Thread: Scallops top of the south season looking grim

Originally Posted by mikee

thru the main part of the season I have een them there most weekends and most weekdays (this was last season) I used to watch them while eating my lunch

I'm not saying whose right or wrong but if we are taking a lot of fish from a small area then that can't be good and if the coms were doing it we would all be calling for blood

Thats the thing mikee. The COMMERCIAL guys were raping it and people were calling for blood! After they got controlled and trawling too close to shore was stopped it took awhile but the fishery has recovered to be in the best state its been in since the 70s-early 80s..The REC catch hasnt been reduced, more people are catching alot more snapper and its improving every year...its a fact.
The commerical guys were raping the breeding stock, catching tons of big breeding snapper. Rec guys tend to return the breeding stock, 20lbers arent as good eating as smaller ones.
One thing is for sure, the REC guys arent harming the big breeders like the commercial guys do. BIG Differnce
I remember in the early 80s my old man on a inshore trawler out here in the Bay, he took photos of the net floating to the surface full of snapper 20lb plus. The net was that full they towed it back to port and used a crane to lift it. it holed on the way and they used make shift gaffs with wood and nails to gaff huge snapper floating on the water. he came home with 3 fis between 22-26lb.
thats what fucked the fishery in nelson bays, its only now recovered ....REC guys will never fuck it. (plus snapper travel and even thou many are caught in the BAY they not living in the BAY all year, theres always snapper coming and going from a huge area.