Good news for False Bay

[Psyco bob]

Source IOL
http://www.iol.co.za/capeargus/false-bay-fishing-ban-mooted-1.1061095

False Bay fishing ban mooted
April 26 2011 at 12:00pm



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INLSA

Fishermen pull in a huge catch at Muizenberg Beach, but authorities are considering an emergency fishing moratorium in False Bay to protect undersized fish, to protect the species.

NEO MADITLA

Staff Reporter

THE Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries is considering an emergency moratorium prohibiting permit holders in the False Bay area from fishing, as a measure to reduce the illegal capture of undersized fish species like kabeljou, which they fear could lead to a collapse of fish stocks.

Over the past few weeks fishermen along the coast have been catching large numbers of undersized kabeljou, along with other fish, and the department says it can do little to stop them – due to a delay in enforcing stricter permit conditions.

Anel Nortier, a compliance officer at the department, yesterday confirmed that a meeting took place last week to discuss a possible moratorium.

The problem, she explained, was that no permit conditions currently existed that required fishermen to report when they were going to be fishing.

Another issue was that the onus was on the fishermen to throw back any undersized fish in their catch, which hardly ever happened.

Nortier said new permit conditions were supposed to be enacted early this year, but were delayed until June.


“Under the new conditions, the permit holder will have to report to the department every time they are going to be fishing, and they will also have to hand in undersize fish at the beach.”

She added that the department had never taken such a drastic step as the introduction of a moratorium, which pointed to the seriousness of the situation.


According to Nortier, there are two commercial permit rights holders in the False Bay area, each with a team of about 20 fishermen.

Dr Ken Hutchings, a consultant working with the marine fishery sector, said the problem lay not only with commercial fishermen, but also with recreational fishers who often caught and kept undersized fish.

Commercial and recreational fishermen needed to take a stand and police one another to ensure fish stocks were not depleted, he urged.


Hutchings said there were regulations for commercial fishermen on the size and length of their nets. They were legally bound to open their nets if they saw they had too many undersized fish in a catch.


Dr Steve Lambeth, a fisheries scientist at the department, said the current increase in the number of undersize fish along the False Bay coast was due to the south-westerly wind causing upwelling in the sea, which brought cold water up from the bottom. This resulted in fish moving towards the coast where the water was warmer.

Another reason was that over the past couple of years fish were reproducing two months earlier than normal.


“Where (kabeljou) used to breed in the spring (September/October), they are now breeding in winter which results in large numbers of smaller fish in the water.”

Lambeth explained that catching kabeljou smaller than 50cm was illegal, and confirmed that fishermen were not allowed to have too many small fish in their nets.

He said the fishermen were governed by conditions in their permits, as well as a document they signed in which they committed to releasing the catch should it contain too many small fish.

neo.maditla@inl.co.za

 

[kraken]

"Dr Ken Hutchings, a consultant working with the marine fishery sector, said the problem lay not only with commercial fishermen, but also with recreational fishers who often caught and kept undersized fish.

Commercial and recreational fishermen needed to take a stand and police one another to ensure fish stocks were not depleted, he urged."

 


Ha! He's only a bean counter so what does he know? Everyone knows us recreationals are squeaky clean!

 

[kraken]

Seriously though, this can only be a good thing in the long run. Ideally what should also happen is that MCM must be equally vigilant with the recreationals.

They complain bitterly that they have not enough funding to enforce regulations, yet by confiscating and eventually auctioning 4x4s, fishing tackle and boats, they'd have more than enough resources to set up an effective law enforcement unit.

But I guess thats just wishful thinking!

Can't wait to see the outcome of this though. No doubt all sorts of crap about being previously disadvantaged, the old regime, traditional rights etc will be spewing forth faster than one can light a tik lolly.

I wait with baited breath.........

 

[Psyco bob]

kraken wrote:

"Dr Ken Hutchings, a consultant working with the marine fishery sector, said the problem lay not only with commercial fishermen, but also with recreational fishers who often caught and kept undersized fish.

Commercial and recreational fishermen needed to take a stand and police one another to ensure fish stocks were not depleted, he urged."

 


Ha! He's only a bean counter so what does he know? Everyone knows us recreationals are squeaky clean!

If only this poephole knows how often we recreationals blank he'd give a new opinion!

 

[Marthin]

Kraken... Here's my worry/s

If the trekkers are stopped dead. Who do we blame if stocks continue their downward spiral?

With the trekkers gone, the microscope will be focussed very much on the recreationals. And if we all sit down and think about it, we KNOW we arnt squeeky clean. Kalkbay harbour wall being a very good example.

But perhaps a good start with cleaning up acts all over.

My one big concern has always been: are people upset with the trekkers because they've caught the fish you wanted to catch? Would you beyond a shadow of a doubt would have released that just undersize kob or that 20kg kob? If the answer is a definate yes on the last 2 by all means stand on the soapbox, ill even help hold it up for you

 

[Psyco bob]

I wont even stand on a soap box .....I'll get a a stack of pallets & proudly declare I've been blanking for the last 2 years

Shittt I suck!!! the wife reckons I should rather open a pet shop cause all I ever do is feed the fish!

Last fish I caught was sent back to the big blue with an invite to send his mom for lunch instead! & that was a month ago @ struisbaai.

 

 

[kraken]

@marthin, as you know, I dig playing devils advocate! LOL!

I've never really had too much of an issue with the trekkers. Hell, when I'm too lazy to net mullet, I'll go and score a few from them as do many other anglers. Many of whom will later cry bitterly about how the nasty trekkers are stuffing up their fishing for them.

Both Ken Hutchings and Steve Lambeth are well respected and credible researchers and have done extensive field research over the years on many aspects of the line fishery.

However, and sadly, they are not nearly as qualified as the average recreational and none of what they say can be believed........

But ja, we all need to clean up our act, and, as I posted in another thread, we also need to stop blaming and looking for excuses as to why things are not as they should be.

 

 

[Marthin]

that's the other thing. On a lot of the threads I've read since joining sealine, there's always a few guys that blame blanking on commercial activities. Ur not magically going to stop blanking if there are no trekkers.

Why were their nets full of fish??? (forget the size for now not everything was undersize) they can read the water, winds and other coditions. They knew what most of us needed a a scientist to explain above. They don't have fancy fishfinders. 2 other anglers on sealine caught 2 beautiful kob at the same time, one perhaps a luck looking for other fish but stil, fishing at the right place at the right time.

Trekkers or now trekkers, next year this time, SW winds for a couple of days I know where ill be and what ill be targetting.

 

[Psyco bob]

Marthin wrote:

that's the other thing. On a lot of the threads I've read since joining sealine, there's always a few guys that blame blanking on commercial activities. Ur not magically going to stop blanking if there are no trekkers.

Why were their nets full of fish??? (forget the size for now not everything was undersize) they can read the water, winds and other coditions. They knew what most of us needed a a scientist to explain above. They don't have fancy fishfinders. 2 other anglers on sealine caught 2 beautiful kob at the same time, one perhaps a luck looking for other fish but stil, fishing at the right place at the right time.

Trekkers or now trekkers, next year this time, SW winds for a couple of days I know where ill be and what ill be targetting.

Errrr i'm not blaming the trekkers for me blanking... hell I blank wherever i go

but who knows maybe just maybe my odds might just improving when i fish local.

 

 

[Fallies]

@ Marthin you have the reading of condition part spot on and i agree with you to the extent that you can"t blame everthing on the netters and we won't suddenly start catching our bag limits if the treknetters are gone but at least we will have a better chance of not blanking when you know on that perfect day when you have read the conditions to the tee and come home empty handed because some treknetter decided he is taking the whole school of fish.

 

[subaruseun]

As Marthin mentioned,rec's are too blame as well.
but not all of us, we should be educating the Kalk Bay crowd, as they believe its their birth rite to retain undersize fish.

it never stops...

 

[BTTB]

I think Mrs Nortier and her colleagues are serious about the mooted banning. Will the trekkers take note?

 

[speartackle]

The trekkers are a good place to start, while it is not a commercial venture for the rest of us, we have no pressure to behave poorly.

 

[jb2]

speartackle wrote:

The trekkers are a good place to start, while it is not a commercial venture for the rest of us, we have no pressure to behave poorly.

Hi Speartackle

You raise an interesting point.

I try to contextualise the  treknet crewmember who lives in a shack in Vrygrond. I am not sure how I would behave faced with temptation if I lived in those conditions.

I am intrigued by the guy with the Purglass rod at Strandfontein who kept an undersize galjoen after I begged him to return it.

"We have no pressure to behave poorly" and yet "we" as recreationals are involved in an informal demersal shark fishery. We punish the bunch kob at Kalk Bay.

Strange days indeed!

 

[stinkmossel]

vir my gan dit nie oor blanking nie, vir my gan dit oor kabeljou/valsbaai in d toekoms. Treknetting sal beslis die bron in valsbaai vernietig, en d kalkbaai crowd sal d cherry op d koek sit.

 

[Marthin]

Ek stem 100 persent saam. Hier is al wat my pla. Was al die trekkers besig om aan te jaag of was dit net Nartjie se crew?

Die koerant skryf iets, of iemand bel mcm, hulle steek uit en the rest is history. Nou n maand later, lyk did soos n carpet ban op treknet. Jis ek like dit ook. Maar dis hoe vinnig dinge gebeur.

Lees weer die stuk hierbo. Die een scientist voel klaar recreationals speel net so groot rol. Hoeveel pressure moet op MCM gesit word om net eenvoudig alle vorms van hengel te verbied in valsbaai te verbied om die area te beskerm. Dis nie so vergesog soos dit klink nie.

 

[jb2]

Marthin wrote:

Ek stem 100 persent saam. Hier is al wat my pla. Was al die trekkers besig om aan te jaag of was dit net Nartjie se crew?

Die koerant skryf iets, of iemand bel mcm, hulle steek uit en the rest is history. Nou n maand later, lyk did soos n carpet ban op treknet. Jis ek like dit ook. Maar dis hoe vinnig dinge gebeur.

Lees weer die stuk hierbo. Die een scientist voel klaar recreationals speel net so groot rol. Hoeveel pressure moet op MCM gesit word om net eenvoudig alle vorms van hengel te verbied in valsbaai te verbied om die area te beskerm. Dis nie so vergesog soos dit klink nie.

Hi Marthin

I am a bit confused by the suggestion that Fisheries could stop the fishery.

Fisheries would have to declare an emergency but that is tricky.

 

 

[stinkmossel]

weet jy wat, ek sal die besluit 100% ondersteun om alle hengel in valsbaai te verbied, vir n jaar of 2. natuurlik gaan van die local manne grom en moan, maar jy moet kyk na die bigger picture.

 

[Cor-Jo]

If every fishermen, recreational or commercial do his or her bit for the enviroment we won't have any problems. Stick to size and bag limits thats all. But how the hell are we going to do that??? More and stricker law enforcement!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[stinkmossel]

dis al manier... maar soos jy weett, money talks..