This is a continuation from the Chipping Duskies forum (Forums) I figured I'd start a Polital forum to allow the Flathead forum for Flatties.

The problem with the idea of ground level or waterway by waterway bag limits are many.

Firstly (and the one big business or the Government are more interested in) The Cost. It would be an absolute monumental cost to do it properly

Secondly It would be a nightmare to promote. Attempting to get everyone clued up on bag limits for a given waterway. This would somewhat take the spontaneity out of it.

Thirdly Due to the fact that due to the size of the project you would have to have volunteers and as jiggler mentioned this affects the organization of a project, especially one so large.

The only conceivable way I can see of implementing such a large plan is to have a set number of pre-determined bag limits (like the rules governing waterways – eg blue ribbon etc etc)

• 1. 2 Bass, 0 Estuary Perch, etc etc
• 2. 4 Bass, 1 Estuary Perch, etc etc

And so on and so forth, that way one would know that Thomson Creek Dam was a Level 1 waterway, as would be the Nepean River, yet Lake Lyall for example might be Level 2 waterway even though they are still in the same state and reasonably close. This is the only way I believe it would be possible without using the broad brush strokes that the Fisheries currently use. You would also need to appoint a Responsible local body to oversee the rules governing their local waters.

I like the idea Rick and do believe its a viable concept, but would there be a blow out in costs. I want to make some comparisons, NSW rec fishing guide "V" Vic rec fishing guide. In NSW you have a very basic guide that has all the info thats needed for fresh and for salt but in Vic we have a 60 plus page book of confusing rules. I have always said if we keep it simple then all will understand, and having waterways marked as levels is quite a simple rule, as for managment all that is needed is a sign at each boat ramp stateing that this is a level 1 waterway for example and to use what we already have (eg) fishing expo, radio and televistion and in print. The only problem i can is the one thing that is facing Vic fisheries as we speak and that is the language barrier, it has over the last few years become a huge problem to the stage where now we are printing guides with an introduction in 12 different languages.

As per anounced on Sat Morning on the pulse the above idea is as good as they come but as we found out on the show there are a lot of other ideas to work with but what do you think could this work and is it something that we need to do in order to preserve our fisheries Aust wide

I think this idea has the potential to be very confusing, hard to implement and even harder to police.

But why is policing the thing so hard its basically the same just the bounderies for the regulations have changed

because the greater the variation in rules the more confusion there is, not just from the public but those enforcing the regulations.

At the moment if some one is caught with an undersized fish they are gone, but if there are different size and bag limits for waterways that are in close proximity people may be able to successfully plead that they legaly caught the fish in a different waterway to the one they were in when they recieved the fine.

This would put a greater burden on fisheries officers to provide evidence, such as surveyalnce, which would make the process of enforcing the regulations very time consuming, costly and uncertain.

But as the law stands now in Vic if you are caught in one waterway and claim to have caught fish with dif limits from another in that you have broken the law its simple you no the rules and the risk involved in water way transfer so plan ahead dont do it

Workable or not, I always think that education is better than regulation.

GAZZA I THINK THAT WATER WAYS IN THE SAME AREA WOULD MORE THEN LIKLY BE THE SAME LEVEL

(Edited By steve at 21:20:43 01/10/06)

So alright we educate them about the fundermentals of preservation and they still go out and break the law because there are no rules in place at the end of the day with out regulation we will end up like asia travelling to other countries because there are no fish left in our own waters

Steve you are missing the point its not about water hight its about a level of bag and size limits instead of having all the areas with dif laws we combine the areas that are the same and for exsample call that level 1 all the bag and size limits are the same

how can we travel to other countries waters to fish if they are all fished out worse than us?

Exactly thats why we need regulation if we dont there wont be a fishery thats why we are talking about making it easier

In the end i think that regulation is a must but its how we do it that matters the most it needs to be understandable and the reserch that goes into it must be of the highest stanard not just a government paid response if a fish has a size limit that is based on 1 spawn year up it and give the fish 3 spawn years for example thats why we need regulation and understanding otherwise its willy nilly and there wont be any fish left to catch