SEINE NETTERS AND CATCHERS

[jb2]

Treknetters cast nets 3 times in a week, and two nets are 65% full. That is much more fish than any number of recreationals would have caught in that same period and their destruction of the juveniles is MUCH greater than recreationals. I would bet on an undersized recreational caught fish being successfully released any day ahead of some Seine Netter squeezing the life out of the smaller fish in the net.

Robin, how many trek licences are there nationally. And how many recreationals. Your statement above is factually incorrect. Now before attacking me, consider the numbers put forward by the small scale sector at the recent public hearings.
675,000 licensed fishermen. 300,000 unlicensed (based on DAFF survey). Total 975,000. Average 2 sessions per month. CPUE 1.7
60% Released as undersize, with a 30% mortality rate (think of kids fishing off a harbour wall). That is 3.3 million fish per month caught. 60% are released = 1.99M. 30% die = 600,000 undersized / released fish killed by recreationals every month. That is over and above the ones they are licensed to harvest. There were no recreational representatives present with a scientific study to repudiate these numbers.


I implore you to please use your passion in a way that will help. Get involved in the draft now.


@rooiwil, I think what jb2 is trying to say is don't judge a sector by one haul. In much the same way that we shouldn't categorise the recreationals based on the actions of one individual on one day. Just imagine the outcry here if all of us were lumped together with the GW catcher of the Eastern Cape - or if WK and Robin who release everything are lumped with me 

Hi Travelmember
I do volunteer work for the recreational kreef sector so I get to see the stuff presented by the recreational sector.
We really are our own worst enemies.
What passes for facts at the clubhouse after a day's fishing is not good enough to present at a meeting where there are senior scientists and managers present.
Like it or not there are many at DAFF who really do know their story. Once the pub talk starts getting questioned then you want to sink into your chair and disappear from embarrassment while you watch guys being asked to explain things that had seemed to make sense after a long day out at sea and a short time outside of a beer glass.

[rooiwil]

Treknetters cast nets 3 times in a week, and two nets are 65% full. That is much more fish than any number of recreationals would have caught in that same period and their destruction of the juveniles is MUCH greater than recreationals. I would bet on an undersized recreational caught fish being successfully released any day ahead of some Seine Netter squeezing the life out of the smaller fish in the net.

  .....jb2......got it all whrong....apolagies mate....thanx travel.......


Robin, how many trek licences are there nationally. And how many recreationals. Your statement above is factually incorrect. Now before attacking me, consider the numbers put forward by the small scale sector at the recent public hearings.
675,000 licensed fishermen. 300,000 unlicensed (based on DAFF survey). Total 975,000. Average 2 sessions per month. CPUE 1.7
60% Released as undersize, with a 30% mortality rate (think of kids fishing off a harbour wall). That is 3.3 million fish per month caught. 60% are released = 1.99M. 30% die = 600,000 undersized / released fish killed by recreationals every month. That is over and above the ones they are licensed to harvest. There were no recreational representatives present with a scientific study to repudiate these numbers.


I implore you to please use your passion in a way that will help. Get involved in the draft now.


@rooiwil, I think what jb2 is trying to say is don't judge a sector by one haul. In much the same way that we shouldn't categorise the recreationals based on the actions of one individual on one day. Just imagine the outcry here if all of us were lumped together with the GW catcher of the Eastern Cape - or if WK and Robin who release everything are lumped with me 

[jb2]

Those photos of the Aarendse Trek show what was seen on those occasions. I did not make them up. The oldest trick is the 'but there are much worse issues than Seine Netters'. White sharks? Now what, I must drop the topic and quickly put my energies into the Syrian crisis, or Iran issues? The photo's are what they are, photographic evidence.

Call me what you want. Onredelik, misleading, or whatever, I've been called much worse. All opinions and speculation.

My cause is the preservation of our marine resources

And for the record, just because DAFF say it's OK does not make it OK.

I've always been consistent in my view on this issue, I also choose not to single anyone out by name, I am who I am and I am not going to change my stand where our marine resources are under threat. If that makes me 'onredelik (Unreasonable)' or misleading in your opinion, then have your opinion, you are entitled to it, as am I.

Hi Robin
You seem to have misunderstood.
What is shown in the photos shows what happened on that  sea day. It does not mean that the catches in the photos are representative of a normal trek or that the events in the photo happen every sea day.
So the  photos are useful to show what can happen once or twice a year but can not be used to suggest a scenario where it happens everyday.
You must not drop the topic. It is an important issue and must be debated thoroughly but for goodness sake, try to stay grounded in reality.
There is no "trick" being played here. The white shark issue was raised to show what would happen if we had to extend your thinking to every exceptional or unusual event.
It is true that the trek is a  small part of the annual linefish catch but that is not being discussed here.
The photos are important because they document an incident. But you are trying to pass off a rare anomaly as a regular occurrence.
Being passionate about a resource is not enough.
 
I have to repeat that so that it resonates.
Being passionate about a resource is not enough.
You need to equip yourself with the information that you will need to make meaningful inputs and provide the type of comments that can be taken seriously.
When you have this then you are in a position to influence policy and make a difference.
Being passionate is not enough. You need to do a lot more.
 

[RobinF]

The photo's are from two different incidents, same Seine Netter, within a three month period. We get photo's of every 15-20 trek if we are lucky, so I call those stats pretty convincing.

[jb2]

The photo's are from two different incidents, same Seine Netter, within a three month period. We get photo's of every 15-20 trek if we are lucky, so I call those stats pretty convincing.

Hi Robin
That's what I am saying. The photos are of two incidents and not of routine trekking.
I would guess that it was closer than 3 months I think that the 2 photos are about 2 or 3 weeks apart.
3 months apart would be handy and suggest a long term trend.  2 or 3 weeks apart would make it part of the same anomaly.
Can we agree that the photos  were taken  about 2 or 3 weeks apart?
 

[RobinF]

Many more photo's available from many different times. (Stop knit picking.)

[jb2]

Many more photo's available from many different times. (Stop knit picking.)

Hi Robin
I am trying to help.
Please don't be defensive.
I am sure that there are more photos and it might be worth putting them up.
All that I am saying is that it is good for us to get a handle on the annual catch composition and the photos don't help us.
Its ok to move beyond the photos and zoom out a bit.
If we want to be taken seriously then we have to be as accurate as we can be.
If we keep holding up photos of dead kob on a bakkie and insist that this is what goes on week in week out on a trek then we are in trouble.
We will go to a meeting where there are scientists who have spent at least 3 years full time on the beach monitoring treks and doing their own independent treks as part of their PhD. and we are going to be laughed at.
We are also going to have to confront the monitor landings from the linefish monitoring projects.
The monitor sat on the beach just watching and counting fish coming out of treks. (He was able to gain their trust completely and moved freely among the operation.)
So they will say "Yes, we know about those kob catches but do you seriously expect us to believe your version of the catch composition?"
If we were more realistic and said that catches of kob spike in around March/ April and then fall off again and end up being mostly harders by volume and by numbers then we have a better chance of being taken seriously.
We have already suffered a huge blow from the "treknetters are destroying the yellowtail because they catch fish with ripe roe" story.
The basic story goes like this.
Yellowtail that are being trekked have ripe roe. The capture of yellowtail by treknets is the reason that yellowtail stocks are declining.
But the problem was the yellowtail stock was climbing and getting stronger every year.
The rumour had failed to ask about the details of yellowtail reproduction or stock status.
We ended up looking like fools.
 

[Ray Hall]

sad images.

[RobinF]

Vetch's Pier Seine Netters went out this morning and caught pretty much nothing. Few rays and small shad, not much at all. NO EKZNW presence at all. (I would have expected the EKZNW to be a little more visible given the last few week's activities on our part)

[Capt. Hook]

This thread has become a joke, I will be unsubscribing from it.

[RobinF]

An email from Ken Morty (EKZNW) was received this morning in which he stated

"Please be advised that I am no longer responsible for the  marine management programmes in the province, as I have been recently  transferred to a terrestrial responsibility, please direct any queries that you  have to Ms. Londi Mbuyisa in future (mbuyil@kznwildlife.com)"   

[CLS]

An email from Ken Morty (EKZNW) was received this morning in which he stated

"Please be advised that I am no longer responsible for the  marine management programmes in the province, as I have been recently  transferred to a terrestrial responsibility, please direct any queries that you  have to Ms. Londi Mbuyisa in future (mbuyil@kznwildlife.com)"   

We can only hope Ms Londi takes her job seriously and will follow up on any illigal doings.

[RobinF]

Change is good. The gravy train days are no longer as 'rich' as what they were and people being appointed to certain positions nowadays tend to have a better education than the 'older' generation. So until she fails, I believe that she will get the job done. It's a very good thing also as the Vetch's character likes to throw the race card around. This will negate that if any action is taken against him.

I would suggest that we each (of the guys that are interested to do so) sit down, take two minutes and send her a congratulations email on her new appointment and encourage her to protect the marine resources and offer any assistance to her and her department where required. (her email is in my previous post)

The lady is our ally, not our enemy.

[RobinF]

So here we go again, to the one that likes to call me a liar and the other one that calls me 'onredelik' look at these photos taken at Strandfontein recently. See what they raped??? OUR WHITE STEENBRAS STOCKS! Call me what you like, how can anyone defend this? Guys, this is a disgrace. Actually, it's a tragedy. This is why Trek netting should be banned.

[jb2]

 
Hi Robin
Thanks DAFF and Sanparks are on it.
Have a look at the photo no. 112008. Have a look at the boat. White with orange interior.
That will tell the whole story.
I'll keep you posted.

[CLS]

Another sad day indeed.

[jb2]

 

Another sad day indeed.

Hi CLS
Really sad stuff. From the photos it looks like there was no attempt to release at all.

[Lenny]

SAD SAD SAD !!!! 


More bad news , I am afraid . Our Local rag[Districk mail]  , reported similar Treks , on two diffrent times .
I was hoping we would have dodged this on UA , According to the Paper [ Districk mail] there was two  DAFF officers that saw the Trek, they both got 2 fish and left .According to them and some of JB's pics , it seem to be on Maccasar.
On a few occasions , we confronted them , and they  say its was not Steenbras, and went on to say you dont catch Redsteenbrass in Nets , We told them its White steenbrass , they said theres no White Steenbrass in Falsbay , now I wondered about this , for a while , and came to the conclusion that they dont know the a Kob from a Steenbrasse ... SHOCKING !
One could furthermore assume If you get paid for a Job , you must do it ...
 I wonder if its those Clowns sitting in the 'report illegal fishing activities caravan' in Kalkbay harbour .


SCUMBAGS !

[jb2]

SAD SAD SAD !!!! 


More bad news , I am afraid . Our Local rag[Districk mail]  , reported similar Treks , on two diffrent times .
I was hoping we would have dodged this on UA , According to the Paper [ Districk mail] there was two  DAFF officers that saw the Trek, they both got 2 fish and left .According to them and some of JB's pics , it seem to be on Maccasar.
On a few occasions , we confronted them , and they  say its was not Steenbras, and went on to say you dont catch Redsteenbrass in Nets , We told them its White steenbrass , they said theres no White Steenbrass in Falsbay , now I wondered about this , for a while , and came to the conclusion that they dont know the a Kob from a Steenbrasse ... SHOCKING !
One could furthermore assume If you get paid for a Job , you must do it ...
 I wonder if its those Clowns sitting in the 'report illegal fishing activities caravan' in Kalkbay harbour .


SCUMBAGS !

Hi Lenny
It is at Macassar. Drop me a PM with your email address and I can send you some more details.

[RobinF]

They knew exactly what they were catching.