In Vic we have only a few trophy species to aspire to. Southern bluefin is one. There is concern these have been over fished (and they have) and now the Commonwealth Government is looking at how much effort is put in by recreational fishers.

I attach some stuff from the Fishing News site

Researchers angling for SBT recreational data
31 Jul 2013


A TEAM of Commonwealth and state fishery researchers will begin interviewing anglers at boat ramps and marinas across southeastern Australia over the next 12 months, as they develop methods to estimate the national recreational catch of Southern bluefin tuna (SBT).

Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) acting executive director Kim Ritman said SBT was a highly-valued species.

"The latest assessments indicate the Southern bluefin tuna stock is currently at a very low level and it is classified as overfished by the ABARES Fishery status reports, and the international body in charge of managing Southern bluefin tuna has recognised this in adopting a formal management procedure to rebuild the stock," Dr Ritman said.

"Recreational catches of Southern bluefin tuna are believed to have expanded in recent years, highlighting the need to find out more about recreational fishing and ensure the management of these activities is aligned with the international Southern Bluefin Tuna Rebuilding Strategy.

"The recreational catch is one of many sources of mortality for the stock and Australia has committed to take this into account in managing mortality in Australian waters.

"This study will build on existing programs and surveys undertaken by Fisheries Victoria in 2011 and by the Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies in Tasmania last year, adapting and testing these methods in other areas."

A separate research project is estimating the survival rates of SBT caught and released by recreational anglers. Stay tuned to Fisho for news on that one

Often this sort of survey is prepatory to placing a cap on what people can take in the future. Its prolly appropriate for us to get in there and say "We have been taking some in the past, and should be on the list for allowed methods in the future." or else we may be left out again.

Ric

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Ric Fallu started spearfishing in Pt Phillip in the early 1960s, and never really stopped

I think you're spot on Ric!
Would like to throw out a big thanks for what you've taken on and are attempting to achieve for our sport also!

I hope people spend the time to go through your posts and don't underestimate what your doing. In the past I feel we've been just trying to make sure we keep our sport alive, looking to the future can have big rewards for us down the track!
Thanks

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Like a farken underwater ninja!

The fish were blinded by overexposure to his pure awesomeness!

Thanks Rhino

A lot of this bureacratic stuff is boring, boring, boring, but if we don't get proactive, and look to the future, there may be no future for us.

Part of the problem is that we lose in small increments (if you ignore marine reserves) but over the decades, they add up.

Ric

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Ric Fallu started spearfishing in Pt Phillip in the early 1960s, and never really stopped

Thank you for your work Ric
I agree we should claim our share, no matter how few of us have ever caught/speared a tuna.

I am continuosly amazed and frustrated by the emphasis put on recreational fishing as one of the main contributors to fish stock depletion; especially when, even within recreational fishing, spearfishing constitutes a neglectable percentage, yet we are all bunched up together as culprits
It seems politically inconvinient to launch programs for the survival of fish stock that affect an industry and the income/survival of communities, and the impression is policies pussy-foot around commercial catch & by-catch

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Il mio mare e i miei fondali sono quelli del golfo de La Spezia

Its always easy to be concerned about the impacts of other sectors, but the blame may or may not be fair. Surveys need to be undertaken to ensure this is so. In NSW recreational fishers were blaming commercial fishers for overdoing it on snapper, but when they checked, they found that even whilst individual recreational fishers didn't each take all that much, their greater numbers added up. Sooooo .... its worthwhile getting somebody to check the facts. To be fair, the proposed survey is doing just that.

I suspect that in the case of bluefin, the lion's share does actually go to the commercials (and that commercial fishers - not of Australian origin, have been taking an unsustainably large amount) but we need to check the facts before getting too upset.

And ... we do need to be seen and recorded as legitimate users. If the cake needs to be restricted, we still want to be able to get a slice.

Ric

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Ric Fallu started spearfishing in Pt Phillip in the early 1960s, and never really stopped

I think you will find Aussie commercial fishers are cheating the system as well by taking there quota in tiny fish and then growing them to larger size in pens. This more than doubles the number of fish taken.

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WARNING: CONTAINS CARROT

So would you prefer them to take the bigger breeders Greg? I'd rather see them catching 20kg SBT rather than 50kg tuna. The biggest problem with the farms is the amount of food it takes to fatten the tuna up. Something has to happen with boat limits of SBT in Victoria, seeing 3 100kg+ SBT come in off one boat at Apollo bay a few years back was a disgrace. I realize that's not the norm but seeing charter boats coming in every day with 10-15 fish is way to much. Just my opinion

Agree totally!