a license to fish...

[maddogrc]

just saw this then...and i reckon its gone too far with all the licenses you need.

Are you a recreational fisher? – Department of Fisheries, Western Australia, Fish for the Future

 

[Matt - VNET Pro]

Definitely going a bit over board I think.........
You will soon need a licence to wipe your own arse........
Which brings me to another off the subject topic "Scrunch or Fold" ?? Sorry.

 

[shaggy]

Hi All

We already have fishing licenses here in New South Wales.Cost $75 for 3 years.
Another bit plastic in your wallet

Shane

 

[Matt - VNET Pro]

We also have had standard fishing licenses in VIC for years, simular pricing but if you read the link above this new license is for fishing from a boat seperate to your standard fishing license........a bit much maybe?

 

[maddogrc]

so:

if i go on the beach to fish...thats fine
if i go on the jetty to fish...thats fine
if i take a row boat out to fish...thats fine

but as soon as i hang a line over a boat with a motor on the back that means i have to pay to fish?

what a joke...

 

[KraftyPg]

We used to only need licences to fish in freshwater in Vic but they changed that when they realised how many beach anglers there was. Not that I'm really against license fees for fishing because there has been some improvement in the beaches and beach tracks since licenses were made mandatory, there has been some bad changes too but in general if some of my fees are going to such work then I'm fine with it.

Having licenses for different forms of fishing is no sillier than having rules that state only boats under 5m require PFD's to be worn at all times. As long as you have you're license and a 5+ metre boat in this state you're not going to drown so leave those PFD's at home they take up beer space in the boat.

 

[Matt76]

Yeah I am all for them bringing fishing licences into qld as long as the money goes back into what we enjoy. I do think it should be like WA's where dad can take his kids for a fish off the jetty a couple of times a year without having to get a licence where as the real fishermen who go out in the boat all the time need to pay for the licence.

 

[Krankin]

Maaate, cmon
whats this "real fisherman/boat" stuff,
have you not heard of LBG fishing,or,
I'll guarantee you what skill is when confronted with lets say a 25kg gummy in the surf as compared to on the boat...

Anyways, this WA things not fair....licence for all or no-one.
If they want to study who catches what, get some fisheries people stationed at the boat ramps collecting data like they do down here at Werribee...simple.
But then again, WA is a separate country to the rest of us.

 

[HJWB]

In WA we dont really have the same opportunities for LBG unless you are willing to put in around a minimum 800km's to get to Shark Bay.

The fishing licence introduced is aimed at providing more scientific data so researchers can more accurately determine our impacts on fish stocks. I do see a reason for introducing the licenses and why power boats are targeted. Mostly due to the increased probability that you will catch more significant numbers and more vulnerable (term used loosely) species.

Having owned a boat I can say that the addition of a fishing licence is likely to be insignificant in comparison to the culmination of maintenance and fuel. Try to see it from the perspective that you are helping out future generations of fisher's by contributing to research with the aim of ensuring enough fish for all in the future.

I'll now confess that I did study conservation biology at uni, worked for the department of environment and conservation, work as an enviro on a mine site and recently finished a master of environmental management. Slightly biased? I think so! --- I do fish though...and 4x4 (responsibly)

 

[KraftyPg]

I don't believe Vic requires kids to have a license for fishing just like old farts (oops I mean pensioners) don't but I see no reason why a dad who takes his kids fishing even three times a year shouldn't pay as well, he's using the facilities provided and he's taking fish out of the system that everyone else does.

I also agree that for good data if they are using that as an excuse the fisheries should be on the ground at boat ramps and in areas where people fish. In all my time fishing (mainly saltwater east of Melb) I've never once been approached by fisheries asking about licences, fish in the bucket or any other issue they might gain data from, which for me does make it seem like it's more a revenue thing but as I've already said I have no problem with that a long as the revenue is used to improve what we have and in some areas I can see it is.

I was once stopped at an RBT near Orbost where the fisheries had an extra chat to all the drivers towing boats after the cops had finished but that has been my only real contact with these guys. With all the people catching and keeping under sized fish I'd really like to see these guys on jetties and boat ramps all the time not just when it's busy. Compulsory Licenses don't stop undersize fishing but if the money was put into more fisheries blokes on the ground then the problem wouldn't be as big as it is today.

 

[Matt76]

I don't believe Vic requires kids to have a license for fishing just like old farts (oops I mean pensioners) don't but I see no reason why a dad who takes his kids fishing even three times a year shouldn't pay as well, he's using the facilities provided and he's taking fish out of the system that everyone else does.

Yeah I agree but the problem I see is that because he would need to go get a licence, he will probably do something else and his kids won't discover the simple pleasure of fishing. We don't want it to turn youngsters away from fishing.

 

[KraftyPg]

I don't know how often that would happen but you're probably right some parents might turn away from fishing if that was the case, mine never did and I'm probably thankful for that, however the more that do means more fish for me. I also suspect that just like the many people out there who ignore size and bag limits there would be many once a year fisherman just taking their kids down the jetties regardless of licenses.

To me the license is just another piece of paper (even more so since it's not printable off the net) and some dollars that is required to do something that is a hobby. Although I hear rules in Vic a laxing a little to allow people more free access to national parks and areas of the like I see it as the same sort of thing. If you want access to something and you are required to pay you choose to pay and enjoy it or you don't pay and shouldn't use it, shouldn't really matter what your kids may or may not get out of it.

 

[montana]

i wont pay for one, if they ask me im a indiginous australian,its up to them to prove im not.

 

[KraftyPg]

Proof positive that there really is one in every group.

As Bill Engvall would say "Here's your sign"

 

[Krankin]

I give up.

 

[Dave]

i wont pay for one, if they ask me im a indiginous australian,its up to them to prove im not.

Sad ins't it. "We all have equal rights" yet because someone is aboriginal they dont have to pay like everyone else.

Dave.

 

[KraftyPg]

I have a feeling that loud bang I just heard was the can o worms exploding.

 

[HJWB]

I don't really want to wade much deeper into this but I'd like to comment on the need for more fisheries officers. Right on! But looking deeper at the problem here in WA is the under-resourcing of government departments, particularly the science based ones such as the Department of Environment and Conservation, Department of Mines and Petroleum (they have enviro's too), Fisheries etc. Much of the research I have been involved in (Pilbara Biological Study, Southwest Forest Check, Avon Baseline, RAMSAR nominations, AusRIVAS) has been funded by grants. The internal funding from government is practically nil. Try not to blame Fisheries for introducing a licence to fish, have a look at how much support they receive. Then have a think about how many table fish you used to be able to catch and how the numbers are starting to decline.

Someone mentioned that kids wont have the opportunity to enjoy a fish if their parents are turned off by a licence fee. What if there aren't any fish left to catch?

It's easy to take things on face value, but it's like that bloke who cut you off on the way home and you flashed your lights or flicked the bird to. Did you think that perhaps his wife had just gone into labour? Perhaps not the best analogy but at the end of 12 hours of work it the best I have. ;-)

 

[Perko]

Fishing licenses, I agree with them we should have them and the money from them should go back into managing the fisheries. I don't believe the funds should go into boat ramps ect. as this is what registration is for so that everyone that uses a boat ramp or facilities should pay for the privilege.

To give some history on me, I have been fishing in some form or another since I was about 6. The type of fishing I did went from amateur thru to commercial and back to amateur is til have interests in both types to this day, I even did catch and release tournaments while I was commercial fisherman, I love all types of fishing. The biggest crime that I have ever seen and it continues today is the lack of enforcement (numbers of fisheries patrol officers on the water) in the industry, we need more officers on the water as at the moment all they do is scratch the surface of what is going on, basically if you want and you know your stuff there is not much that you cannot get away with.
The biggest hurdle in bringing in a license is how it is managed, in Queensland it has been trying to keep all of the minorities happy instead of biting the bullet and implementing the change and making positive improvements. If all a license does in Queensland is let the authorities know how many people actually do go fishing all the better that is the first step in managing the fishery in the right direction.
I could go on forever on this subject but hey....only my view.

Cheers

oh and by the way the local fisheries have always been onto the old indiginous australian trick if you can not name the local tribe bad luck they give you an on the spot and then it is upto you to prove that you are..... good luck

 

[DVR]

We don't have licensing here in South Aus atm thank god. My rods come out of the shed possibly 1 a year.......maybe!! When they do come out it's usually to pull carp out of the Murry and I shouldn't have to pay for that!! We were staying with my in-laws in Newcastle a few years back and my brother in law was on cloud 9 over his new tinny he got and we were really excited about going out. Then he realized that I wasn't licensed and that was the end of that. If I also have to go to the PITA of also paying for a license and then another one if someone offers to take me out on a boat, for 1 fishing session, screw it. It's too much effort, time and money. Personally I recon anything government run should be funded through taxes. not fees.