Dont forget to renew your Recreation Fishing License!!!!
Hey guys just a little tip!! What ever you do dont forget to renew your recreation fishing license, I live up north and went fishing today, got some good fish and only kept two fish for a feed, a spanish mackreal and rankin cod and let the rest go. I pull up at the boat ramp and retreive my boat noticing the two fisheries officers, i think to myself.. yep im all good, fish are all size and well in my limit, until questioned by the officers. They themselves were happy about the catch, but when i produced my rec license it was out of date...Myself i keep my rec license in my fishing bag wher and when ever i go fishing it is there nearly always once a week and always in my car ready just incase. So i have changed address in the past year and havent recieved my renewal and never spend time looking at my license.. So BANG.. My catch is confiscated and are in the running to recieve a $200 fine for not having a in date recreational fishing license.
Now on i will remember todays Date as a birthday.. and make sure to remember my Recreational Fishing Liicense renewal every year as trust me, you look like a poacher when you got two fisheries officers note pads out and two heshn bags taking your catch out of you boat down the local boat ramp.. And me i'm a avid sports fisherman were i catch and release 90% of my catch, releasing fish after the catch is my best part of fishing thats what i enjoy fishing so much.. And are a storewalt for Fish For The Future..So guys just a little reminder for yous too.. have a quick check and see if your license is in date too, cause its not worth the feeling to come home after fishing not enjoying a great day out on the water.....when really you did..
114 thready
Handi 1
Posts: 151
Date Joined: 27/06/11
Mate , thats really sucks , I
Mate , thats really sucks , I feel for you . Hope they were cool about it , as I,m sure it can happen alot . Did almost to me , but was lucky I checked a few days before and did online . Bummer !
Dhui on river to sea jig a few years back , 16 kg ! PB for me .
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18090
Date Joined: 11/03/08
total bumber loosing the
total bumber loosing the fish and getting a fine as well. easily forgotten when you move house and all.
good reminder for all. just checked the date on mine and is all good (not that i get out for a fish but its there)
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Gav475
Posts: 398
Date Joined: 16/11/11
I feel for you mate. Got that
I feel for you mate. Got that horrible feeling in my stomach just reading it. Always happens to the good guys who try hard to do the right thing. Good point though and a timley reminder with the better weather just around the corner.
Jelle
Posts: 142
Date Joined: 21/12/11
While I am fully in favor of
While I am fully in favor of proper law enforcement, I do feel that it may have been a little too much. How long was your license out of date for? Like you, I also release more than 90% of my catch, but won't hesitate in keeping one here and there for the table. If this would've happened to me, I would be seriously gutted. I believe that people carrying out inspections should also use some people judgement skills and if you're a decent bloke, with only 2 legal fish on board, and no other issues, you shouldn't be fined on the spot. Or at least let you keep the fish! They could've given you 48hrs to send through a copy of your new license or something.
Anyway, that's how I feel about it. I think they'd have more work checking up on some landbased spots that are frequently visited. The amount of ill looking fellas I see up here in Hedland, keeping undersize fish is just plain sad. Even on the public jetty! Us decent guys are an easy target aye :)
pale ale
Posts: 1755
Date Joined: 02/01/10
Bugger! They should
Bugger! They should concentrate their efforts on the nomads at Cleaverville / 40 mile and leave us locals alone.
uncle
Posts: 9507
Date Joined: 10/02/07
just seems to be about the dollars
like said could given you a week to renew,c....heads
all aggressive fish love bigjohnsjigs
Yewiefish85
Posts: 795
Date Joined: 02/01/11
Had a similar experience but
Had a similar experience but with better results for me, I had renewed me license and received it in the mail, like you snuggest, I keep it in my tackle bag in the car, went out crabbing and got a good feed of blue swimmers, upon return to the boat ramp, there was a couple of fisheries officers, check the catch, all good, ask to see license, pull it out and it's the old expired one!, explained to the fisheries officer that I have a current one but had forgot to put it in the bag, he was good about it And just said to make sure I put my new one in the bag when I get home, this was a few years ago tho, not sure if I would have the same outcome with the current crop of fisheries officers getting around at the moment, half of them that come up to Hedland don't know thier fish too well!
sea-kem
Posts: 15041
Date Joined: 30/11/09
I'm pretty sure you get 5
I'm pretty sure you get 5 days to produce it if you don't have it on you.
Love the West!
Rob H
Posts: 5817
Date Joined: 18/01/12
they ring the office and
they ring the office and check.
Or in my case when Id done one for one of my kids in the morning and it didnt show up on the system yet, they waited til Id retrieved, followed me 12 km home so I could see if the receipt was on the computer.
I explained that with ID, a ute load of kids and a 1500kg boat behind it was probably un-necessary but it must have been a boring sunday...
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
sea-kem
Posts: 15041
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Ken hell!
Ken hell!
Love the West!
profish540
Posts: 221
Date Joined: 28/03/09
Spewing Nugget I better
Spewing Nugget I better check mine is still valid. Never been checked at Samson or Cossack.
tim-o
Posts: 4657
Date Joined: 24/05/11
Wonder what they do with the
Wonder what they do with the fish, being fisheries, Im sure they wouldnt want it to go to waste, straight in their freezers I bet. If you had no fish, Im sure you prob would have been given a caution considering the circumstances
I am, as I've said, merely competent. But in an age of incompetence, that makes me extraordinary.
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18090
Date Joined: 11/03/08
not sure about all fisheries
not sure about all fisheries but the ones in shark bay take the confiscated fish to the old folks home or share amongst the elderly.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
Perry Home
Posts: 434
Date Joined: 07/10/10
That sucks
But thats what happens when we have laws created by one group and enforced by its agents- flexibility invariably goes out the window and it all comes back to rest on the shoulders of "the law breaker" fairly or not.
Ian Macca
Posts: 133
Date Joined: 08/05/12
Cheers for the heads up
Cheers for the heads up snugget
Wonder if these days with all the technology out there in smart phones, in your case if they let you pay for it on the spot online??
Versus
Posts: 918
Date Joined: 06/03/09
Thats pretty poor of them in
Thats pretty poor of them in my opinion. Had a (very loosely) similar situation when i borrowed a dinghy off my old man for a holiday down south. Was on the inlet at Denmark and Dept of Transport blokes came and asked if the boat was registered, I admitted I had no idea, they got the boat numbers and found me at the boat ramp to give me a $160 ticket.
The old man just laughed when I rang him up.
southcity104
Posts: 1659
Date Joined: 27/01/09
if they want to get technical!
Just hang off the ramp and check your licence online and if your out of date just pay it there and then online on the phone. I would never do a thing like that though ; )
"Its a life style job"
Sulo
Posts: 256
Date Joined: 13/08/11
Fisheries officers have a
Fisheries officers have a pretty crap job, we all complain that we never see them and when we do see them they inevitably check us out, and bust us we all have a bitch about it.
I see it as pretty cut and dry as far as enforcement goes, no licence you are busted!
The onus to renew any licence no matter what it is, is on you. It is not the departments fault that you did not get the renewal or even if they have sent it out and that applies to all departments, firearms, drivers, etc etc.
I am pretty sure that all confiscated fish not used as evedence in a court case has to be given to places like hospitals or old peoples homes.
JCM
Posts: 30
Date Joined: 02/06/12
Don't they send renewals
Or reminders or something?
sarcasm0
Posts: 1396
Date Joined: 25/06/09
They do
But I believe the original poster was saying he had moved recently and not received the reminder. I think that they should sms and email the reminders instead of posting.
The other one to watch out for that very nearly got me was I had a valid RBFL, then later when the season started I got a cray licence, a few months later, headed out and had checked my licence and accidentally looked at the cray licence which was in date, then when coming in later with no crays, fisheries were at the ramp but did not check us I thought about it, had a look and sure enough my RBFL had expired.
This is the problem when they took away the 'umbrella' licence. Now I have cray, RBFL, Marron and South West Freshwater all with different bloody dates, 4 bloody cards. I wish they would link them all back together again. I think the only solution for me is to 'write off' all the licences I have when the RBFL expires and get all new ones together in one hit, so I have one card, one expiry date.
Bryan
Brucesta
Posts: 1721
Date Joined: 29/05/09
it was good to see them out
it was good to see them out on the ramps over the weekend, nice to see my licence money might be actually being put back into these guys doing thier job. sorry to hear about the licence mate, honest mistakes are the worst in the end it seems.
Las Vegas - Rolling the dice and trying your luck. 1M+ Barra summer target. 100kg Black Marlin winter target
Bodie
Posts: 3758
Date Joined: 05/11/07
unforunately these things
unforunately these things happen, and not just with the fisheries.
At the end of the day, each individual is responsible for making sure their license is valid. No different to a Car or boat registration, Epirb expiry and so on.
Im sure you would find some people would use the same excuse, (Moved house, dont check the date on my license etc) just to try avoid the consequences. Not that im saying this is the case with you mate not at all. Agree with Bruce, good to see fisheries out doing the checks.
Hopefully the fish went to good use
spinksy
Posts: 266
Date Joined: 06/10/10
Agree with Brodie
They would hear that excuse all the time up to you to check its in date. They are only doing their job you wont forget next time.