Page 82 - Bush 'n Beach Fishing magazine

Warwick landed this big spanish mackerel on a cast metal slice. How those teeth avoided the mono leader proved his luck that day.
LWife after annual barramundi closure
ITH the state the Northern Ter- with the economic ben- Gulf of ritory runs its Million efits of a healthy rec- Carpentaria Dollar Fish campaign reational fishery.
Trip to the Tip
by DAVE DONALD
barramundi season when so-called ‘smart During my time spent
closing on October 7, and the east coast due on November 1, it’s time to look at target- ing other species.
This closed season It is perhaps ironic –
state’ fishers are forced to stow their barra gear in a cupboard until the end of January.
on Fisheries Manage- ment Advisory com- mittees, I tried for many years to have a reduced bag limit instigated for Queensland recreation- al fishers during the closed seasons.
only applies to rec- reational fishers in Queensland waters.
and provides a huge pro- motional and economic boost – that our sister
I’ve travelled to the Northern Territory a couple of times for this competition but have not been lucky enough to score one of the tagged barra worth $10,000 as yet, let alone the big prize.
Planning a trip to North Queensland?
Book a charter today! From barramundi to marlin, jungle perch to jacks, we’ve got you covered.
www.fishingcairns.fish
0448 563 586
Page 82 – Bush ’n Beach Fishing, November 2020
* continued P83 www.bnb shing.com.au
Still, that event keeps local charter operators and accommodation venues busy with cli- ents at a time of year that is notoriously slow, while boat traffic with local and visiting an- glers is very heavy in- deed.
At one stage, I pro- duced figures that showed a bag limit of one per person in pos- session for recreational fishers would have lit- tle effect on breeding stocks, but this ini- tiative was rebuffed by commercial fishers, indignant that because they couldn’t fish the entire community had to follow suit.
However, it is an- other example of how Queensland’s tourism and fisheries depart- ments are out of touch
Rather than taking an independent view on the issue, as has happened in the Northern Territory, our managers chose to