On Thu, 9 Nov 2000 John Bird<[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>--Krazy Kiwi <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > On Thu, 9 Nov
>> Interesting reading considering how much crap we have to
>> put up with just to get small areas of the west Australian
>> coastline protected.
>>
>Big Snip,
>
>Interesting remarks....There are plans afoot to make our local
>haunt Shelly Beach a no-fishing zone, which would suit me just
>fine. Big stink being raised by the local fishos about this
>possible decision. I'm not sure at this stage as to how far this
>no-fishing business has gone but I'm sure we will hear more
>about it as time rolls on.

Yes, you can guarantee you will hear from FishRECl, especially on talkback
radio. I listened in on them here just before the petition date closure &
couldnt believe the lies they were telling the recreational fisherman.

When the President of the protection society phoned up to correct the mis-
information they cut him off. In fact everyone I know who was in favour of
the no-take fish habitat area were disconnected as soon it became obvious
they were not supporting FishRECs storyline.

>Actually as far as a fishing spot goes, Shelly Beach and Cabbage
>Tree Bay are certainly not angler heaven. Most of the fish are
>small Goatfish, Mados, Yellowtails, the odd Bream and a few Blue
>Gropers.

That is exactly what it is like at the area we are trying to protect. It
aint angler or spearfisherman heaven either. In fact when I first dived
there I thought never again .. yet when we discovered the nursery areas a
few 100 metres from our original dive spot we realised we had something
special that needed protection from fishing, speros & boat anchors and
chains.

>Its the Gropers you hate to see caught or speared.

Exactly the same here. The blue gropers are so friendly they swim beside
you or follow in your wake being so curious.

I was diving a reverse dive (going in with the current instead of out)
through a channel in an atoll on the Rowley shoals & we were pleasantly
surprised, considering this is not a hugely dived area due to its location,
that the large potato cod were there instantly to accompany us on our
journey. Sad to say even though they are a protected species a fishing boat
in the area said they were there to catch them. I dobbed that boat in to
the Fisheries Dept. Those potato cod are so friendly that they come too
close for photos so you end up having to push them back. What's joyful
about killing something that you can literally handfeed & is coming in for
a pat.

>If this no-fishing thing happens, it will be interesting to
>see just how big an impact recreational fishing has had on
>this area, in terms of actual fish numbers.

It will be even more of a good spot for shore diving :-)
You will notice the increase in numbers pretty fast. We have done a few
fish counts in the area we want protected & have noticed an increase
already even though the Fisheries Dept have not approved our proposal.
This increase has only come about due to a conscious effort by volunteers
who have politely been showing speros better areas to spearfish ;-)
There is a method to this madness folks ... better to give the spero
another choice than just tell him that the council by-laws say there is no
spearfish here. There is currently only a few rangers monitoring our huge
coastline which means many speros have taken it for granted they can spear
where ever they like. Bit of a rude awakening for them to find what they
have been doing for years off this particular area of shoreline was made
illegal years ago ie nothing to do with the current proposal to make it a
no-take fish habitat area. Frankly the fish are small-fry anyhow so I dont
see the point.

>Birdo (not currently in Cairns...:0(

Doan worry pet ... KK is not in Cairns either :-(
But its their last day today so the Shelly gang will soon be back online
with tall-tales soon ;-)
Viv