You shouldn't have to be a PhD to understand Fisheries Rules
With every review of fisheries, inevitably comes a change in legislation and rules. Generally, instead of making it simpler to understand, quite the opposite has resulted. You have to feel sorry for the poor Boating & Fisheries Patrol Officers out there trying to enforce the law. The 2014 Fisheries Review and now the 2019 reforms process have been promoted as platforms for reviewing and simplifying the rules - good luck. We hope it succeeds this time where all that has gone before have failed. But don't hold your breathe for goodness sake.
It shouldn't be a great surprise that there are numerous inconsistencies and anomalies within the existing Fisheries legislation and policy. Just take fish names as an example. The same fish can have as many as 6 different local names the length of the Qld coast. For example, what's the difference between a moke, a slatey bream, a grey sweetlip, a blackall and a mother-in-law fish? Answer - nothing, they're all the same fish. There have been various attempts over the years to implement a fish names' standard, with limited success. Perhaps the solution is to include all the common names you can find in the legislation instead of trying to settle on just one?
But there are issues within the wording of the current rules that are contradictory and confusing to say the least and must be a nightmare when trying to prosecute offenders. Without trying to be a bush lawyer, it would appear that it wouldn't be too hard to construct a case for, "I'm sorry your Honour, but can you explain to me what the legislation actually says please?"
It shouldn't be a great surprise that there are numerous inconsistencies and anomalies within the existing Fisheries legislation and policy. Just take fish names as an example. The same fish can have as many as 6 different local names the length of the Qld coast. For example, what's the difference between a moke, a slatey bream, a grey sweetlip, a blackall and a mother-in-law fish? Answer - nothing, they're all the same fish. There have been various attempts over the years to implement a fish names' standard, with limited success. Perhaps the solution is to include all the common names you can find in the legislation instead of trying to settle on just one?
But there are issues within the wording of the current rules that are contradictory and confusing to say the least and must be a nightmare when trying to prosecute offenders. Without trying to be a bush lawyer, it would appear that it wouldn't be too hard to construct a case for, "I'm sorry your Honour, but can you explain to me what the legislation actually says please?"
A few examples to ponder:
1. Taken straight from the legislation regarding the use of BAIT and LIVE BAIT in freshwater -
The use of fish and crustaceans such as spangled perch, redclaw crayfish, shrimp and yabbies as bait (dead or alive) is prohibited outside their natural environment or range. This is to prevent species from becoming established in foreign habitats and causing environmental damage. Currently three species can be used as live bait. They are:
So can or can't you use Spanglies for live bait?
2. Here's another one for the reef fishers - the legislation says the following:
3. Snapper - identification and legal length confusion
Comment: - You can find Snapper under all three of the following - bream, sea bream and amazingly, snapper. That alone is confusing enough, but if you are a novice fisher and find it under "bream", you'd probably conclude that its minimum legal length is 25cm like all other bream WRONG!. And don't even think about bag limits.
4. Dart - good luck in trying to figure out exactly what the minimum length and bag limit are for the humble dart. The below is copied straight from the Fisheries Regs:
Size and bag limits (Amberjack and Sampsonfish)
Size and bag limits (dart)
The use of fish and crustaceans such as spangled perch, redclaw crayfish, shrimp and yabbies as bait (dead or alive) is prohibited outside their natural environment or range. This is to prevent species from becoming established in foreign habitats and causing environmental damage. Currently three species can be used as live bait. They are:
- redclaw crayfish (Cherax quadricarinatus) - native to the Gulf of Carpentaria Drainage Division and some river basins in the far northern portion of the East Coast Drainage Division. Redclaw can be used as bait only in these areas
- shrimp (Macrobrachium australiensis) - found throughout Queensland and can be used as bait in all areas of the state
- yabby (blueclaw crayfish) (Cherax destructor) - found naturally in the Murray-Darling, Lake Eyre and Bulloo-Bancannia Drainage Divisions, and some river basins in the East Coast Drainage Division. Yabbies can be used as bait only in these areas.
So can or can't you use Spanglies for live bait?
2. Here's another one for the reef fishers - the legislation says the following:
- must not possess a live coral reef fin fish unless the person or fisher intends to immediately return the fish to the sea or to display the fish in an aquarium.
3. Snapper - identification and legal length confusion
Comment: - You can find Snapper under all three of the following - bream, sea bream and amazingly, snapper. That alone is confusing enough, but if you are a novice fisher and find it under "bream", you'd probably conclude that its minimum legal length is 25cm like all other bream WRONG!. And don't even think about bag limits.
4. Dart - good luck in trying to figure out exactly what the minimum length and bag limit are for the humble dart. The below is copied straight from the Fisheries Regs:
Size and bag limits (Amberjack and Sampsonfish)
- minimum size limit: 50 cm
- bag limit: combined bag limit of two for amberjack and samsonfish
- a combined bag limit of 20 also applies to all members of the Carangidae family including (but not limited to) trevallies, queenfishes, scads, darts and kingfishes.
Size and bag limits (dart)
- minimum size, 30cm
- bag
limit, 30.
Comment: Clearly in one place it specifically says dart are part of a combined bag limit of 20 fish and have a minimum size of 50cm, whereas elsewhere its says they have a bag limit of 30 and minimum size of 30cm. Huh?
