bratko

Howdy Poppa Snake...no shit fight here brother...im not against you or BarnyB either....this is a learning process for me and a few other people I rekn...I think everyones heart is in the right place...but none of us know how to improve this terrible situation we have...fishn obviously means a lot to all of us on here...that's why we all care about this "argument"...on our own none of us can do much...together as a team on the other hand...we can change this terrible situation...you know the old saying...300,000 fishos together are smarter and more powerful than any force on the planet  ...essentially we all want more fish in the water for all of us...less or no pro fisherman taking out too many fish out of  our fisheries...rules and regulations that make a difference for the future and are actually upheld...less bureaucratic BS and more action to protect our fisheries and our rec fishn futures....you get the picture....on our own individually...nothing will change...together with a recfish license we have an army and approx. $6 000 000 bucks per year to do something properly for the future of our fisheries...its in our hands and only we can make a difference....we have to be united somehow and I don't see any other way except by paying our union/club/license fee and standing together as one...peace brother and may the fish be with you  

Just saw this. I freeze them raw/green after cleaning for curries etc later. No worries at all. Do it with mud crabs as well.

Too many Nok.
 
And I think we're never going to progress by concentrating on the past. All that does is continue with the sense of injustice that everyone (on all sides) is currently feeling. Hard to imagine I guess, but there are many SA rec fishers who feel that they've been wronged, and they aren't all in one camp - or two camps.
 
What's done is done, and can't be completely undone, but I really believe that it's the future that we should all be concentrating on, and learning from what has gone before.
 
I'm a bit curious to see how many others out in the world feel the same way, because if there isn't sufficient will, I think we're going to keep on like this until someone steps in and makes our decisions for us - and I think it's very likely that won't be a good day for rec fishing.
 
You could say that PIRSA and DEWNR are doing that already, and with a very mixed bag of results for both the fishery and rec fishers. It's my belief that won't change unless the rec fishers of SA combine our strengths and make it change.
 
Just my view....
 
Cheers,
R.

I was only talking about the direction mooted by contributors to this thread re: Form a rec council and funding via the grants process. That is what has been put forward on here as potential solutions. Apologies but I thought that was obvious?

The direction for a rec fish council has been given RJ. Funding to facilitate needs via the 3rd round of grants etc. Thats the advice.
 
I read the trade ministers releases. Maximising recreational fishing isnt on his or the govs radar its all about maximising, maintaining interstate and overseas exports.
 
You say there's rec fishers who are capable and shouldn't be underestimated. Summons them together and go and do it just accept that those your up against are a part of a global industry with endless funds and influence over state policy.

Maybe try again....
 
Whenever this subject (representation) is discussed, it invariably becomes a debate about the merits (or not) of what we currently have, and of what might be - usually focused on all the possible negatives.
 
As a result, there is a lot of passion and opinion expressed, but no progress is made.
 
If we want change (and I'd say that everyone does), surely the first step is to agree on that one point - change is needed - and then to get as many people as possible working on what that change should look like. If we are going to continually try to guess what the future will look like and to find reasons not to do anything simply because our crystal ball views don't agree with each other, we'll be stuck in the endless loop forever.
 
We've already been doing this for far too long. For a change, we need to find some trust in our own abilities (and each other), and accept that whatever future direction is determined by our own rec fishers, it will always have some components that won't be completely agreed by everyone. In those circumstances we will all need to trust in the majority view and give it a chance to succeed.
 
If there's another way, please speak out. But let's not get bogged down in detail that may never apply to our situation in SA.
 
That's the future, and it's up to the rec fishers of SA to create it. 

There are bigger fish to fry. As the biggest stakeholder, we are being treated like chicken little. Our rights as equal stakeholders of a shared resource, have been sold off to backroom deals with a Minister. An RFL will not fix this situation, nor will it stop the encroaching conservationists. The first move forward, should be the formation of a Rec fishing council. Here reps from the various representative groups would form an independent body. This would have a powerful voice. We need our rights under, the fisheties ACT restored, proper surveys and community impact. studies done etc. From here this council, could manage an RFL from a trust fund. Ensuring that our money is protected from abuse.

...reading your words i swear all i heard and felt was...
When you walk through a storm, hold your head up high
And don’t be afraid of the dark
At the end of the storm, there’s a golden sky
And the sweet, silver song of a lark
Walk on through the wind
Walk on through the rain
Though your dreams be tossed and blown
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
Walk on, walk on
With hope in your heart
And you’ll never walk alone
You’ll never walk alone
 
...i trully hope one day Tacklebags junior catches a bigger snapper than you in your profile pic and he scores the winner for Liverpool in the FA cup final...one or the other ill be happy...but he'll need your help to do that...just like our fishn community needs help from magic fellas like yourself...peace

Might be time to take a deep breath I think.
 
From the time of settlement of SA, we (all) have caught fish. In earlier times there were many more fish to catch, and fewer people who wanted to catch them. You only need to look at some of the pictures and read the stories from 100 and more years ago to see that fishing was "better" back then. From that time, the marine environment around Adelaide has been steadily degraded by runoff and pollution, while the number of people who want to catch fish has steadily increased. And so the fishing has become harder for everyone.
 
It's been the same story for the past 50 years until fairly recently when the number rec fishers has decreased significantly. I think that's happened simply because the fish are harder to find. The Commercial sector has followed the same trend, and probably for the same reason. Overall there are fewer fish to be caught, but this is masked by the widely used "sustainable" label, which has the simple goal of preventing different species of fish from being wiped out entirely while still allowing them to be caught. I think this is a "have your cake and eat it" approach, and it isn't working in a way that will allow the fishery to recover to what it was even 50 years ago.
 
Pollution and runoff are not really rec fishing issues, but we have to suffer the consequences. For that reason we should have a very loud voice in any issue that is going to increase either pollution or runoff, and an equally loud voice in pushing to have them reduced from what they are. We should also have a loud voice in promoting remediation projects that will help to return the marine environment back to something like it used to be - such as the current EPA project to re-seed sea grass along the inshore Metro waters. IMO recreational fishers should be the guardians of our marine environment rather than the conservationists who have claimed that role for themselves - and made such a mess of it.
 
But since we can't change history:-
 
What is the rec fishing community going to do to change this situation, and how are we going to do it?  
As things stand we have very little (if any) influence on decision making in SA - and what needs to be done to change that?  
Will anyone in Govt make decisions to specifically benefit rec fishers if we have no way of persuading them that they must?  
 - Many other questions that could/should be asked, but that's just my take on the situation.
 
Cheers,

Good luck in any case RJ with your plans. My intentions here were only to be informative as I don't even go fishing anymore and have moved on to other recreations. I have no intention of being formerly involved but still try my best to assist others with what I have researched over the years so solutions to problems are prepared for.
 
Cheers
 
Tackles

There are many questions that can be asked about what the future holds for rec fishing in SA, but there is one thing that we already know - without any doubt.
 
And that is: If we do nothing, nothing is going to change.
 
Change won't come about solely via social media debates, particularly if those debates don't involve the decisions makers themselves. It will only happen if the rec fishing community takes action. I believe that the coming election will provide the best opportunity for change that we have seen for decades, and the rec fishing community (as a whole) needs to bite the bullet, get our act together and ensure that we put our case to the intending politicians.
 
We should not assume that the people (rec fishers) who will be selected by the rec fishing community and charged with driving the future of rec fishing in SA will be incapable of considering and dealing with issues of the future. But unless we have the opportunity (and that means funding) of putting those people in place we will continue just as we always have. To me the only issue at hand is to establish a means of funding and to put in place a broad-based (and agreed) organisational structure that will allow those people to get the job done.  Done correctly, there should be opportunity for any SA rec fisher with experience, knowledge and passion to be directly involved in the decision making of the future, which is how those future questions will be resolved.
 
I believe that we need to find some trust in ourselves and try not to raise all manner of potential problems that will prevent the rec fishing community of SA from doing anything at all while this election opportunity slips past; just as so many others have done before. 

I just read their page for the first time...thanks man very interesting...I rekn ill go and say gday and ask them what theyre doin for and with us and then ill get back to you...fishn...you learn something new all the time lol...don't give up yet champ...we all have our role to play

The Govt has to face the voters. At that time, all bets are off...

....man I vote for you for Prime Minister...you speaka my language bigtime...bravo champ bravo  

Tacklebags is right. Money is not a silver bullet and it cannot solve every problem that confronts the SA fishery.
Without it however, we will continue on just as we always have  - and the current situation is not a good recommendation for doing that.
 
How to make it happen? Lot of different opinion from lots of experts, but I think that the rec sector needs to get together in whatever rag-tag form can be achieved quickly and in the short term, and put a pre-election question to each of the political parties. That question would be coming from just one source - the entire recreational fishing community of SA. Not a matrix of questions that inevitable leaves wriggle room for Politicians, just one question in two parts.
 
Perhaps something like:-
 
"If elected, will your Party provide funding for the Recreational Fishing sector in SA  - such that we will be able to work effectively with all other stakeholders in order to maximise the financial and social returns that recreational fishing provides to this State.
 
We have two equally preferred options for this funding (in no particular order):-
 
1. A Recreational Fishing Licence designed and agreed in partnership between the Recreational Fishing Sector and the Government and administered by a Committee in which Recreational Fishing Representatives are guaranteed a majority.
2. Recurrent funding of $5 million per annum indexed to CPI, and administered by a Committee in which Recreational Fishing Representatives are guaranteed a majority.
 
Which of these (or any equivalent proposal) are you able to commit to?
 
On behalf of 237,000 Recreational Fishers of SA.
 
- or something like that.
 
I really believe (based on random arse-pluck and watching what's going on elsewhere) that this coming election is likely to be the most competitive that we've had in SA for many decades, and that all Parties will need to be mindful of keeping every single vote. It's not likely that the SA voting population will put rec fishing very high on their priority list (power, healthcare, employment etc etc) - but if there is very little to choose between the policies of each Party and the candidates they put forward, lower priorities will come into play when we come to decide who to vote for - priorities such as funding for recreational fishing. I think that those votes could be enough to decide who wins a Seat in the coming election.
 
If you want funding for recreational fishing in SA, I think that there has never been a better time to ask for it.
- But we'd need to pull our digits out, there's a lot to be done.
 
Coupla bob.

The ratio between fisheries officers to fishers is pathetic.
How would spending money on a fishing licence, help the officers monitor check on people who have one?
 
I would guess that a proportion of fees from said rec fishing licence would go towards paying for more Fisheries Officers to be on duty at a time, which goes a long way to improve the ration officers to fishers.
 
 
 
 
In 10 years of owning a boat, 3 times i've had my boat / catch checked and once have had my boat approached by fisheries on the water.
NOT ONCE did any of them ask for my boat licence.
 
Do fisheries officers have the authority to check boat licences (honest question, I don't know the answer)? I thought it would have been up to Marine Police or Marine Safety or whatever to enforce vehicle licencing and registration. Fisheries just check on fishery compliances?
 
 
 
 
 
In the Gulf of SV, it's all pretty flat, the only way to house more fish is to build it.
 
There are 2 tyre reefs, the Stanvac blocks, Norma, a few other barges and old ships. These are all 'man made reefs'.
With out these, we wouldnt have any structure locally.
I think its time for the government to pull there finger out and make some more artificial reefs rather than pick on the rec's and coincide with the pro's all the time.
There are too many people putting themselves at risk trying to build they're own to try get away from the 'crowd'.
Build multiple reefs and people can choose where to go and ultimately give the fish a 'home'.
The saying goes BUILD IT AND THEY WILL COME.
 
I guess one proportion of the money raised from RFLs going towards more officers means other portions of that revenue can go to other areas concerning fishing......Things like stocking, Habitat construction (be it re snagging rivers, or building artificial reefs etc etc). These things all cost a great deal of money and thats ideally what an RFL provides (in my eyes anyways). You can look at it from the point of view that its just another piece paper and people to enforce that you have it on you, or you can look at it as everybody chipping in a little bit to achieve a greater good for the fishing community as a whole. 
    There is always going to be people who flout the system, fish without a licence, take undersize fish, crabs etc, but at least with an RFL there it offers funding to better police those who break the rules (or at least increases the chance they are caught). The chance of being caught and the punishments involved is what generally makes majority of people keep things like their drivers licence and rego current and I'm pretty sure the same would go for a fishing licence

This was presented to the Committee more than 6 months ago (July 2016), and hasn't been mentioned since (to my knowledge). It was not a formal submission by the MFA, although one presenter was/is a Board member of the MFA. There is no indication that this submission was or is supported as official policy by the Commercial sector as a whole.
 
Everyone will take what they want to see from this submission, but for mine it was a group of Commercial fishers complaining about the lack of support for their sector from PIRSA and the Govt. - which is exactly the same complaint the recreational sector has put forward for decades.
 
In addition, there has been loud and continuous attack of the Commercial sector by some rec's for more than a year, and this seems to have had the result of causing some in the Commercial sector to lash out in response. The submission proposes to implement many controls on rec fishers that are already in effect for the Commercials, and asks that the recreational sector pay for a licence. In the past 6 months, there has been no indication that anyone in Fisheries management in SA has taken any of it to heart, much less any attempt to actually implement it.
 
Overall it's a storm in a teacup, but the overall environment of the fishery as a shared resource in SA is repeatedly damaged and the divide between sectors is increased every time a submission is made or video such as that shown in the original post is presented to the public.
 
Bottom line is that the Commercial sector seems to be every bit as fed up with PIRSA and Govt as the recreational sector. It does no good for anyone if the sectors keep chucking bricks at each other - the only result is that it takes the focus away from PIRSA and the Govt. and wastes a whole lot of time and energy.
 
There can probably never be a close relationship between the Commercial and Recreational sectors because we are all competing for the same resource, but (IMO) there is no reason why a professional level of interaction can't be established between the sectors in order to achieve common goals. As this submission very clearly shows, one of those common goals (and probably the most important) is a change in the manner in which the fishery in SA is managed by PIRSA/SARDI and the Government. But before any progress can be achieved on that front, I believe that the recreational sector needs to overcome our own divisions so that we are able to present a united front with one agreed position - on any subject.
 
There is no way that this situation (both the submission and the video) should be accepted as a reason not to implement a RFL in SA  - despite the fact that some people (probably a minority?) have strong opposition to the RFL and will attempt to use it for that purpose. 
 
My 2 bob. Thank you.

Yes sir I do...Booma put it sweetly...politics doesn't do anything for anyone....politics just keeps everything the same...theres no goodness or answers there... let alone for our fisheries...imagine there was no drivers licence...no license for tradies....etc...people would be running amok and doing whatever they wanted to...in society we have to obey the law to keep our basic human rights...you disobey the law or break the law...you pay a fine or you get your rights taken away from you and you go to jail...now you go to any metro jetty any day of the week and people who don't care or are ignorant are doing whatever they want....taking undersized fish and crab left right and center....breaking the law...to me no rec fishn license means nothings going to change and things are going to get worse...less fish....I don't understand the argument against a rec fishn license...pollies only listen to their pay masters...theyre there to do what whoevers paying them wants them to do...theyre not there for us....or havnt we figured that out yet      300,000 rec fishers in SA they rekn...ok...minus the pensioners and kids who don't have to pay lets guess for arguments sake and say theres 150,000 fishers paying for a license here...150,000 x $40 = $6,000,000.....with that money we can do some serious good and change things around for the better..education programs...more fisheries officers to enforce the law...fish restocking...and a whole range of other things which I'm not smart enough to put into words on here right now....im not for the pro fishermen or for capitalism...im totally against the super trawlers, especially that one from Geelong....how hard does this have to be...its not about you its not about me....its about more fish for everybody...peace

Yes sir I do...Booma put it sweetly...politics doesn't do anything for anyone....politics just keeps everything the same...theres no goodness or answers there... let alone for our fisheries...imagine there was no drivers licence...no license for tradies....etc...people would be running amok and doing whatever they wanted to...in society we have to obey the law to keep our basic human rights...you disobey the law or break the law...you pay a fine or you get your rights taken away from you and you go to jail...now you go to any metro jetty any day of the week and people who don't care or are ignorant are doing whatever they want....taking undersized fish and crab left right and center....breaking the law...to me no rec fishn license means nothings going to change and things are going to get worse...less fish....I don't understand the argument against a rec fishn license...pollies only listen to their pay masters...theyre there to do what whoevers paying them wants them to do...theyre not there for us....or havnt we figured that out yet      300,000 rec fishers in SA they rekn...ok...minus the pensioners and kids who don't have to pay lets guess for arguments sake and say theres 150,000 fishers paying for a license here...150,000 x $40 = $6,000,000.....with that money we can do some serious good and change things around for the better..education programs...more fisheries officers to enforce the law...fish restocking...and a whole range of other things which I'm not smart enough to put into words on here right now....im not for the pro fishermen or for capitalism...im totally against the super trawlers, especially that one from Geelong....how hard does this have to be...its not about you its not about me....its about more fish for everybody...peace

ps....Mods please don't shut any of this down cos without this magic forum of yours/ours how are we to educate ourselves and each other with regards to moving forward and saving our fisheries...I read somewhere the greatest gift you can give to another fisherman is....a fish...peace everyone

Howdy Poppa Snake...no shit fight here brother...im not against you or BarnyB either....this is a learning process for me and a few other people I rekn...I think everyones heart is in the right place...but none of us know how to improve this terrible situation we have...fishn obviously means a lot to all of us on here...that's why we all care about this "argument"...on our own none of us can do much...together as a team on the other hand...we can change this terrible situation...you know the old saying...300,000 fishos together are smarter and more powerful than any force on the planet  ...essentially we all want more fish in the water for all of us...less or no pro fisherman taking out too many fish out of  our fisheries...rules and regulations that make a difference for the future and are actually upheld...less bureaucratic BS and more action to protect our fisheries and our rec fishn futures....you get the picture....on our own individually...nothing will change...together with a recfish license we have an army and approx. $6 000 000 bucks per year to do something properly for the future of our fisheries...its in our hands and only we can make a difference....we have to be united somehow and I don't see any other way except by paying our union/club/license fee and standing together as one...peace brother and may the fish be with you  

Bahahaha, thats the dumbest thing I've watched all day.
 
RFL is a great idea in my books, and having purchased and seen the benefits of RFL's in NSW and VIC it still defeats me how people think it is a bad thing.
 
 

RFL?
Yes please. I'll leave the conspiracy theories to others though.
 
Either the RFL or ongoing funding for the rec sector is badly needed and has been for decades.
 
- Although I reckon it'd be easier for the Govt to provide an appropriate level of funding rather than RFL due to the politics.
 
One or the other is way overdue. Maybe this election?
 
Cheers,