Fish bites: Sinking sub catches out fishers

Maritime Safety Australia has issued an emergency direction that warns all boats in the popular outer metropolitan fishing ground that the ex-HMAS Otama – a decommissioned Oberon Class submarine that has been a Crib Point landmark since 2001 – warning boaters to stay at least 200 metres away from the vessel.

The sub started listing heavily after a bout of wild weather struck Victoria in mid-June. The emergency direction warns that there is a possibility the old sub could either capsize or sink, with concerns also aired over what could potentially leak from the vessel into the water if the hull is breached.

The 2030-tonne submarine is owned by the Western Port Oberon Association, which had planned to put the vessel on display at an onshore location close to where the Otama is anchored.

The Tasmanian Government has released a draft of the planned changes it wants to make to recreational fishing over the next decade.

The Draft Tasmanian Recreational Sea Fishing Strategy is now open for public comment. According to the government, the aim of the plan is to recognise the importance of recreational fishing and outlines actions and principles for the future. 

Key initiatives in the draft plan include a focus on improving flathead stocks, tighter management of  abalone, rock lobster, scallop and “key recreational scalefish species” to protect fish stocks, and working out if the use of recreational fishing zones – Tasmania already limits access in the D’Entrecasteaux Channel, Georges Bay and Ansons Bay – needs to extend to other areas.

“As well as area management, policy on fishing allocation and resource sharing will be developed,” the draft strategy says.

A series of consultation meetings will also be held relating to the draft plan.

Submissions can be made online or via email until July 26.

Recreational fishers and boaters in Victoria are being invited to give their feedback at a series of free forums being held around the state mapping out how the government plans to spend the fees they pay.

The hour-long presentations, followed by questions from attendees, will visit 10 sites throughout the state from June until August.

“From Portland to Lake Tyers, Boort to Ballarat and seven locations in between, the forums will provide an ideal opportunity for people to talk face-to-face with government staff from the Victorian Fisheries Authority and Better Boating Victoria,” VFA chief executive Travis Dowling said.

“Presentation topics will include fish stocking, access, facilities including fish cleaning tables, boat ramps, fish habitat projects, enforcement and education, and fisheries research,” Dowling said.

“This is the perfect chance to get definitive answers to all those questions that get debated between mates on the water, whether they be about catch limits, permitted equipment, life jackets or fishing licences.

“We’ll have the experts there on the night to settle things once and for all,” he said.

“It’s also the perfect time to suggest a great project that will really make a difference to grass-root fishers in the area. Local people know their patch best and we want to hear from them on the night.”

While the forums will be hosted at fishing clubs, the door is open to anyone who would like to attend the event.

A yellowfin bream tagged Lake Macquarie at a Lake Macquarie artificial reef almost a decade ago has given insight into how the fish use the water system.

The fish, tagged by NSW Department of Primary Industries Fisheries scientists as part of a 2012 program to track the movement of 39 bream in the lake system, was recaptured 7.5km away from where it was originally tagged.

Before the transmitter failed, the fish was detected spending most of its time along the shoreline on the south-western side of Wangi Point, close to where it was tagged.

The fish was originally 23cm long, but had grown to 36cm by the time it was re-caught, putting its age at around 15 years.

Scientists said the fact the fish was caught close to where it was originally tagged showed the site fidelity of the species.