chasing & catching Gar. They were catching plenty, all about 15 to 18 cm & keeping them 😠. I asked if they knew the size limit, yes, 21cm to the tip of the

lower jaw, again, WTF. I filled them in on the actual measurements.

I suggested that they check all size & bag limits before they set off for a fish but they didn't seem interested in that. They left almost straight away after our discussion.

A bit long winded, I know but.............

Do we need a flyer that is handed out at tackle shops etc when these people buy their gear? Or do we need a licence where you have to pass a test? Or what? I'm at a loss.

(the groups were from two completely different racial & cultural backgrounds & spoke English as well most of us do)

'

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@vogon I do not know the answer, but it frustrates the hell out of me.

I do know that there are those that do not know the rules & are surprised when told that what they are doing is illegal.

There are those that do not know the rules but don't care to know them. and

There are those that know the rules but don't care to follow them.

In the shop we are constantly talking to people about fish bag & size limits as well as safety equipment rules laws and it is very disheartening when you get replies like "they've got to catch you" or "I don't do it very often" or "that's not right"

We had an older gent one day tell us that he often gets his 30 Whiting, "fishing by himself", when we told him that it's not allowed he said "the boat limit says 30" we explained that the personal bag limit applies up till 3 people then the boat limit applies, we even showed him where it says that in the size & bag limit flyer from PIRSA but he still wouldn't have it. He's either very ignorant or is planning to use the old "I didn't know" as his defence when he gets busted.

Maybe the answer is more compliance, bigger fines, hit them where it hurts (back pocket). If they've got something to be scared of they might comply more.

And it's not just any one race, it is across the board

 

and you thought your's was long winded 🙂

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They already have a stack of info available on jetties, online, phone apps, etc - so there is really is no excuse.

If they really wanted to be sure, the only way to really do it is send out material to every household in SA.

Then they need to enforce the limits, with appropriate fines and forfeits, not the little nothing fines that don't do anything. Word will spread in all communities very quickly and things will change pretty quick as well. No excuses and no cautions. This will then pay for more fisheries officers.

Personally, I wasn't brought up in a fishing family and self taught when I was around 13/14. So it can be done and currently use my role in the sector to educate as well, particularly as not all my customers have english as a first language. I also deal with a number of single mums who are trying to get their kids into fishing but have no idea about what to do. It's great seeing some of the results they are getting as well. As I say to them, you don't need expensive gear to get results - but you have to care about what you are catching, as it's a finite resource that we need to look after.


David

 

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Dont know what the answer is, license with a test is really the only way to reach everyone....but then people will fish without a license so you still cant win. Bigger fines and more fisheries officers are required. 

Was fishing easter monday at the local which was unusually busy. There's myself fishing barbless hooks and putting anything back that's not at least a cm over the limit to be sure im doing the right thing.......... then there's Groups of people spread out who all know each other all keeping everything they caught. From a distance i knew they were doing the wrong thing but from that far away i couldnt be 100% sure so i kept quiet a while and watched. then one of them walked past me to put a fish in a mates bucket and as suspected it was a 20 ish cm king george whiting. I told them loud enough for all the mates to hear that it wasnt legal size and it needs to go back...which he did put that one back ....but then they just kept keeping everything after that any way. Pissed me off so much and did leave a report with fishwatch . 

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Unless you are prepared to confront people on the spot, the only real action to take is to call Fishwatch.  No idea how or how quickly they respond, but at the end of the day it's their job to manage it.  I guess there's records kept of numbers of calls to them etc, and if there's not enough officers, it will show up in their responses.

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@vogon I reckon what you did is one of the best approaches we could undertake and good on you for talking to the other fishos.

We don't need to speak to people as a form of Authority to enforce laws, that never works. Humans will always go against authority. Why not approach people as people and help them understand as Vogon has done.

Teaching about sustainability for future generations and not being greedy would be a far better approach I think. Changing peoples mind sets is a hard thing to do but it is the mind set that is leading to their actions. People who break the law will do it even if the repercussions are greater.

I think educating the next generation will have the best effect.

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It’s an interesting question . I ran into a guy at the Pat catching undersized STs and keeping them . Innocent me asked why keep them his answer great mulleway bait . Me but they are not 21 cms legal size he said again great bait . I said as long as you don’t get caught he laughed . And watched me return undersized STs I caught and landed .

we need more fisheries officers 

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Interesting topic.

8 hours ago, bjorn2fish said:

it is the mind set that is leading to their actions.

This ^^^

People learn through consequence, plain and simple. You either educate people so they know the consequence ahead of time, by learning from others' mistakes, or you let them experience it 1st hand.

The only way any of the above is possible is with appropriate resourcing, which costs money. Licences would provide money for greater education and more fisheries officers to enforce it.

With time, greater resourcing would see a shift in mindsets.

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When it comes to people taking undersized fish - I took the cowards way out and just stopped fishing where other people were - no more crowded piers  - no more crowed jetties - no more crowded hot water outlets for me.

Melbourne has hotspots where huge amounts of people gather and behave poorly - I just avoid those spots now. In one spot you would have no time to fish, if you confronted every one shoving undersized fish into safeway bags between the rocks.

It used to be infuriating and having a word, only stops the problem while you're there.

In alot of the spots I fish - I've never seen anyone else fish - its much more relaxing - no more people casting over the top of you - no more getting snagged on other people snagged lines - no more sitting in a tip of rotting bait in discarded bait bags - while I do miss the social aspect and camaraderie between fellow enthusiasts who do the right thing - in some spots the righteous are in short supply.

I do have a couple of spots where I'll see the same faces and although we dont speak the same language - we communicate through nods smiles and hand gestures. What we do have in common, is a respect for the water were fishing. And sharing the water with those who respect it - is now a prerequisite for me casting out a line

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There is another way of people learning the consequences. Natural Law! They continue to take undersized fish, no more fish left, lesson learned. Doesn't help us in our lifetime though.

There are far more fishos on Strike Hook than there are fishieries officers, it seems that we already have the resources, we all just need to grow the kahunas to use those resources. On top of that, Strike Hook fishos won't charge you a fee to participate in something that humans have done for thousands of years for free.

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23 hours ago, yellow door 1 said:

When it comes to people taking undersized fish - I took the cowards way out and just stopped fishing where other people were - no more crowded piers  - no more crowed jetties - no more crowded hot water outlets for me.

Not necessarily the cowards way, maybe the smart way. I don't do a lot of jetty fishing because I don't have the patience, and I don't meant patience for fishing, I mean patience for some of the morons that you see up there.

23 hours ago, bjorn2fish said:

There are far more fishos on Strike Hook than there are fishieries officers,

If you are going to approach these thieving bastards in an effort to educate just be careful, I have heard stories from quite a few that have spoken to people doing the wrong thing and they have copped abuse, been threatened (one was told they will go looking for his family), knife pulled, full blown arguments.

If you approach them and are told to F*** off you are better off walking away unless you are prepared for the possibility of the above consequences. Some of these people know what they are doing is wrong and don't want to be told about it.

I'm not saying don't say anything, just be careful

Cheers

Yorky

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9 hours ago, Yorky said:

Not necessarily the cowards way, maybe the smart way. I don't do a lot of jetty fishing because I don't have the patience, and I don't meant patience for fishing, I mean patience for some of the morons that you see up there.

I

Yeah it was more for my Mental health than anything😉

I go fishing to unwind and relax and theres very little relaxing to be done in some spots.

Getting into a blue would ruin the vibe😉

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1 hour ago, yellow door 1 said:

Yeah it was more for my Mental health than anything😉

I go fishing to unwind and relax and theres very little relaxing to be done in some spots.

Getting into a blue would ruin the vibe😉

it's a pity I can't put more than one like on that comment, BIG thumbs up from me 👍👍👍

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11 hours ago, bjorn2fish said:

Definitely err on the side of caution, there are some real nutters out there.

@Yorky The scenario you've outlined, shows the kind of person who wouldn't give two hoots about laws and rules.

We can still make a difference without having to go full badge and uniform on people.

Unfortunately, about 30 years ago we started paying ferals to breed.  Not surprisingly, they did.  This is just one of the many, many undesirable consequences.

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 22/04/2020 at 7:44 PM, malb said:

Unfortunately, about 30 years ago we started paying ferals to breed.  Not surprisingly, they did.  This is just one of the many, many undesirable consequences.

Coincidentally,  it was also about the time they started adding 'warning labels' to electrical goods and such.  My view: If you don't know a hairdryer and water don't mix, then, well, you get the picture ;)

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Perhaps the government/fisheries provide free fish rulers/measures/mats to all tackle stores, boating suppliers etc. etc. to give away whenever you buy anything fishing related instead of having to buy them !! together with a basic current pamphlet with the common fish sizes.

As already said, there is a heap of free info available as well as apps so there is no excuse IMO.  

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