Looks like the Cray Fishers have put some money aside for a good cause.

the pro side.The other stuff that i wont put out there( for legal reasons) is not good but it may not see the light due to the fact that the pros income relies on the fishery and the dept can make it very very hard on them.They have explored the validity of the models used to predict fish stocks and the impact of us on it.I still say we need a log book but as i have been told people can make things appear different to the facts.I think if the penalty for misinformation is high enough to scare you when you got caught then this could be avoided.That and the fact that if we put in info that we caught more than me have it is not in our interests if we put in less than we catch and get a search done and get caught out it will cost us it is the only true measure of our impact on fish stocks then the only thing we will never know is how many fish are out there.At least until it is nearly to late.

Im just all changed out this will go on for ever in a day ,im just so over it all at the moment,

syonara mofo,s

they are making it bloody hard for the pros, heard today my uncle had to give up pro wetlining because of all the regs that have been put in place, if the new investigation goes ahead properly i hope all that had been stuffed around get some sort of compensation

My criticism with the whole debate from the professional lobby has been those who double dip the fisheries,A cray license is for the catching of cray fish (rock lobster)A wet line license is to catch fin /scale fish,a abb license is to catch abs,and that should be IT,No cray fisherman should be allowed to catch fin/scale fish,and as it, is was and always has been,the wet line fisherman and pro abb fisherman would not dare have a cray leg,or feller on the boats,as these are not on the license,why is it that the cray fisherman think they should be allowed to catch fish as well as being protected in catching crays,I will bet a great many recreational fisherman have seen or be told of professional cray boats bringing in loads of dhu fish,snapper and other types as well as crays,of also going out in between the cray season and wet lining,The fisheries said that those who had a proven record of catching fish,could continue? but those who did not keep records,the ones who used it for piss money or did not ever declare it for tax payments,why the hell should they be allowed to continue,we hear of so many tonne of dhu fish caught,but how much is sold on the Perth markets,how much goes East or overseas,I would like to see how much the Professionals (fin fish) add to supporting local related industry,as against the recreationals,

Hey Jersey your off the mark in regards to crayfisherman and the catching of fish. It is not allowed. Crayfisherman cannot have any fishing equipment on board. Fines of up to 25k will be issued. My mates up here in Kalbarri cannot even take their kids fishing off the back of their boats while in the pens. Only recently have they been allowed to keep fish which have come up in their pots. Before if they pulled a pot which held a fish the fish had to be thrown overboard. That is an absolute waste of fish that could of been consumed by the crayfisherman and his family. Seeing baldies and other species just flapping around on the surface is not a pretty thing. As for professionals supporting local industries in the smaller towns like here, Jurien, Lancelin, etc they contribute alot to pretty well all business's. Servo's, supermarkets, restraunts, pubs. The debate over where their product is sold is neither here nor there. What about Iron ore, salt, wheat, uranium, etc. You are always going to sell to a market which will pay the price. That is free trade and is what the western world is based apon. The crayfisherman, wetliners and the like are feeling the pinch with more and more restriction placed on them. Alot of operators will go to the wall over the next couple of years. And that is not a good thing IMO.

Cheers Mick   

I was reffering to the past ,up till about 2years ago,the laws have only changed reciently that stopped the Pro cray fisherman taking fish,but as I said,if they can prove a history of catching fin fish ,then I believe that they are still allowed too in some circumstance,I do not have any sympathy for the pros who were doing it (wetlining ) on top of crays, for grog money. As for my question regarding the economics of the fishing industry, I am still to see,a dollar value put on the commercial fisheries and the recreational one,we are told that x amount of tonne of Dhu fish and others, is caught by the pros,and x amount by recreationals,but the how much is it in dollar terms,if a commercial cray fisherman was catching x amount of crays,then there is a more than prooven records,but there seems to be a shortage of financial records for the fin fish,other than the wetliners,so what happend to the amount of  fish between the recorded and caught,I do not care if the size is encreased,the boat limit is lowerd,a licence is introduced and a fee to catch some fish is levied,on recreational anglers,but I am stuffed if my oppinion will change were some sections of an idustrie are allowed to do things that others are not,Cray fisherman catch crays,and wet line fisherman catch fish,but no special treatment to some that is detrimental to all,close the season,but close it for all

I have often thought where did the Fisheries Minister get his information from, his "spin doctor" must be good, at dispensing the stories we see and hear through the media. Me thinks, the "rec sector", are mere sacrifical lambs and scapegoats, for a Government that is continually asking departments to cut back its finances.

Jim.

We dont really want cray fisherman to be allowed to pull up fish they must hammer teh stocks way hard then we ever could as such the damage would not be pretty I wonder what the pots do in damage to the reefs as they float on the bottom there ... They have only been out of the game for 2 years I would like to see how the stocks are improving with them out of it. 

Whos heart bleeds for the crafisherman when u putter out of mindarie ? private beach jetty n all.

Would be minimal,I have dived were pots are being set and they do not do much if any real damge to the reef that I have seen,Coral would be a defferent matter.jersey