AFTER months of waiting for tuna and kingfish to return to our waters, we have been teased again.
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Reports from local divers of small kingfish on some headlands have been confirmed, the only problem has been that they are only 50-55cm long. There have only been a handful of reports of legal fish being seen, but none have been caught at this stage.
There are a few inaccurate rumours doing the traps that the kingfish bag limit was reduced to two fish per person, this is not true, and thanks to the lobbying of a number of groups the bag limit remains at five per person.
On the tuna front, when boats have been able to venture out wide, they have been teased by schools of 20-30kg yellowfin tuna busting the surface while they feed on schools of souries, these tuna have refused to take lures, live baits or jigs.
Local tuna experts believe that last Friday’s full moon may have been the reason the tuna have refused to play, this week should produce the goods providing the water temperature and clarity remain.
Seems like deja vu, but the snapper are still biting well off Potato Point and Tuross.
The best results have been achieved with single hook rigs using a long leader to the hook, but when they are really biting the old faithful paternoster rig is doing the job.
Snapper fishing should also improve this week as the moon becomes less of an influence on their feeding patterns, it will be interesting to see what happens when the spawning cycle finishes.
Nick McClean from ANU is currently doing some local assessment work for a couple of research projects involving local anglers, some suggestions include the tagging of snapper, Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs), artificial reefs and silting of Wagonga Inlet.
Nick’s assessments are designed to establish a program of ‘Citizen Science’ which will be both cost effective and reflect the actual needs of local fishers. We will have more information on this as the program develops.
Fishing Joke of the Week: Retired colonel, talking of the good old days: Have you ever hunted bear? His grandson’s teacher: No, but I’ve been fishing in shorts.
Fishing Tip of the Week: If in doubt - berley
Fishing Soap Box: The toilets at Apex Park have now been closed for four weeks due to a breakdown of machinery, and council has now set a date of November 21 for the repairs to be completed. Our rates at work!
- John Moore
Narooma Sport and Gamefishing Club news
LOCAL fisherman and club member Ian Smith visited Narooma Sport and Gamefishing Club on Friday night with Nick McClean.
Nick is an independent Researcher and is currently researching projects to "enhance recreational fishing”.
Nick was in town talking to several fishos, gathering their views and ideas of what research program would be beneficial to the local or South Coast area.
Several suggestions were tagging snapper, bream and mulloway, deploying a fish aggregating device, construction of an artificial reef, kingfish populations, silting and cormorants on Wagonga Inlet.
Nick is a committed angler himself and is interested in hearing what we would like researched.
He will be back in the Eurobodalla in early next month.
The trivia night held last Saturday was a huge success, with the winners being "Trailer Trash", the team consisting of Larry and Lesley Lewis, Peter and Julie Scott and Wayne and Debbie Harma.
A good time had by all, some more than others!
Not many fish were caught for the monthly competition, but Gavan Mitchell was once again successful in the men's section with a bream.
As usual the Friday night social is on from 4pm, all are welcome!
- Jan Hemmingsen
Marine Estate bill passes parliament
MINISTER for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, and Minister for the Environment, Rob Stokes, welcomed the passage of the Marine Estate Management Bill 2014 through the NSW Parliament on Wednesday night.
Ms Hodgkinson said the passage of the Bill heralds a new era in the management of the marine estate in NSW.
“When the NSW Liberals & Nationals Government was elected in 2011, we immediately set about righting the wrongs of the former Labor Government in relation to management of the marine estate,” Ms Hodgkinson said.
“For three years a considered, sensible approach to marine estate management has been under development and the Bill is the fruits of that work.
“The Marine Estate Management Bill 2014 addresses community concerns about how the State’s six marine parks were established and managed by previous Labor governments.”
Fisheries Management Act revisions introduced
MINISTER for Primary Industries, Katrina Hodgkinson, last week introduced the Fisheries Management Amendment Bill 2014 to the NSW Parliament, to reduce red tape, and allow for improved fisheries management into the future.
Ms Hodgkinson said the Bill will make a range of minor amendments to the Fisheries Management Act 1994, which will benefit the commercial, recreational, charter and aboriginal fishing sectors, including:
introducing the new FishOnline administration system, to provide commercial fishing and charter fishing operators with online access to undertake a range of business-related transactions and reporting requirements;
relaxing commercial fishing boat licensing requirements, removing the need for all boats to be licensed;
new ministerial order provisions to facilitate quicker implementation of new or amended bag (or possession) limits;
new licensing requirements for charter fishing operators, to enable operators to more easily adjust their business operations to better meet the needs of recreational fishing clients;
establishing a new Aboriginal Fishing Trust Fund, as a transparent accounting mechanism for the receipt and expenditure of any monies for enhancing, maintaining or protecting Aboriginal culture fishing;
initiate new consultative arrangements which can be created on an ‘as needs’ basis making processes more efficient; and
introducing stronger biosecurity provisions to help manage the risks of new declared diseases entering NSW.
Ms Hodgkinson said the Bill will make important changes to ensure the Fisheries Management Act 2014reflects modern business practices, while continuing to meet the community’s expectations in relation to aquatic resources in NSW.
