When you have an environment group managing the esturine system the fish don't have a chance and they talk about protecting the ocean from fishermen. God help our fish stocks.
Probably lack of oxygen in the water as the Mullet(and Bream) are usually trapped on the freshwater side of the floodgates, installed to stop seawater intruding to far upstream and ruining the farmers pastures.
Well that was the original reason for the floodgates eons ago, dont really understand why they still need them as most the land around the Wonnerup estuary system isnt really used for real farming now.
Shame it still happening, was an anuual event back in the mid 90's when i first saw it too. Used to go an scoop up dozens of them as they all tried to get through the floodgates, unsuccessfully as they were closed.
With the flood gates closed to stop the high tides pushing water up in to the estuary, the water gets hot and stagnant, loses oxygen and all the fish die.
Mate has a house that fronts the estuary and has been trying to get the gates opened each year to allow fresh sea water in but as usual no one listens .
They seem to be able to manage these types of things quite well overseas for various species.
I recall seeing a trout staging and stepping area on the TV a while ago, it was designed so that the trout could get back up stream to breeding grounds.
Perhaps someone with the local knowledge could ask the GWN network to run a news story on the issue and get some traction with that as a starting point.
No-one likes to see hundreds of fish floating belly up and the images may spark some local political action.
It is not even hot yet maybe thousands more will die when it heats up und there is a lot less oxygen. It is amazing that a shire councilor lives adjacent to the floodgates at wonnerup and still no action. The floodgates are controlled by the water corporation, state government], fisheries, state government, it would be a miracle if these two departments worked together
Has been on GWN and in the South West Times many times but with little effect. They won't open the gates because the farmers who used to be there?? [could be a few left who haven't sold out to developers] run their cattle on the lowlands and this will be covered in salt water if they do open the gates. Its not just the eastern town side but the Forrest beach side gets affected as well.
The wonnerup fish kill has been a annual event for at least 15 years killing all the iconic fish species that use the wonnerup estuary as a nursery like mullet, bream, king george, prawns, crabs etc. It affects the fish stocks in geographe bay and beyond. The Wonnerup estuary up river from the flood gates is now saltier that the ocean defeating the purpose of the flood gates.
The flood gates were rebuilt a few years ago to maintain an" artificial " fresh water environment that is Ramsar Rated for wildlife and instead of allowing nature to take it's course and fix things up they have remote controlled gates that failed to operate last time resulting in the last fish kill and it'll be interesting to see what they blame this time. The farmers themself are complaining about the condition of the estuary and what really annoys fishermen is that the estuary is a known nursery for a wide range of fish including black bream and to see these fish floating belly up every year all because of greenie stupidity really makes one sick in the stomach. Every one down here knows what needs to be done and that is to remove the flood gates but there is a small group of people who reckon they know best so we end up having these deaths.
Wasnt so bad with the old wooden flood gates back pre 2000 you could just go an lever them open yourself with a couple of mates, to allow the mullet though.
But ever since they did the upgrade and made them out of steel and automated them theres no chance of levering them open :-(
The more they stuff around with nature the worse things are getting in the estuary and they still don't understand how it all works and when things get really bad towards the end of summer the first thing they do is open up the flood gates and let the salt water in. Why not leave the gates open all the time.It just doesn't make sense.
to my knowledge were installed many years back to help hold back the huge tides that occationally pushed saline water onto good grazing and wetlands.
I believe they were installed in 1871 and were heritage listed which makes one wonder.
Carnarvonites mate also took his backhoe along the beach and dug a trench so there could be a decent flow, I believe.
You might also be interested in knowing there is a couple of Commercial Net Licences in the said estuary, how many of you Busso mob knew that?????
Hears a read.
The estuary is wave dominated and has been severely modified from its natural state. The site of the Vasse and Wonnerup Floodgates that regulated the flow of water in the estuary from about 1907 inadvertently created the freshwater wetland, were listed on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places in 2005[4]. The estuary covers a total surface area of 17.8 square kilometres (7 sq mi) with the central basin having an area of 7.5 square kilometres (3 sq mi)[5] In winter, wide areas of open water are fringed by samphire and rushes. Paperbarkwoodland occurs behind the samphire belt, with eucalypt woodland on higher ground.
The catchment of the estuary is 52% cleared and is used primarily for crops and pastures but also for plantations. The waters are susceptible to pollution from run-off as houses in Busselton have been built adjacent to the estuary. The Abba River, Ludlow River, Sabina River and Vasse River all discharge into the estuary.
The catchment covers a total area of 961 square kilometres (371 sq mi) and is part of the Geographe Bay catchment. The coastal plain area is composed of sandy and duplex soils that are easily water-logged. An extensive drainage network has been constructed to protect Busselton and Wonnerup from flooding and to create agricultural land.[6]
You've looked things up on the internet sqidder and a lot of us know there are 4 commercial licenses in the estuary and the last time I tried to get them terminated I was told virtually to rack off by fisheries because a family in Bunbury has a long history of fishing there and they help keep the fish numbers under control so it doesn't become over populated.What we really need is solutions to the problem something I've noticed you've failed to provide us with squidder.
Keeping fish numbers under control?? So it doen't become over populated. What a load of crap. Nature has it's own way of balancing populations of any species. Humans have been lucky so far.
I think you will find that there is a manual over ride system to open the gates if the automatic one fails seems like someone in charge wasn't informed or couldn't give a shit about what was occurring.
As Squidder stated, yes , my mate nearly got in deep shit for taking his backhoe down and digging a trench through to the ocean to allow fresh seawater to enter the estuary when the mouth sanded up years back. They tried to take him to court for interfereing with their area of control but locals stood up and voiced support for what he had done.
some time back I wrote a very indepth letter to Nola M and Troy indicating that more emphasis should be put on restricting water "outflow" on all the MAN MADE DRAINS in your shire and in doing that start by building a new bridge over the river in town at the park to allow more water flow into the estuary discussed at the minute.
The gap under the bridge mentioned is under half the width of the river, hows that work, Oh sorry I,m not an Engineer.
By doing this there might be more cause to open up the Floodgates creating more of a NATURAL flow through the Wonnerup Estuary.
Man has played with nature far too much in the past, and will continue to do so,$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, being the driving force.
It's about time man started to remedy his mistakes and dis assembling some of his concrete constructions.
the Light Industrial area in Busso. is not connected up to deep sewerage so all the sewerage and storm water from that area is discharged straight into the Vasse river and eventually into the estuary and all the polutants like engine degreasing oil, diesal and other car additives can't be doing the system any good at all and might account for the lack of oxygen in the water as mentioned earlier so addressing that would be a good starting point.Where the Vasse diversion drain runs past the golf course there's a cock valve that stops the water going into the Vasse River and I believe a simple sand filter on a large scale of course at the valve taking all the nutrients out of the water and sending the clean overflow to flush out the Vasse River and estuary is another posability but another sand filter would be needed at the exit point before the estuary to stop Geo.Bay getting poluted. It would not be that hard to do some modeling on a small scale to see how effective it might be before comitting big bucks but there are just so many initiatives that can be used and all we get from the organisation that have the responsiblity of managing the system is " we are monitoring the situation" which virtually means we're doing nothing.
The volume of polluted water coming out of the Wonnerup mouth would have very little effect on Geographe bay. Most of the current flow along that shore runs towards Forrest beach then out to seea after hitting the reef areas off Peppy grove.
I was invovled with the Harbour and Rivers, based in Bunbury around when the inner harbour was being built and part of or job was to hand sound [swing the lead] from 5nm west of the jetty through to where Forrest beach road comes in with lines 100 yards apart and soundings every 50 feet out until we hit 30 feet continious. We also did dye tests to show current flows.
All this was for the brains trust to work out what effect the rock groynes were having on the local beaches.
The reason they don't dredge the Vasse river is the heavy metals from the old rubbish tip that was on the entrance into town just at the bridge and then you need to work out what to do with it afterwards but I'd hate to be eating fish that are contaminated with these heavy metals stuff like lead and mercury. Not for me thanks.
the beach sand that everyone walks on is loaded with so called "Radio-active" ilmenite in the area in question, I don't think heavy metals are the problem, it's the clowns in the council wanting to make money with more secret subdivisions.
Bunbury has a old rubbish tip site that is a bird haven, namely the "Big Swamp".
Come on Howard, you surely don't believe that heavy metals are the crux of the problem, what about all the cow shit, fertiliser and all the other crap that spews into the lower part of Geographe Bay out of the "Man Made" drains that were put there to the benefit of the rural sector.
Carnarvonite is correct re the Northerly flow,at certain times of the year, but the flow in the bulk of the bay is Sthly, hence the shape of the bay, like a big washed out hook.
All my diary input, since 1970, has sthly flow logged, except around march, april and june where it tends to have a eddy to nthly flow.
If you were correct then all the sand that builds up on the west side of ALL the groynes through the bay would change sides and all the weed around the mouth of Port Geographe spread back towards town. Havent seen that happening in the last 40 plus years that you and I have known each other.
Close to shore its the Long Shore Drift current that runs W to E, from the Cape towards Bunbury. This runs all year and is the reason like Carnarvonite says all the sand and weed ALWAYS builds up on the Western side of the rock walls. Same reason all the original river systems down there have their actual mouths stretching far to the east of where the main river approaches the bay E.g Toby inlet, Vasse River.
I always laugh about the Geo Bay Long Shore Drift and the big stuff up of Port Geo Groynes for seemingly not recognising it. I mean i learnt about the long shore drift and the implications it meant for any rockwall built in Geo Bay in year 10 Geography(1997)!!!
Out to sea though yes there are currents that flow in either direction depending on time of year. Just before the ban(15 Oct) i was out on the 4-mile and the current was ripping hard from Bunbury towards the Cape(N to S). But the around Easter it usually seems to be the other way(The Capes Current perhaps, that the Salmon run follows?)
Carnarvonite is right Phil ( squidder ). The westerly winds in the autumn, winter months dump the weed onto the beaches and collects on the western side of the groynes. Check out the groyne in front of your house. Cray pots set in geographe bay travel north not south.
is predomately nthly due to the main stream OFF shore being a Sthly flow causing what most see as a inshore EDDY, lots of them all the way down the coastg giving what appears a Nthly flow. I did spend some of my yrs working on a cray boat Off shore and it as I remember, a nth sth current.
I will chase up some data from a mineral sands coy that done some research in this area.
Geographe bay lays east / west with the Busso jetty pointing directly north as an indicator, what put a lot of people off is they see a chart and all the other towns on the coast face west and think Busso does the same which isn't the case, it faces north.
I have beach seined with a number of pro teams for whitebait, herring, salmon etc and sharkfished as a pro in these waters over many years from Augusta through to north of Preston beach / White hills and the inshore drift from Eagle bay / Quindalup has always been in an anti clockwise direction with the flow on the eastern side of the bay flowing northward.
North of the bay you do get a southerly current that swings out between the cape and south of Naturaliste reef around southwest bank. but this does often change direction and head north for some reason or other.
I have a sea grass map of the bay canarvonite and it clearly shows the current and movement of sand inside the four-mile reef is from the capes and flows towards the east but when you get outside the four mile my understanding is that for a few months of the year the Leeuwin current dominates up until we start getting those cold fronts that start bringing the rain and then we get what is referred to the capes current and that flows in the exact opposite direction so i'd agree to what you're saying.
I believe the currents in Geo Bay to be complex and varied. One area in the bay can be north currents while only a few miles away it can be twice as strong and from another direction. Guess this is why no one can get it right? (port geo) Prevaling shore line current is west to east . Water can only come into the bay from the north and it can only exit the bay from the south.
The fish kills have been going on for as long as I can remember and always the same result, the local council and whatever the government department name is at the time just bury their heads in the sand and pretend its the others problem, some of the locals take it on their own bat and take the risk of prosecution and forced the old gates open but now with the new ones in place this isn't possible without breaking into the sbuilding and operation the controls.
The mindset hasn't change and the ones responsible for its management still pretend it doesn't happen and its not theirs even with pics plastered in the local papers and on GWN news
The commercial licences for the estuary were bought back by the government there maybe 1 left but it is not used, there has been noone netting for a couple of years. The last pro that was netting there was 1 that had his licence bought back but thought he would net it anyway and break lots of rules as leaving the nets in overnight{ they need to stay with the nets or close by ] , nets being way to long, and pulling the nets into the boat with everything in them like dead and alive water birds.
are still active in the estuary in question. One of the licence holders is too old to do the all night stint and allows another Pro to do all the work, he just holds the licence.
When will he retire, who knows??. Some say it's his life style.
Secondly, there is more than 1 licence holder, maybe 3 all tolled.
Re netting the estuary, two pros combined to take two tonne of Mullet and assorted fish earlier this year, FACT.
I'm at the minute writing a letter to Troy Buswell.
Anyone that is concerned about enviromental issues can write one as well.
Heres a couple of people to address your letters.
Member for Vasse Troy Buswell
Electorate Office:...
16 Prince Street, Busselton WA 6280 Postal Address: PO Box 516 Busselton 6280 Ph: 9752 1949 Fax: 9752 3949 Email: troy.buswell@mp.wa.gov.au
Minister for Environment & Water Bill Marmion
Ministerial Office:
29th Floor Allendale Square 77 St Georges Terrace Perth WA 6000 Ph: 6552 6800 Fax: 6552 6801 Email: Minister.Marmion@dpc.wa.gov.au
Carnarvonite The mindset hasn't change and the ones responsible for its management still pretend it doesn't happen and its not theirs even with pics plastered in the local papers and on GWN news
Im hearing you - keep in mind though social media stays there forever. It travels wider. 30 second TV grabs & newspapers fade from peoples minds.
If you see dead fish or environmental problems publish them because on many occasions fishermen see the problems in our rivers that the public dont.
If you have images publish them. You have nothing to lose.
We'll see whats in the local newspaper this week saltatrix but I know some photo's have been taken of the latest fish kill. Whether the guys at the paper decide to do an article on it or not is another question.I think a bit of politics might be involved.
It was fisheries that told me that there was 1 left and the only pro that I have seen there was the one that was caught. I wonder where they launch and fish and how long it took them to get the 2 tonne
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
You're Not Joking Rat
When you have an environment group managing the esturine system the fish don't have a chance and they talk about protecting the ocean from fishermen. God help our fish stocks.
Rig
Posts: 2925
Date Joined: 27/12/06
Why
What is killing them?
Buz
Posts: 1555
Date Joined: 28/08/07
Probably lack of oxygen in
Probably lack of oxygen in the water as the Mullet(and Bream) are usually trapped on the freshwater side of the floodgates, installed to stop seawater intruding to far upstream and ruining the farmers pastures.
Well that was the original reason for the floodgates eons ago, dont really understand why they still need them as most the land around the Wonnerup estuary system isnt really used for real farming now.
Shame it still happening, was an anuual event back in the mid 90's when i first saw it too. Used to go an scoop up dozens of them as they all tried to get through the floodgates, unsuccessfully as they were closed.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8691
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Flood gates
With the flood gates closed to stop the high tides pushing water up in to the estuary, the water gets hot and stagnant, loses oxygen and all the fish die.
Mate has a house that fronts the estuary and has been trying to get the gates opened each year to allow fresh sea water in but as usual no one listens .
shammy
Posts: 231
Date Joined: 03/07/09
Mullet
They seem to be able to manage these types of things quite well overseas for various species.
I recall seeing a trout staging and stepping area on the TV a while ago, it was designed so that the trout could get back up stream to breeding grounds.
Perhaps someone with the local knowledge could ask the GWN network to run a news story on the issue and get some traction with that as a starting point.
No-one likes to see hundreds of fish floating belly up and the images may spark some local political action.
cheers
"Life wasn't meant to be a spectator sport"
high Noon
Posts: 22
Date Joined: 27/10/11
fish kill
Mass fish kills are the norm at Wonnerup every year. It is sad that whoever is responsible is not accountable or does not care.
COASTALJOY
Posts: 79
Date Joined: 11/05/12
mullet
It is not even hot yet maybe thousands more will die when it heats up und there is a lot less oxygen. It is amazing that a shire councilor lives adjacent to the floodgates at wonnerup and still no action. The floodgates are controlled by the water corporation, state government], fisheries, state government, it would be a miracle if these two departments worked together
He fishes, He fishes, He fishes, its the only thing in life. All he ever gets is hell from his fed up wife
carnarvonite
Posts: 8691
Date Joined: 24/07/07
GWN
Has been on GWN and in the South West Times many times but with little effect. They won't open the gates because the farmers who used to be there?? [could be a few left who haven't sold out to developers] run their cattle on the lowlands and this will be covered in salt water if they do open the gates. Its not just the eastern town side but the Forrest beach side gets affected as well.
jettyrat
Posts: 62
Date Joined: 08/11/11
Wonnerup Fish Kill
The wonnerup fish kill has been a annual event for at least 15 years killing all the iconic fish species that use the wonnerup estuary as a nursery like mullet, bream, king george, prawns, crabs etc. It affects the fish stocks in geographe bay and beyond. The Wonnerup estuary up river from the flood gates is now saltier that the ocean defeating the purpose of the flood gates.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
Not the Farmers carnarvonite
The flood gates were rebuilt a few years ago to maintain an" artificial " fresh water environment that is Ramsar Rated for wildlife and instead of allowing nature to take it's course and fix things up they have remote controlled gates that failed to operate last time resulting in the last fish kill and it'll be interesting to see what they blame this time. The farmers themself are complaining about the condition of the estuary and what really annoys fishermen is that the estuary is a known nursery for a wide range of fish including black bream and to see these fish floating belly up every year all because of greenie stupidity really makes one sick in the stomach. Every one down here knows what needs to be done and that is to remove the flood gates but there is a small group of people who reckon they know best so we end up having these deaths.
TheJettyRat
Posts: 733
Date Joined: 02/03/12
Been saying it for years
Been saying it for years myself, every fisho down this way has...open the gates !
Buz
Posts: 1555
Date Joined: 28/08/07
Wasnt so bad with the old
Wasnt so bad with the old wooden flood gates back pre 2000 you could just go an lever them open yourself with a couple of mates, to allow the mullet though.
But ever since they did the upgrade and made them out of steel and automated them theres no chance of levering them open :-(
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
We're going Backwards Buz
The more they stuff around with nature the worse things are getting in the estuary and they still don't understand how it all works and when things get really bad towards the end of summer the first thing they do is open up the flood gates and let the salt water in. Why not leave the gates open all the time.It just doesn't make sense.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
The Floodgates
to my knowledge were installed many years back to help hold back the huge tides that occationally pushed saline water onto good grazing and wetlands.
I believe they were installed in 1871 and were heritage listed which makes one wonder.
Carnarvonites mate also took his backhoe along the beach and dug a trench so there could be a decent flow, I believe.
You might also be interested in knowing there is a couple of Commercial Net Licences in the said estuary, how many of you Busso mob knew that?????
Hears a read.
The estuary is wave dominated and has been severely modified from its natural state. The site of the Vasse and Wonnerup Floodgates that regulated the flow of water in the estuary from about 1907 inadvertently created the freshwater wetland, were listed on the Western Australian Register of Heritage Places in 2005[4]. The estuary covers a total surface area of 17.8 square kilometres (7 sq mi) with the central basin having an area of 7.5 square kilometres (3 sq mi)[5] In winter, wide areas of open water are fringed by samphire and rushes. Paperbark woodland occurs behind the samphire belt, with eucalypt woodland on higher ground.
[edit] CatchmentThe catchment of the estuary is 52% cleared and is used primarily for crops and pastures but also for plantations. The waters are susceptible to pollution from run-off as houses in Busselton have been built adjacent to the estuary. The Abba River, Ludlow River, Sabina River and Vasse River all discharge into the estuary.
The catchment covers a total area of 961 square kilometres (371 sq mi) and is part of the Geographe Bay catchment. The coastal plain area is composed of sandy and duplex soils that are easily water-logged. An extensive drainage network has been constructed to protect Busselton and Wonnerup from flooding and to create agricultural land.[6]
[edit] BirdsIt is estimated that over 20,000 waterbirds use the estuary as habitat with over 80 species of waterbird being found. Some of the species found in the area include Black-winged stilt, Banded Stilt, Australasian Shoveler, Australian Shelduck and the Red-necked Avocet. The largest breeding colony of Black Swans in Western Australia (over 150 pairs) is in the estuary.[7][3]
Cheers
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
A Solution Sqidder
You've looked things up on the internet sqidder and a lot of us know there are 4 commercial licenses in the estuary and the last time I tried to get them terminated I was told virtually to rack off by fisheries because a family in Bunbury has a long history of fishing there and they help keep the fish numbers under control so it doesn't become over populated.What we really need is solutions to the problem something I've noticed you've failed to provide us with squidder.
sea-kem
Posts: 15129
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Keeping fish numbers under
Keeping fish numbers under control?? So it doen't become over populated. What a load of crap. Nature has it's own way of balancing populations of any species. Humans have been lucky so far.
Love the West!
carnarvonite
Posts: 8691
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Manual opening
I think you will find that there is a manual over ride system to open the gates if the automatic one fails seems like someone in charge wasn't informed or couldn't give a shit about what was occurring.
As Squidder stated, yes , my mate nearly got in deep shit for taking his backhoe down and digging a trench through to the ocean to allow fresh seawater to enter the estuary when the mouth sanded up years back. They tried to take him to court for interfereing with their area of control but locals stood up and voiced support for what he had done.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
Howard
some time back I wrote a very indepth letter to Nola M and Troy indicating that more emphasis should be put on restricting water "outflow" on all the MAN MADE DRAINS in your shire and in doing that start by building a new bridge over the river in town at the park to allow more water flow into the estuary discussed at the minute.
The gap under the bridge mentioned is under half the width of the river, hows that work, Oh sorry I,m not an Engineer.
By doing this there might be more cause to open up the Floodgates creating more of a NATURAL flow through the Wonnerup Estuary.
Man has played with nature far too much in the past, and will continue to do so,$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, being the driving force.
It's about time man started to remedy his mistakes and dis assembling some of his concrete constructions.
What's your thoughts Howard.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
A Start Would Be.Sqidder
the Light Industrial area in Busso. is not connected up to deep sewerage so all the sewerage and storm water from that area is discharged straight into the Vasse river and eventually into the estuary and all the polutants like engine degreasing oil, diesal and other car additives can't be doing the system any good at all and might account for the lack of oxygen in the water as mentioned earlier so addressing that would be a good starting point.Where the Vasse diversion drain runs past the golf course there's a cock valve that stops the water going into the Vasse River and I believe a simple sand filter on a large scale of course at the valve taking all the nutrients out of the water and sending the clean overflow to flush out the Vasse River and estuary is another posability but another sand filter would be needed at the exit point before the estuary to stop Geo.Bay getting poluted. It would not be that hard to do some modeling on a small scale to see how effective it might be before comitting big bucks but there are just so many initiatives that can be used and all we get from the organisation that have the responsiblity of managing the system is " we are monitoring the situation" which virtually means we're doing nothing.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8691
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Volume
The volume of polluted water coming out of the Wonnerup mouth would have very little effect on Geographe bay. Most of the current flow along that shore runs towards Forrest beach then out to seea after hitting the reef areas off Peppy grove.
I was invovled with the Harbour and Rivers, based in Bunbury around when the inner harbour was being built and part of or job was to hand sound [swing the lead] from 5nm west of the jetty through to where Forrest beach road comes in with lines 100 yards apart and soundings every 50 feet out until we hit 30 feet continious. We also did dye tests to show current flows.
All this was for the brains trust to work out what effect the rock groynes were having on the local beaches.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
heavy metals canarvonite
The reason they don't dredge the Vasse river is the heavy metals from the old rubbish tip that was on the entrance into town just at the bridge and then you need to work out what to do with it afterwards but I'd hate to be eating fish that are contaminated with these heavy metals stuff like lead and mercury. Not for me thanks.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8691
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Sinkers
Just put a hook in them and use them for bait and a sinker at the same time.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
FFS
the beach sand that everyone walks on is loaded with so called "Radio-active" ilmenite in the area in question, I don't think heavy metals are the problem, it's the clowns in the council wanting to make money with more secret subdivisions.
Bunbury has a old rubbish tip site that is a bird haven, namely the "Big Swamp".
Come on Howard, you surely don't believe that heavy metals are the crux of the problem, what about all the cow shit, fertiliser and all the other crap that spews into the lower part of Geographe Bay out of the "Man Made" drains that were put there to the benefit of the rural sector.
Carnarvonite is correct re the Northerly flow,at certain times of the year, but the flow in the bulk of the bay is Sthly, hence the shape of the bay, like a big washed out hook.
All my diary input, since 1970, has sthly flow logged, except around march, april and june where it tends to have a eddy to nthly flow.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8691
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Current flow
If you were correct then all the sand that builds up on the west side of ALL the groynes through the bay would change sides and all the weed around the mouth of Port Geographe spread back towards town. Havent seen that happening in the last 40 plus years that you and I have known each other.
Buz
Posts: 1555
Date Joined: 28/08/07
Close to shore its the Long
Close to shore its the Long Shore Drift current that runs W to E, from the Cape towards Bunbury. This runs all year and is the reason like Carnarvonite says all the sand and weed ALWAYS builds up on the Western side of the rock walls. Same reason all the original river systems down there have their actual mouths stretching far to the east of where the main river approaches the bay E.g Toby inlet, Vasse River.
I always laugh about the Geo Bay Long Shore Drift and the big stuff up of Port Geo Groynes for seemingly not recognising it. I mean i learnt about the long shore drift and the implications it meant for any rockwall built in Geo Bay in year 10 Geography(1997)!!!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longshore_drift
Out to sea though yes there are currents that flow in either direction depending on time of year. Just before the ban(15 Oct) i was out on the 4-mile and the current was ripping hard from Bunbury towards the Cape(N to S). But the around Easter it usually seems to be the other way(The Capes Current perhaps, that the Salmon run follows?)
jettyrat
Posts: 62
Date Joined: 08/11/11
Don't agree
Carnarvonite is right Phil ( squidder ). The westerly winds in the autumn, winter months dump the weed onto the beaches and collects on the western side of the groynes. Check out the groyne in front of your house. Cray pots set in geographe bay travel north not south.
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
Coastal Current
is predomately nthly due to the main stream OFF shore being a Sthly flow causing what most see as a inshore EDDY, lots of them all the way down the coastg giving what appears a Nthly flow. I did spend some of my yrs working on a cray boat Off shore and it as I remember, a nth sth current.
I will chase up some data from a mineral sands coy that done some research in this area.
By the way, who's Phil.
jettyrat
Posts: 62
Date Joined: 08/11/11
ha ha
You must have been the consultant for the port geo marina
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
No
but if you live in Busso, then you voted the corrupt f..k..s into council, that's pretty much how that fiasco went ahead.
Don't feel so bad, every town has them.
TheJettyRat
Posts: 733
Date Joined: 02/03/12
went for a quick session
went for a quick session there today at the boat ramp, caught a nice bream and a 30cm pinkie.
carnarvonite
Posts: 8691
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Directions
Geographe bay lays east / west with the Busso jetty pointing directly north as an indicator, what put a lot of people off is they see a chart and all the other towns on the coast face west and think Busso does the same which isn't the case, it faces north.
I have beach seined with a number of pro teams for whitebait, herring, salmon etc and sharkfished as a pro in these waters over many years from Augusta through to north of Preston beach / White hills and the inshore drift from Eagle bay / Quindalup has always been in an anti clockwise direction with the flow on the eastern side of the bay flowing northward.
North of the bay you do get a southerly current that swings out between the cape and south of Naturaliste reef around southwest bank. but this does often change direction and head north for some reason or other.
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
the Currents out Deep Canarvonite.
I have a sea grass map of the bay canarvonite and it clearly shows the current and movement of sand inside the four-mile reef is from the capes and flows towards the east but when you get outside the four mile my understanding is that for a few months of the year the Leeuwin current dominates up until we start getting those cold fronts that start bringing the rain and then we get what is referred to the capes current and that flows in the exact opposite direction so i'd agree to what you're saying.
high Noon
Posts: 22
Date Joined: 27/10/11
currents
I believe the currents in Geo Bay to be complex and varied. One area in the bay can be north currents while only a few miles away it can be twice as strong and from another direction. Guess this is why no one can get it right? (port geo) Prevaling shore line current is west to east . Water can only come into the bay from the north and it can only exit the bay from the south.
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
Take photos and publish the
Take photos and publish the location on Facebook etc to show the dead rotting fish.
An aeration system sounds like it is needed? Maybe filter ponds and the rest can be done under royalties for regions?
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
carnarvonite
Posts: 8691
Date Joined: 24/07/07
On Going
The fish kills have been going on for as long as I can remember and always the same result, the local council and whatever the government department name is at the time just bury their heads in the sand and pretend its the others problem, some of the locals take it on their own bat and take the risk of prosecution and forced the old gates open but now with the new ones in place this isn't possible without breaking into the sbuilding and operation the controls.
The mindset hasn't change and the ones responsible for its management still pretend it doesn't happen and its not theirs even with pics plastered in the local papers and on GWN news
COASTALJOY
Posts: 79
Date Joined: 11/05/12
commercial licences
The commercial licences for the estuary were bought back by the government there maybe 1 left but it is not used, there has been noone netting for a couple of years. The last pro that was netting there was 1 that had his licence bought back but thought he would net it anyway and break lots of rules as leaving the nets in overnight{ they need to stay with the nets or close by ] , nets being way to long, and pulling the nets into the boat with everything in them like dead and alive water birds.
He fishes, He fishes, He fishes, its the only thing in life. All he ever gets is hell from his fed up wife
squidder
Posts: 457
Date Joined: 03/09/10
Commercial licences
are still active in the estuary in question. One of the licence holders is too old to do the all night stint and allows another Pro to do all the work, he just holds the licence.
When will he retire, who knows??. Some say it's his life style.
Secondly, there is more than 1 licence holder, maybe 3 all tolled.
Re netting the estuary, two pros combined to take two tonne of Mullet and assorted fish earlier this year, FACT.
I'm at the minute writing a letter to Troy Buswell.
Anyone that is concerned about enviromental issues can write one as well.
Heres a couple of people to address your letters.
Member for Vasse Troy Buswell
Electorate Office:...
16 Prince Street,
Busselton WA 6280
Postal Address:
PO Box 516
Busselton 6280
Ph: 9752 1949
Fax: 9752 3949
Email: troy.buswell@mp.wa.gov.au
Minister for Environment & Water Bill Marmion
Ministerial Office:
29th Floor
Allendale Square
77 St Georges Terrace
Perth WA 6000
Ph: 6552 6800
Fax: 6552 6801
Email: Minister.Marmion@dpc.wa.gov.au
saltatrix
Posts: 1081
Date Joined: 30/03/08
Carnarvonite The mindset
Carnarvonite The mindset hasn't change and the ones responsible for its management still pretend it doesn't happen and its not theirs even with pics plastered in the local papers and on GWN news
Im hearing you - keep in mind though social media stays there forever. It travels wider. 30 second TV grabs & newspapers fade from peoples minds.
If you see dead fish or environmental problems publish them because on many occasions fishermen see the problems in our rivers that the public dont.
If you have images publish them. You have nothing to lose.
Angling tourism is worth $10 billion to the Australian economy - 90000 jobs; more than any sport; spread the word
Howard George
Posts: 544
Date Joined: 10/03/11
I Understand saltarix
We'll see whats in the local newspaper this week saltatrix but I know some photo's have been taken of the latest fish kill. Whether the guys at the paper decide to do an article on it or not is another question.I think a bit of politics might be involved.
COASTALJOY
Posts: 79
Date Joined: 11/05/12
Squidder
It was fisheries that told me that there was 1 left and the only pro that I have seen there was the one that was caught. I wonder where they launch and fish and how long it took them to get the 2 tonne
He fishes, He fishes, He fishes, its the only thing in life. All he ever gets is hell from his fed up wife