Western Rock Lunacy

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Q: who the hell wrote the cray fishing rules?

Pro fishermen, by law, can’t fish on Saturday or Sunday. We deregulate shop trading hours but then lock the hours of those working within primary industry…???? I’d strongly suggest, this is lunacy at the highest level.

How can an industry who’s work patterns are dictated by moon, tides and weather have days taken off them? It would seem the rules have been written by either green activists or the anti-fishing lobby, either way, they should be changed immediately.

I’m not sure if you’ve ever read the Western Rock Lobster regulations is their entirety, the rules/penalties border on Machiavellianism at best. This simply should not be the case!!

...the wheels are moving!

....phone calls made, politicians are listening.

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Rules eased on rock lobster quotas:
ALEX McKINNON, The West Australian
April 1, 2011, 5:23 am

Fisheries Minister Norman Moore is planning sweeping changes to WA's controversial rock lobster quota system.
In letters obtained by _The West Australian _ yesterday, Mr Moore asked WA Fishing Industry Council boss Anna Cronin to seek immediate and thorough consultation with the industry with a view to making changes next season.
The changes include removing the weekend fishing ban, making the season open all year, allowing transfer of uncaught quota between zones and, subject to industry feedback, a possible removal of the controversial 50 per cent pot usage rule.
"As you are aware, in late 2010, industry members expressed concerns that some fishers may not be able to take all of their allocated catch with the pot usage at 0.5 pots per unit and five days fishing per week," Mr Moore wrote.
"I strongly encourage you to liaise with the Department of Fisheries to ensure that any proposed changes are able to be practically implemented."
He said he wanted to move to full "individual transferable quotas" by 2013.
Ms Cronin said she would begin a thorough consultation process immediately.
"I have written to WRLC chief executive Nic Sofoulis and asked him to begin immediately," she said.
The $200 million rock lobster industry has been critical of the WAFIC recommended "interim" quota system, introduced last year, as hasty, bereft of industry consultation, restrictive and ill-conceived.
The interim system restricted fishers to weekday fishing, no transfer of quotas, 50 per cent pot usage, four tags on crates instead of one, no personal crayfish or fishing lines on boats and a range of other measures labelled by some in the industry as draconian.