At 10:08 AM 8/30/00 -0400, Krazy Kiwi wrote:
>Aldo P. Solari [APS] <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >Very  nice  ...  that demostrates that AU is a forward country in
> >ecological matters.

As Viv alludes to (I hope I didn't misinterpret the gist of your comment),
a handful (or even volumes) of  fishing regulations don't necessarily mean
that a country is progressive in its natural resource stewardship.    In
the U.S. we have environmental rules and regulations out the wazoo.  Some
are effective, some would be effective if enforced, and some are
ineffective.  Does this abundance of laws and regulations mean the U.S. is
progressive in its views toward aquatic resource stewardship.  I don't
think so.   At least not as much as we should be IMHO.   Although some
regulations are accepted by the public, many had to be jammed down
industry's and the public's throats for their own good (just like Grandma's
old cold remedies).  One only needs to look at the current state of the
world fisheries, to see whether we've truly been progressive or just
fooling ourselves.

BTW, Aldo, nice attempt at sucking up to the Aussies though.  :-)

> >
> >KK> Maximum  size  limit of 80cm - to help protect large spawning
> >KK> females over 7 kg.
>
>You dont have to be a rocket scientist to realise that serious changes have
>to be done, at both commercial & recreational levels, to ensure the fishing
>industry & the community could rely on long term sustainability of fish
>stocks for future generations.
>
>We've had pirate fishing activities, a boom in aquaculture, problems with
>coastal developments, pests & diseases, demand for a higher standard of
>seafood quality, etc.
>
>Not everyone is happy with the restrictions - bag limits, size limits, bans
>during breeding seasons, net size limits, lobster pot restrictions, buy-
>back schemes, etc.
>
>A good example of where they shut the door way, way too late here in Perth
>concerns our local abalone stocks. We have only had one open day (in the
>last 2 years) for collecting abalone. There was a size limit, a bag limit &
>collecting on scuba was banned. This has come about because a certain race
>of people would take all their children & parents down to the beach to
>collect, mostly undersized too .. and when caught by the Rangers pretend
>they cant speak english even though we have signs all over the beaches in
>every language. Not long ago a car was pulled over for a broken light & the
>cop was amazed to see the couple were soaking wet. At 3am in the morning he
>thought that was pretty unusual so he searched their car & found a boot
>load of abalone that obviously was going to be sold on the black market.
>
>Our fines for taking any seafood out of season, undersized, carrying eggs
>(lobster) or in excess of the daily bag limit have rocketed up to the
>1,000s of $. Nice thing about this is the fine is multiplied by how many
>items were collected illegally. If it is a commercial operation they could
>also lose their fishing licence (which usually is in the millions), all
>their stock (even the catch caught legitimately that day) .. and if they
>have misbehaved previously could also forfeit their boat. I have no
>sympathy for these people who think they can rape & pillage the ocean for
>their own benefit leaving nothing for the next generation.