Fisheries Victoria
'A fortnightly round-up of recreational fisheries management issues'
Fish-e-Fax Issue 195, 10 May 2007
Recreational Snapper Management – Have your say
Fisheries Victoria has released a discussion paper about management arrangements for the recreational snapper fisheries, and is encouraging all anglers to have their say.
Snapper.
The discussion paper identifies issues arising from increased recreational snapper catches, particularly in Port Phillip Bay and Western Port bay. The fisheries are now being claimed to be the best in Australia.
Some anglers have expressed concern that the current high recreational harvest might have an adverse impact on the future spawning capacity of the western snapper stock. Others believe that the current catch limits for snapper are too generous and may lead to waste or encourage illegal sale.
In response to these issues, the discussion paper identifies and analyses several snapper fishery management options, including changes to catch and size limits.
All recreational anglers and members of the community interested in snapper are invited to provide written comment about the management options. Snapper are a very popular marine recreational target species, and recreational fishing activities generate substantial social and economic impact benefits for Victorian coastal communities.
It is important that any management measures considered for this fishery identify and promote responsible fishing practises and are in tune with broader community attitudes regarding the responsible use of public fish resources.
The discussion paper and an accompanying response questionnaire can be obtained electronically on the DPI website or if you would prefer a hard copy, you can contact the Customer Service Centre on 136 186. Submissions will be accepted until 5pm Friday 15 June 2007.
Go Fishing in Victoria Free Family Fishing Festival - Eildon
The first Family Fishing Event for 2007 will be held at Eildon Pondage on Saturday 19 May.
The event is a great opportunity for families to learn about recreational fishing techniques, procedures and regulations and develop some basic fishing skills. Activities include a fishing information workshop, a kids fishing clinic, casting clinics, the Flathead Fred show, a Freshwater Discovery Centre tour, and a chef cooking demonstration. A full timetable of the activities is posted on the Go Fishing in Victoria website on the DPI website .
Participants who are interested in attending the event are reminded they are able to register via the Customer Service Centre on 136 186 to guarantee a spot in the workshops.
Fish stocking accelerated as a result of on-going drought conditions
The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) has again brought forward the fish stocking schedule in response to a continued decline in water supply at the Department's fish production facility at Snobs Creek.
Snobs Creek is the primary water supply for the facility and flows reached lowest level ever recorded during late April. Additionally, the end of the irrigation season has seen the flows from the Goulburn River, which has been supplementing the supply of water to the facility since September 2006, reduced from 3000mgl/day to 130mgl/day. The reduction of available water has prompted the Department to reduce the number of fish on site.
Even with the purchase of a system to directly inject oxygen into the hatchery raceways to boost water quality, the available water is only sufficient to supply the priority fish, and around 50% of the raceways.
The priority of FV is to protect critical broodstock and maintain the capacity of Snobs Creek so restocking can begin again once environmental conditions improve.
Stocking update
The following waters were stocked by Fisheries Victoria during the month of April, 2007.
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