Shannon1396235564

Closing this jetty to recreational fishermen, to prevent or reduce the take of illegal size fish is;THE WRONG SOLUTION, TO A DIFFERENT PROBLEM!This is a prime public asset for our sport that must be preserved and made available to all. The bigger and more accessible our sport is to all the more important it will be to governments and the community at large.This probably needs to be started on a separate thread, But the correct solution to problem of indiscriminate fishing is education and proper policing.We need to start with a recreational fishing licence, with a reasonable fee. This will sort out some of the chaff from the wheat.Now the most critical aspect in my view, is to make sure people know the rules.They must sit for a written test when applying for their licence. Even if they take their size & catch limit pamphlet with them. So they write down and acknowledge the rules for this sport.Now they can no longer claim ignorance! Fish without a licence = ON THE SPOT FINEUndersize fish or over the limit = ON THE SPOT FINE plus a factor depending on the severity of the offence, at a predetermined escalating rate as the over limit quantity increases.This is nothing new. It works every day on our roads!So please I ask for some clear thinking on 2 very separate issues.Cheers, Des

Tacklebags, thank you, you are a voice of reason Re Brett's comment that 'This in essence is a secure feeding zone that they can stop at whilst travelling up and down the gulf to breed.'It then bewilders me that you want to protect an en-route feeding ground to aggregation point, but then once Snapper get there (upper Gulf) you are then happy, and indeed advocating, to catch them while they are in the act? Sounds crazy to me.This jetty is not just about Snapper. It is a section of beach, and an already built deep-water platform that the community should have access to.

Also FYI. Says a bitRishworth, Amanda (MP) 4:45 PM (2 hours ago)to me Dear ShannonThanks for your tweet about the Pt Stanvac jetty. I have had contact with the State Government’s Office for the Southern Suburbs and written to the state minister to express the desire of locals to retain the jetty and have public access to the beach. I will continue to advocate but at this point I have heard nothing further. I will keep advocating and defiantly contact you if there is any development.Thanks for your interestAmanda Rishworth

Thanks for the prompt reply Brett and for your input too TB.My point was more at odds with your comments on this thread Brett. It seems that your attitude relates more to the 'not in my backyard' mentality, as evidenced by your comment re being strongly against spatial closures in Upper Gulf St Vincent.It seems that you're fine, and indeed an advocate for protection, but just not at any of the places or marks that you or your club personally fish, or by the methods that you choose to use.It's double standards like these that have led to a lack of unity and the fact that while recreational fishers may number in the +200,000s in SA - the reality is that we are poorly represented. And as a result, we are walked all over by smaller, yet more unified and organised minority groups.