Fish bites: 132kg swordfish landed – on a jet ski

Images show Tasmanian angler Wesley van den Herik on his Sea-Doo Fish Pro jet ski with the swordfish alongside his ski, the result of what was described as a more than two-hour fight to gaff and secure it.

The 132kg swordfish follows on from another caught via jet ski last year that weighed only 46kg when landed.

If you’re going to try a bit of illegal fishing, you’re probably best to be a bit discrete about it.

However, one Iluka, NSW-based fisher was nabbed after rigging his tinny with a massive shrunken-down trawl net including bridles – something you should only ever see used on commercial fishing vessels.

“The fisher was allegedly observed onboard a boat in Iluka Bay on the Clarence River with a homemade trawl net that was set up ready for deployment,” the NSW Department of Primary Industries said.

“NSW DPI fisheries officers intercepted the fisher and conducted a search of the boat and in addition to the trawl net, officers also located a commercial style meshing net.

“This resulted in the seizure of a 4.2-metre Quintrex boat and the illegal fishing gear found onboard.”

The boat’s owner now potentially faces fines of up to $22,000 and up to a six-month stretch in jail.

Fisheries officers have destroyed a pond of koi carp being kept in a pond on a northern Queensland property.

The introduced species pose a big biosecurity threat to the state. The carp found in the pond were actively breeding, which could have had a devastating effect on the state’s waterways if they escaped into the wild.

It is illegal to import, breed or sell koi carp in Queensland.

Victoria is big on shark fishing, so it was interesting to see the result of a tagging program that targeted one of the more exciting species to hook up – mako.

Victorian Fisheries Authority scientists recently tagged five shortfin mako sharks with satellite trackers to see how wide they would range from where they were tagged.

The result was surprising. Some headed west into Western Australian waters, while others headed up the NSW coast or made their way down to Tasmania.

However, the one thing in common was that they all spent most of their time along the continental shelf, likely because this is where their food sources were located.

The mako sharks also spent more time in the southern part of Australia in the warmer months before heading north around June and July.

More results of the study, including an interactive map of where the sharks travelled, are available here.

Mako sharks are highly prized by recreational anglers as a game fish and for their eating qualities.