If it makes the fishing better for the other 10 months of the year I'm all for it. The alternative would be bulk sanctuary zones. Think I prefer a short closed season.

I have absolutely no doubt that many of the measures implemented have drastically for the improved metro fishing and I fully support the ban, the shear numbers of small pinkies and dhuies are testament that the future looks bright and if I have to miss out on a few fishing days chasing the most vunerable specieis then so be it. 

I have used the time to work on the boat, trailer, lighting and servicing my gear .........also found some really good whiting and offshore flathead grounds that I wouldn't have found but for the bans 

 Here here. It's hard to know as a single angler, but it seems to me the stocks of dhuies and snapper are very healthy these days. Is there any publicly available info on the stock numbers.

easy 2 months. the poor fish get a break from getting flogged. hey its frustrating when you go to fish for mullas and all you catch are pinkies but this time of year especially up here the pinks are in shallow all up and down the coast in their breeding mode. the impact on fish is not as bad as down there so but everyone has to take one on the chin and give the fish stocks a break for a cpl months. We've been having a ball on tailor whiting mullas and other species which in reality are way up on the eating scale than some demersal fish.

For the peanuts that feel the ban is a waste of time and not for them, well you are the ones that in the end will make it worse for everyone else.

We are lucky here that we have an organisation that can impliment these bans knowing that it will be a positive impact on the fish stocks, try going to sydney or the goldy and catch a pinky. They get the shit flogged outa them over there all year. With more people geting boats and technology getting to the stage that even a monkey can use these aids to find fish, they need some sort of protection from getting flogged all year round. And as an ex pro fisho its great to see stocks of fish getting better.

one month is nearly gone so it goes pretty quick.

 I've been diving around the Bunbury area for 10 + years and only now are we starting to see small Dhuies around the Reefs. In 5 years or so thay may lift the bag limit to 2 per person or 3 per boat as was done in Sharkbay

I have to agree, back around 1992 when the bag limits for tailor for example were 20-30 per person it didnt take long for all the tailor to disapear now there are alot around especially the swan river. I have to agreee with most the fisheries laws but everyone hammers the fishing just before and strait after so maybe the ban isnt as effective ?  

The Ban was originally wanted for 4 months from Oct 15th until Feb 15th. Some species in some areas where know to congregate and breed in the Summer months e.g Dhuis in the Capes region.
But there was alot of opposition for having the Ban during Christmas break and summer school holidays, when alot of people and families would be wanting to go demersal fishing.
So a compromise was done to have it only for 2 months, outside of the school holidays.
Which unfortunately might mean that certain fish in certain areas aren't protected when congregating to breed.

As a diver the difference is there to see. You see a lot more dhuies in close than say 10 years ago. The ban and the fishing restrictions on the commercials has made a big difference. Small price to pay. I remember years ago i had a girlfriend that worked in a pub and she was bringing home slabs of dhuie often given to her by cray deckies on the piss boasting of the 20 they had caught that day... 

As a child, you probably kicked up a stink now and then if you didn't get some lollies or toy or some other thing u wanted at the time. If your parents hadn't set rules etc you'd probably be a spoilt, fat little turd. But looking back your probably thankful for the rules etc, as you realise that at the time, they had the better experience and knowledge, and therefore made better decisions than you would have if you were given free reign. They might not have done everything right 100% of the time but they did the best they could with what they had.

So please, have some faith that fisheries are doing the best they can to ensure that YOU and everyone else can continue catching your favourite fish for years to come. There's already enough spoilt, fat little turds in Aus

I agree Buz,if they are fair dinkum about it then you wouldnt be able to fish down this way over December ,January as well,also the pro's are still able to take while the reco fisho cant i mean if its breeding season thats what it is and nobody should be taking.To much politics in involved i reckon. This year the demersals have had a real good break with the horrible conditions we had before the ban,personally only got out 3 times in an as many months due to conditions etc.I would like the ban to go from December till the end of January for all and also increase the size limit to 65cm ,then after awhile we might get back to 1 dhu per angler or 3 per boat whateva it may be.The way its done now helps but its not all aimed at the best interests of the fish.