Fish Assassin
Crew Member
Gee you guys should help GDW out. Seems like unlike everyone else he's having a hard time catching prawns down there. 
Prawn Fishing pretty good
- Thread starter saltydawg
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Captnlance
New Member
It opens May 8. I'm a commercial prawner, and it seems like the sport, commercial, and native fishermen just can't seem to get along. It's sad, because it's a great resource, and instead of pointing the finger at each other all of the time we should be trying to work together. I run one of the prawn charters for the DFO
to look at the stocks and set harvest guidelines for the winter sport fishery. This year in saanich inlet I had 10 brand new commercial traps stolen from me while conducting the prawn survey. Sad, I tell you. We have been checking harbours and marinas since, and when we find our gear, we will be calling the police and prosecuting for theft. If anyone has any information on this , there is a reward leading to any information on who may have stolen our gear.
Also, a friendly reminder, the sport fishery will be closing on May the 7Th and remain closed for the first week of the commercial opening while spawned index testing takes place. Thanks a lot and good luck out there.
to look at the stocks and set harvest guidelines for the winter sport fishery. This year in saanich inlet I had 10 brand new commercial traps stolen from me while conducting the prawn survey. Sad, I tell you. We have been checking harbours and marinas since, and when we find our gear, we will be calling the police and prosecuting for theft. If anyone has any information on this , there is a reward leading to any information on who may have stolen our gear.
Also, a friendly reminder, the sport fishery will be closing on May the 7Th and remain closed for the first week of the commercial opening while spawned index testing takes place. Thanks a lot and good luck out there.
captnlance,
You should also be aware that the May 8 closure was not agreed to, nor supported by the recreational community representatives...this was unilateral decision by DFO and the Commercial reps. You should also be aware that many of the commercial fishermen in Saanich Inlet have been intentionally setting over top of recreational gear during the commercial season even though this is not permitted in the IFMP this year and last. The recreational community finds it hard to work together when the DFO cancels consultation based multisectoral meetings, ignores the recreational community lack of support for the 7 point plan and mandates winter pulse fishing when recreational reps strongly did not support that which was supposed to be a pilot program...DFO refusal to meet and foster communication is a major reason for that lack of mutual support. It should also be said that past record harvest levels by commercial fishing and a past 10 years of frequent, close to continual winter closures to recreational fishermen while the stock declines and resulted in last years' record short commercial season suggest that DFO management may be less than " risk averse" and big on maximizing commercial harvest at the expense of all other communities...this may well result in " finger pointing...probably with good reason...probably the poorest managed resource in the Georgia Strait...IMO
You should also be aware that the May 8 closure was not agreed to, nor supported by the recreational community representatives...this was unilateral decision by DFO and the Commercial reps. You should also be aware that many of the commercial fishermen in Saanich Inlet have been intentionally setting over top of recreational gear during the commercial season even though this is not permitted in the IFMP this year and last. The recreational community finds it hard to work together when the DFO cancels consultation based multisectoral meetings, ignores the recreational community lack of support for the 7 point plan and mandates winter pulse fishing when recreational reps strongly did not support that which was supposed to be a pilot program...DFO refusal to meet and foster communication is a major reason for that lack of mutual support. It should also be said that past record harvest levels by commercial fishing and a past 10 years of frequent, close to continual winter closures to recreational fishermen while the stock declines and resulted in last years' record short commercial season suggest that DFO management may be less than " risk averse" and big on maximizing commercial harvest at the expense of all other communities...this may well result in " finger pointing...probably with good reason...probably the poorest managed resource in the Georgia Strait...IMO
Fish Assassin
Crew Member
Great reply....... Thanks,
Captnlance
New Member
I became a commercial fisherman because I love to fish. I spend a great deal of my time when I'm not commercial fishing, sport fishing. So I can understand the concerns coming from the sport fisherman's point of view. I also, believe that the burden of conservation should be shouldered by all sectors. We did have a record short season two years ago, lasting only 40 days. Last year we fished for 43 days. Four and five years ago, there were record harvests by the commercial fleet. When we quit fishing last year, we were on some of our best fishing of the season, and we were shut down because there were far too many boats from other parts of the coast fishing in the general vicinity of the Gulf Islands. The word so far this year is that there is high abundance coast wide and that fleet will be much more spread out, which is good for everyone. Some attribute that to the closing of the sport fishery in all of the high use areas, others think that the stocks are just rebounding as expected on their four year cycle. I think there are lots of factors myself. Now, I fish both crab and prawns, and this weekend I was down in Saanich Inlet. On saturday, I decided to count sport boats and recreational prawn floats. In one hour, I saw 49 sport fishing vessels, 1 first nations food fishing vessel running full 50 trap (basically commercial) strings, and 231 sport floats between Deep Cove, Pat Bay, Coles Bay, and Mill Bay. I didn't even bother to count the floats near Bamberton or Brentwood Bay, because the grounds were absolutely littered. Pretty much all of the fishable ground in the inlet had gear on it - just like our commercial season...
I would be interested to know how many fishing days the sport fleet gets per year. I would bet money that there is just as much maybe more, maybe a bit less impact from the constant pressure of the sport fishing fleet in Saanich Inlet. I do know for a fact that there was in incredibly high spawner index in the inlet this fall, meaning lots and lots of females with eggs. If we ever encountered that during our commercial season, we would be shut down ASAP. As you may or may not know, the commercial sector has voluntarily implemented more conservation measures within our fishery, including electronic monitoring systems and rot chords being sewn into all of our traps. We want there to be prawns for ever and ever just as much as anyone else.
We fish for a living. This is how we feed our families, pay our mortgages, and generally get through life. Please try to keep that in mind. Commercial fishing is a huge part of the identity of this coast. The ability for a man to go out in his own boat and harvest seafood for his family to eat is also a major part of what makes this coast so special. I know that if me and four of my friends go out and fish our allotted 4 traps per person, and get our 200 prawns per person per day, we can basically stock our freezers for the year in a few short days of fishing. We've had to deal with less fishing time for the management of stocks, and so should everyone else. We certainly weren't consulted by the DFO when our season closure was announced, it was shut down and that was that for the year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I certainly don't think that not being able to fish for prawns this winter drastically altered your lifestyle.
What always gets me is when I am fishing in the inlet, and someone comes up to me and screams at me, absolutely irate and red in the face because our gear got tangled with their sport traps. I don't personally know any commercial fisherman that intentionally set over sport fishing gear. That being said, I have weaved my way through mine fields of sport floats doing everything possible to avoid setting anyone down, and i'd say 90% of the time I don't have any issues. We are essentially fishing the same ground out there, and we have a pretty short window to make our living. Our 40 days to make a living pales in comparison to the larger amount of time that a sort fisherman has to go out and fill his freezer.
Anyhow, that's my perspective, hopefully it gives you some insight into the thought process from our sector. Like I said, we are all in this together, and we should take pride in what we do - whether its being a good sport fisherman, a commercial fisherman that helps to provide fresh seafood to his community and world, or an aboriginal fisherman feeding elders within his community.
I would be interested to know how many fishing days the sport fleet gets per year. I would bet money that there is just as much maybe more, maybe a bit less impact from the constant pressure of the sport fishing fleet in Saanich Inlet. I do know for a fact that there was in incredibly high spawner index in the inlet this fall, meaning lots and lots of females with eggs. If we ever encountered that during our commercial season, we would be shut down ASAP. As you may or may not know, the commercial sector has voluntarily implemented more conservation measures within our fishery, including electronic monitoring systems and rot chords being sewn into all of our traps. We want there to be prawns for ever and ever just as much as anyone else.
We fish for a living. This is how we feed our families, pay our mortgages, and generally get through life. Please try to keep that in mind. Commercial fishing is a huge part of the identity of this coast. The ability for a man to go out in his own boat and harvest seafood for his family to eat is also a major part of what makes this coast so special. I know that if me and four of my friends go out and fish our allotted 4 traps per person, and get our 200 prawns per person per day, we can basically stock our freezers for the year in a few short days of fishing. We've had to deal with less fishing time for the management of stocks, and so should everyone else. We certainly weren't consulted by the DFO when our season closure was announced, it was shut down and that was that for the year. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I certainly don't think that not being able to fish for prawns this winter drastically altered your lifestyle.
What always gets me is when I am fishing in the inlet, and someone comes up to me and screams at me, absolutely irate and red in the face because our gear got tangled with their sport traps. I don't personally know any commercial fisherman that intentionally set over sport fishing gear. That being said, I have weaved my way through mine fields of sport floats doing everything possible to avoid setting anyone down, and i'd say 90% of the time I don't have any issues. We are essentially fishing the same ground out there, and we have a pretty short window to make our living. Our 40 days to make a living pales in comparison to the larger amount of time that a sort fisherman has to go out and fill his freezer.
Anyhow, that's my perspective, hopefully it gives you some insight into the thought process from our sector. Like I said, we are all in this together, and we should take pride in what we do - whether its being a good sport fisherman, a commercial fisherman that helps to provide fresh seafood to his community and world, or an aboriginal fisherman feeding elders within his community.
ziggy
Well-Known Member
Hard to compare the impact of a guy going out and fishing a couple of traps every now and then with a commercial fisher. In your 40 days how many traps do you reckon you fish? Should be easy to figure, multiply the number of sets you do in 40 days times the number of traps? I think if you are being honest you will agree that one commercial boat can do a lot more damage than a sport boat. How many pounds a day were the commercial boats hauling out of the inlet per day? I know if I took my 200 per day limit I'd never in a season come close to your guys one day haul.
Gear'n'beer!
Well-Known Member
Captnlance, I always steer clear of commie traps. I understand you guys have your window to do your job, and I totally am aware of my traps being a nuisance to you guys, it's a job and I get it. However I have had both rec and commies setting over me before, probably more rec guys to be honest but they are relatively easy to deal with. I personally am done with prawning for the year, we have enough for our family after a couple weekends. How much do you commercial guys get in 40+ days? I'm thinking way more than every rec guy out there combined. I would like to know how many prawns a commie boat sells a year? Rec guys are hitting it hard but not the amount commie fishers are, it's not a job for us.....we do it for fun and food.
Captnlance,
Of course there are a lot of recreational traps in Saanich Inlet...look at the population that surrounds it. The Inlet is calm water, accessible by small boats and quite suitable for trip with children on board....and prawn fishing is fun and sometimes offers some great food for the adventure. With 270,000 recreational licenses coast wide, and only 200 commercial prawn fishermen catching probably 85% of the prawns in the Pacific Region, of course the recreational community feels they should have access to the areas close to their towns. Consider also that there is no area licensing for commercial prawn fishing....in some areas 20 boats can show up and clean the area out in 20 days, so they move on to another area and do the same...a " run and gun" fishery which does not seem to me to be a sound way to manage any ocean resource, and of course leads to conflicts. Commercial fishing is, at the end of the discussion, a private business venture which is designed to make a profit...in many cases a good one, for the individual who chooses that life style....particularly when one considers that 90% of the catch is exported out of BC it hardly represents a "mission" to feed people. In order to provide a full on commercial fishery Saanich Inlet has been closed to recreational anglers for 5 months out of the year...very much a "contribution" to conservation I would suggest!
I do know that some commercial prawners are very responsible in trying to avoid recreational traps, but I agree, there are a number of traps in the high use areas during the Spring and summer months...with good reason as I have pointed out. Last year I heard of a number of recreational prawners who had commercial gear laid over top of their recreational gear, and when pulled up the rec gear had the ropes cut, knotted again and cast adrift, so there are some problems in Saanich Inlet from some source.
The suggestion that there is an increase in prawn abundance this year is interesting as the results from most of the recreational prawners starting opening day in Saanich Inlet and Stuart Channel have been poor by comparison to past years where one did not have to try over night soaks to get a good catch. In years past we could catch more than 40 prawns in 4 hours, a catch level I have heard many times recently unless one happens upon one small spot where the prawns have not been vacuum cleaned from the last commercial season. If there is an increased population, we are not seeing the results over the last month.
In my opinion there is good reason to start to think about strongly reduced commercial pressure on special high use areas close to major population centres such as Saanich Inlet, Stuart Channel, and Port Alberni, as well as Sunshine Coast, and Campbell River. The First Nations also need calm water access for small boats near their villages for food fishing, just as Saanich Inlet provides. It is indeed interesting that DFO cancelled the last prawn Multisectoral meeting which is supposed to discuss the IFMP which will be going to Ottawa to be signed off by the Minister...particularly as DFO wrote closures into the IFMP specifically not agreed to by the Recreational representatives....yup, it will be interesting year. Another interesting fact is the very real comparison to poor halibut access the recreational community is experiencing...approx. 200 active commercial fishermen taking 85% of the allowable catch which is 90% exported.
Of course there are a lot of recreational traps in Saanich Inlet...look at the population that surrounds it. The Inlet is calm water, accessible by small boats and quite suitable for trip with children on board....and prawn fishing is fun and sometimes offers some great food for the adventure. With 270,000 recreational licenses coast wide, and only 200 commercial prawn fishermen catching probably 85% of the prawns in the Pacific Region, of course the recreational community feels they should have access to the areas close to their towns. Consider also that there is no area licensing for commercial prawn fishing....in some areas 20 boats can show up and clean the area out in 20 days, so they move on to another area and do the same...a " run and gun" fishery which does not seem to me to be a sound way to manage any ocean resource, and of course leads to conflicts. Commercial fishing is, at the end of the discussion, a private business venture which is designed to make a profit...in many cases a good one, for the individual who chooses that life style....particularly when one considers that 90% of the catch is exported out of BC it hardly represents a "mission" to feed people. In order to provide a full on commercial fishery Saanich Inlet has been closed to recreational anglers for 5 months out of the year...very much a "contribution" to conservation I would suggest!
I do know that some commercial prawners are very responsible in trying to avoid recreational traps, but I agree, there are a number of traps in the high use areas during the Spring and summer months...with good reason as I have pointed out. Last year I heard of a number of recreational prawners who had commercial gear laid over top of their recreational gear, and when pulled up the rec gear had the ropes cut, knotted again and cast adrift, so there are some problems in Saanich Inlet from some source.
The suggestion that there is an increase in prawn abundance this year is interesting as the results from most of the recreational prawners starting opening day in Saanich Inlet and Stuart Channel have been poor by comparison to past years where one did not have to try over night soaks to get a good catch. In years past we could catch more than 40 prawns in 4 hours, a catch level I have heard many times recently unless one happens upon one small spot where the prawns have not been vacuum cleaned from the last commercial season. If there is an increased population, we are not seeing the results over the last month.
In my opinion there is good reason to start to think about strongly reduced commercial pressure on special high use areas close to major population centres such as Saanich Inlet, Stuart Channel, and Port Alberni, as well as Sunshine Coast, and Campbell River. The First Nations also need calm water access for small boats near their villages for food fishing, just as Saanich Inlet provides. It is indeed interesting that DFO cancelled the last prawn Multisectoral meeting which is supposed to discuss the IFMP which will be going to Ottawa to be signed off by the Minister...particularly as DFO wrote closures into the IFMP specifically not agreed to by the Recreational representatives....yup, it will be interesting year. Another interesting fact is the very real comparison to poor halibut access the recreational community is experiencing...approx. 200 active commercial fishermen taking 85% of the allowable catch which is 90% exported.
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Captnlance
New Member
I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. I graduated with a degree in fisheries management, and the Spot Prawn fishery here in BC is the most well regulated and the best managed fishery that British Columbia can boast. I suppose if you want such productive areas closed down to the commercial sector, you'll have to prove somehow that the sport prawners produce a higher economic yield for the coastal communities than the commercial fleet does, which won't be possible. I really can't stress enough how well managed we are. We have daily landings which are recorded, we have spawner index testing conducted in all areas being fished on a daily basis, and we are shut down when the spawner index isn't favourable, and size limits on what size prawns we can keep. In the sport fleet, there are no creel checkers, and little to no enforcement on the water. There are two fisheries officers that patrol the south Island and Alberni Inlet. I have personally worked with the DFO to help them bust poachers in the inlet, and unfortunately, there are more than any sport fishermen wants to admit. I don't know if you've ever tried to fish outside of Saanich, but there are amazing spots to fish ten minutes outside of Saanich Inlet. Have a good summer, I'm sure we'll see you on the water.
Captnlance
New Member
I like your logic! I'm glad that someone gets it. The average prawn license on the coast harvested 15,000 pounds of prawns last year. Lots of licenses weren't fished last year. I'm sure traveller will have something to say about this, but with the average harvest and the 125 licenses that fished coast wide, there was around 1.8 million pounds harvested last year. Now, if the 270,000 sport licenses on the coast each harvested 10 pounds of prawns last year, that means that the sport fishing community took 2.7 million pounds of prawns last year. Now, this is speculation, but I know that there are a lot of prawns coming out of the water. I have friends that sport fish and they harvest 50 + pounds of prawns a year...I'd like to see the DFO do some research to see how much is actually coming out of the water between the sport fleet and the first nations fishers who don't have a trap limit, bag limit, or closed season. I'm not against the harvest of prawns by the sport or first nations sectors, but I certainly want some more hard numbers coming out so that this fishery can be managed, and I can have a good job for myself and generations to come. Good fish in to ya!
Captnlance
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Captnlance is online now
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I like your logic! I'm glad that someone gets it. The average prawn license on the coast harvested 15,000 pounds of prawns last year. Lots of licenses weren't fished last year. I'm sure traveller will have something to say about this, but with the average harvest and the 125 licenses that fished coast wide, there was around 1.8 million pounds harvested last year. Now, if the 270,000 sport licenses on the coast each harvested 10 pounds of prawns last year, that means that the sport fishing community took 2.7 million pounds of prawns last year. Now, this is speculation, but I know that there are a lot of prawns coming out of the water. I have friends that sport fish and they harvest 50 + pounds of prawns a year...I'd like to see the DFO do some research to see how much is actually coming out of the water between the sport fleet and the first nations fishers who don't have a trap limit, bag limit, or closed season. I'm not against the harvest of prawns by the sport or first nations sectors, but I certainly want some more hard numbers coming out so that this fishery can be managed, and I can have a good job for myself and generations to come. Good fish in to ya!
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I like your logic! I'm glad that someone gets it. The average prawn license on the coast harvested 15,000 pounds of prawns last year. Lots of licenses weren't fished last year. I'm sure traveller will have something to say about this, but with the average harvest and the 125 licenses that fished coast wide, there was around 1.8 million pounds harvested last year. Now, if the 270,000 sport licenses on the coast each harvested 10 pounds of prawns last year, that means that the sport fishing community took 2.7 million pounds of prawns last year. Now, this is speculation, but I know that there are a lot of prawns coming out of the water. I have friends that sport fish and they harvest 50 + pounds of prawns a year...I'd like to see the DFO do some research to see how much is actually coming out of the water between the sport fleet and the first nations fishers who don't have a trap limit, bag limit, or closed season. I'm not against the harvest of prawns by the sport or first nations sectors, but I certainly want some more hard numbers coming out so that this fishery can be managed, and I can have a good job for myself and generations to come. Good fish in to ya!
Captnlance
New Member
It's not just "a guy going out and fishing a couple of traps every now and then". There are 270,000 sport licenses in BC. Who knows how much guys are catching though? No sport fishermen have to report their catch like we do. I do know that if you caught your 200 prawns every day for the 7 months that you can fish, you would be harvesting 42,000 prawns. Anyhow, my point by even posting in this column is that sport fishermen ought to give us our time and space. Our 40 to 50 days isn't much to pay our bills for the rest of the year. The commercial spot prawn fishery is extremely well managed, and I hope that it stays that way so that we can all enjoy it!
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
Personally I think the way prawning is done should be done differently why not have a year round pulse fishing round fishery instead of wailing on it in areas like commercial does for a few months. Prawns are taking forever to come back in some areas. I hear this more and more especially up island. Last year was really bad.... The south seems not as bad, but you definitely can tell things have changed in qtys and sizes.
I would also like to see set rec. only areas so we can all prawn together without killing each other. These areas should be restricted to commercial setting.
I don't get too worked up as the best prawning IMHO I find is in winter/fall months when there are less boats and no commercials. I realize though not everyone has luxury to fish those times.
I would also like to see set rec. only areas so we can all prawn together without killing each other. These areas should be restricted to commercial setting.
I don't get too worked up as the best prawning IMHO I find is in winter/fall months when there are less boats and no commercials. I realize though not everyone has luxury to fish those times.
Rum Buddies
Well-Known Member
the bottom line is, just cause you're a commercial boat doesn't give you any special rights or access to fishing spots. If I've got my sport gear where you want to set, tough sh*t, wake up earlier next time. This attitude of well I'm a poor commie just trying to feed my family, so get out of my way and let me hoover up the ocean, only to send all of it overseas is BS.
That being said, you guys are crazy if you think its the commies putting a hurting on Saanich Inlet, every damn square foot has a sport trap on it right now - sporties are taking more then they're fair share out there.
That being said, you guys are crazy if you think its the commies putting a hurting on Saanich Inlet, every damn square foot has a sport trap on it right now - sporties are taking more then they're fair share out there.
ziggy
Well-Known Member
The only number you throw out that I can't dispute is 125 commercial fishers vs 270,000 sport fishers. I'm sure an astute politician gets it, even if you don't
Poppa Swiss,
I have to to comment here....when you have a population of what....200,000 people living around Saanich Inlet, and then include Mill Bay and Duncan...another 60,000 people....why wouldn't there be a lot of traps and people fishing? I believe we want to encourage recreational angling, it certainly is our right under the constitution, it certainly is our right to go out and harvest dinner...how is that more than our fair share ?
Personally I would suggest to you that our right to harvest comes first, and if there is sustainable harvest left, then it should be open to commercial harvest. Don't forget, please that you are talking about , according to CaptnLance that 136 private businessmen, subsidized moorage and protected competition aside, stacked licenses aside, DFO management bias aside, we should have a lot of recreational floats and harvest going on....in fact in my opinion,, we should have Saanich Inlet as a non-commercial harvest area only, and if there are still conservation problems, we know exactly where to apply constraints, and know that we need to consider options to give all recreational people opportunity to enjoy their resource.
Captnlance suggests it is the best managed resource in Georgia Strait...great comment, but one has to ask...what do you mean by best? do you mean best for the prawns? ..certainly not in Saanich Inlet and Stuart Channel form the people I am hearing from as the prawns are low in number, and very low in large size prawns...females! best for commercial harvesters....you bet...they get a full commercial season every year with out question. Best for recreational anglers who in Saanich Inlet and Stuart Channel who have had 5 month off the water closures...I don't think so!
It is just, to me pretty clear, you can't have maximized commercial harvest on top of unregulated, unmonitored commercial boats and 100 trap strings from FN harvest all year, every day, and sustain a population of prawns that need a certain number of female prawns left to generate the next generation....who is it that manages this for our collective common property resource?
I have to to comment here....when you have a population of what....200,000 people living around Saanich Inlet, and then include Mill Bay and Duncan...another 60,000 people....why wouldn't there be a lot of traps and people fishing? I believe we want to encourage recreational angling, it certainly is our right under the constitution, it certainly is our right to go out and harvest dinner...how is that more than our fair share ?
Personally I would suggest to you that our right to harvest comes first, and if there is sustainable harvest left, then it should be open to commercial harvest. Don't forget, please that you are talking about , according to CaptnLance that 136 private businessmen, subsidized moorage and protected competition aside, stacked licenses aside, DFO management bias aside, we should have a lot of recreational floats and harvest going on....in fact in my opinion,, we should have Saanich Inlet as a non-commercial harvest area only, and if there are still conservation problems, we know exactly where to apply constraints, and know that we need to consider options to give all recreational people opportunity to enjoy their resource.
Captnlance suggests it is the best managed resource in Georgia Strait...great comment, but one has to ask...what do you mean by best? do you mean best for the prawns? ..certainly not in Saanich Inlet and Stuart Channel form the people I am hearing from as the prawns are low in number, and very low in large size prawns...females! best for commercial harvesters....you bet...they get a full commercial season every year with out question. Best for recreational anglers who in Saanich Inlet and Stuart Channel who have had 5 month off the water closures...I don't think so!
It is just, to me pretty clear, you can't have maximized commercial harvest on top of unregulated, unmonitored commercial boats and 100 trap strings from FN harvest all year, every day, and sustain a population of prawns that need a certain number of female prawns left to generate the next generation....who is it that manages this for our collective common property resource?
SpringVelocity
Crew Member
Just want to add a personally have no problem with commercial they are doing that for a living...I think both can co-exist if they respect each other. That goes both ways.
I see a lot of com boats go right over top of sport gear that were set there first. And then I see sport guys who get crazy close to commercial trap already set. Now if you take Mill Bay last year I saw a commercial set go from cherry point right through over top of the regular sport sets. I mean when you looked at the beach there as no way anybody besides commercials could prawn there. Looked frustrating for both sides.
I still think there needs to be some guidelines or areas where commercials can set without sport gear and vice versa.
I see a lot of com boats go right over top of sport gear that were set there first. And then I see sport guys who get crazy close to commercial trap already set. Now if you take Mill Bay last year I saw a commercial set go from cherry point right through over top of the regular sport sets. I mean when you looked at the beach there as no way anybody besides commercials could prawn there. Looked frustrating for both sides.
I still think there needs to be some guidelines or areas where commercials can set without sport gear and vice versa.
Hey Lance just for everyone's information there are 252 commercial prawn licenses on the coast and as far as I can tell they were all fished last year. Average poundage per license was approx. 8000lbs. This includes licenses that were stacked. The previous year a bunch of the picfi licenses had not been designated to native bands yet and didn't fish.
ziggy
Well-Known Member
If my recent outings are any indication the Commercial guys won't be hauling much out of the Inlet this year. I've had the worse results ever.
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