It was only a matter of time
So.....
ever since the whole Bret Carter thing, me and my dive buddies have had to adjust our method of catching a bag of crays, and gauging/sorting/sharing our catch when we surface.
Today I went with a mate to a big horseshoe shaped ledge in the sand, where we can usually bag out on whites. Although the winds were milder than I thought there were going to be, it was extremely sloppy on top, and conditions on the bottom of this 15m deep spot were shiiiiiiiiithouse... I personally got flogged the fuckoutof, and I even got sucked into a small cave at one point. This spot is often full of just-legal crays, and we both did our best to measure our crays before we bagged them, and we both surfaced with our 8 each, and around a bit less than half a tank of air left each. At the boat, we did the final check on the crays, but ended up throwing 6 out of 16 back, due to 5 being just under size, and one was a tarspot.
We decided to do another dive at a spot around 750m away, to top up our quota. We tonkered around a bit trying to line up the anchoring, and by the time my bud had tied the anchor off, I had my bc and tank on, and rolled over the side. Before the bubbles from my entry into the water had cleared, and even before I had a chance to stick my head up and do the “all ok” glance, a good 3m+ great white rushed in at me, before veering off around 1m away from my legs.
It quickly shot downwards, before I remembered I hadn’t switched my sharkshield on. As I bought my leg up to switch it on, the Shark reappeared very quickly from the other side, but bolted when the sharkshield turned on. I dumped my bc, and shot straight up over the gunnels into the boat. My mate was still gearing up when I came flying out of the water, and fell into the boat. I quickly informed him of “a fuckin white”, and he got a glance of it before it rolled away, not to be seen again.
Im all good. I’m no stranger to diving with sharks, but it’s the First white I’ve been in the water with. I’m pretty sure she meant business too, but I’m just lucky I had my shield, and the boat was right there.
I have since had a few beers, and the more I think about it, the more I realise that I am thoroughly pissed off at the fact we actually tried to do the right thing today, but had to spend more time in the water to try and top up our quota, just to appease the fuckin shit way fisheries are policing their interpretation of the law.
little johnny
Posts: 5328
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Bugger that
Close call
NORUN NOFUN
Posts: 1018
Date Joined: 15/08/11
Glad your ok Scotto I guess
Glad your ok Scotto
I guess its only a matter of time before you have some kind of encounter in Perth waters
Makes you relise just how vulnerable you really are in the water.
Gunner966
Posts: 145
Date Joined: 23/04/13
Shit - too close for
Shit - too close for comfort. I would be interested where you were. After 15 yrs out of the water, I resurrected my Hookah, took my youngest (21) for his first dive. Between point Peronand penguin in 5-7 mtr, in the water and yells did you so that break the surface. I looked around to see a big fin about 30 mtrs away. luckily we just got in and jumped back in the boat, only to see the fin again. Couldn't be 100% sure that was a shark but there was only one fin at a time. We are telling ourselves it was a dolphin.
Gunner
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Glad to hear you came out of the confrontation ok
Having that happen to you would really put the frighteners up you I guess.
Particularly when you say the visibility conditions where not the best plus one for the shark shield.
Da pirate
Posts: 1518
Date Joined: 03/05/15
Fark...........
Used up my chance years ago had it circle from
a distance.. mate shot a morwong thinking it
was a mulloway he wasn't very experienced
it was dirty and overcast ! Then seen a mate putting
in his boat squiding and sent a picture of a big bull
seal clean in half not far from where we spearing ..
had a swim other day got spooked. Gotta shake
that I always think they can smell fear?
JohnF
Posts: 2836
Date Joined: 07/07/10
Fucking holy shit fuck!
Fucking holy shit fuck!
Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.
ChrisG
Posts: 558
Date Joined: 30/12/11
Farrrk scotto- glad you’re
Farrrk scotto- glad you’re ok mate
Like you I wasn’t new to seeing sharks but a similar event to yours saw me stop diving a few years ago, I kept diving afterwards for a few more years but found I was thinking of nothing else the whole time I was in the water....took the enjoyment out of it for me, so I gave it away. I hope your scare doesn’t put you off mate!!!
Stats are in our favour, I had 20 plus years diving off perth under my belt before I had a close call with a white, and if I were still diving it’d probably be another 20 years...but I’m done..off perth and SW anyway....I still miss it!
i Know its all in my head as year before last the missus and I intentionally dived with a tiger off coral bay and I loved every minute of it...go figure!
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8047
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Well Scotto. You've basically
Well Scotto. You've basically just described my worst nightmare. Hope you're feeling alright mate and I'd suggest a pour or two of dark rum.
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Rob H
Posts: 5743
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Bugger Scotto, close
Bugger Scotto, close call...
Just lie to Fisheries, and (sadly) tell your kids also to either lie or exercise their right to not provide any information.
And do what you know is the safe, harmless to crays process we have always practiced.
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
scubafish
Posts: 949
Date Joined: 15/08/12
bathers/wetsuit soaking in napisan.
LUCKY!!
good story for the grandkids.
http://img.gg/BQ91Sys
Anyfishwilldo (not verified)
Posts: 23
Date Joined: 01/01/70
Fk that, definitely a close
Fk that, definitely a close call...
grantarctic1
Posts: 2546
Date Joined: 03/03/11
Glad
Glad you are ok mate, Maby we need fisheries themselves try and gauge crays in those conditions before they make up these rules. I would even put it to them, they are breaching duty of care by forcing divers to go through these steps while taking crays.
quadfisher
Posts: 1146
Date Joined: 28/09/10
Thats it Grant , earlier in
Thats it Grant , earlier in the year I sent 3 seperate , long , involved emails to fisherys , all centred around safety and there ability to
put, or not put people in unnessary harm by a stroke of there cray legistation pen.
There replys just simply stood the departments line and the general lack of understanding and humanity stunk , thats were they lost me.
Glad your ok scotto ,,,,,,,,,,, as stated , when a diver is lost because of increased bottom time , or his distraction from safety trying to follow rules,
are fisherys going to be looking after the familys?
quadfisher
Dale
Posts: 7930
Date Joined: 13/09/05
Jeeeezus Christ, glad your still around to talk about it. I had a time diving for crays near Carnac Island when something hit me in the hip. Turned out to be a seal trying to get my catch bag which was clipped to my belt. I shit myself for sure.
"Just because you are a Character, Doesn't mean you have Character."
Mr Wolf
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
good that your ok scotto
good that your ok scotto ..close as you want to get to one id say mate ..
but its a sad reflection on the way our oceans here have become so crowded with these buggers ...
they need to be thinned out imo ...
hezzy
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
dodgy
Posts: 4562
Date Joined: 01/02/10
Doesn’t sound like a
Doesn’t sound like a pleasant encounter. Sounds like a solid tick for the shark shield though.
Does anyone know where the love of god goes, when the waves turn the minutes to hours?
Tom M
Posts: 662
Date Joined: 22/09/15
Glad you are okay mate, like
Glad you are okay mate, like others gave up on diving when you can't enjoy it because you are continually thinking of sharks. Bit of a long bow to blame fisheries though but I can understand your anger.
Tom M
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
not really Tom,
yesterdays conditions were deceiving. the winds looked average, but doable, however the surge on the bottom was ridiculous, and was not what I had expected.
we honestly tried to gauge crays underwater, and I did my best to keep count, but yet I was 1 cray under bag limit, my bud was 1 over limit, and we both had (just) undersize crays. we both had half a tank each still to go, and could have kept catching a few more to compensate for the above, but we have both been trying to do the right thing, ie: by the fisheries book. I have cuts all over my ankles and head, from being smashed around into the reef.
it put us in a position where we had worked very fucking hard, for just over half our limit, and we wanted to make it worth us coming out.
I understand the dangers of doing what I do, and although I'm a bit shaken from yesterday, I'm still looking forward to my next dive, and I'll keep diving for as long as I can. I just wonder what would have happened if it were someone else without a shark shield, or the confidence to think and act under pressure.
it could have had a very different ending.
hezzy
Posts: 1519
Date Joined: 27/11/09
hey scotto , bet that white
hey scotto , bet that white was thinking ''ID LIKE TO TAP THAT !!! LOL
OFW 11
evil flourishes when good men do nothing
little johnny
Posts: 5328
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Get thrown of horse
Get straight back on it. Top was good ( vis). Bottom was sand storms crap last few meters. No different today neither. Plenty of hard whites on outer ledges.( ready to go). I actually put my sheild on today , first time
Marineboy
Posts: 839
Date Joined: 14/03/14
Good attitude
good attitude Scotto, glad to see this hasn’t put you off doing something you enjoy doing.
My spots are so secret even the fish don't know about them !
Jadeo
Posts: 269
Date Joined: 08/06/15
Doesn't sound like fun at
Doesn't sound like fun at all! Go buy a lotto ticket mate.
kirky79
Posts: 1351
Date Joined: 13/01/12
Fark!!
Not nice. Glad you're ok Scotto.
rob90
Posts: 1522
Date Joined: 06/02/13
Nuh! Nuh! Nuh! Nuh! Fuck
Nuh! Nuh! Nuh! Nuh! Fuck that! Good to hear your ok and in well enough spirits to explain the ordeal. Id be curled in a ball sittin in the corner for a few days. Takes a balls to do what you guys do.
Hi my name is rob............. and I'm a........... fishaholic
z00m
Posts: 1086
Date Joined: 10/05/14
Not good
For sure it's not good that you were menaced by bitey. Great that you are alive and well to tell the story.
Reading your story though, could it not have been true that you just dropped in on where the shark was for the second swim? I'm sure it didn't follow the boat knowing you had more quota to catch and waiting for you. Chances are if you had dropped in on that spot at that time for the first dive you would have had the same experience.
Brock O
Posts: 3163
Date Joined: 11/01/08
Shark shields a must and
Shark shields a must and lucky you seen it on the first pass!
Conditions on the bottom were shit yesty with 3-4m vis max.
I didnt even bother gauging on bottom yesty although have done the last few dives. ended with 7 and one going back...shells and soft whites everywere.
Markie
Posts: 2140
Date Joined: 06/08/10
Dayummm. I have way too much
Dayummm. I have way too much shark anxiety these days. Struggle to surf comfortably anymore. I' be finished for life if that happened.
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
Faark! scary shit mate!Glad
Faark! scary shit mate!
Glad to hear the shark shield did the job but interesting that the shark veared away on it's first approach before the shark shield was turned on... I can see how they will work though. I was diving in the river for crabs last week and got a bit twisted up getting one crab and got the shark shield point blank in the side of the head.... It was VERY unpleasant indeed.
I just got back from a dive today and forgot to grab the bloody shark shield off the charger on the bench. After using it for the last year, I felt quite a bit nervious without it...
I think I'm going to turn mine on in the boat from now on after hearing that story...
Definately a lot of soft white crays around now...
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
big john
Posts: 8725
Date Joined: 20/07/06
Pfftt
Probably that fish begging dolphin from Two Rocks came down for a visit Scotto.
WA based manufacturer and supplier of premium leadhead jigs, fligs, bucktail jigs, 'bulletproof' soft plastic jig heads and XOS bullet jig heads.
Jigs available online in my web store!
sea-kem
Posts: 14851
Date Joined: 30/11/09
Lol he head's up our way too
Lol he head's up our way too for a day of bait scabbing.
Love the West!
crano
Posts: 695
Date Joined: 04/11/09
The end
The end of the story was I got out the smokie and blew it away ??????
Walfootrot
Posts: 1386
Date Joined: 23/07/12
Scotto, good that it had a
Scotto, good that it had a happy ending.
Far too many of the things out there for my liking, and something must be done IMO.
Thinking a second shark shield lowered down on a deco line is the go, set it 5 min before you start the dive.
I still think they follow the boats, sound of the motor.
They follow the cray boats for the old bait, this may have something to do with them coming to the boats... Just my thoughts.
Once again happy ending that could have ended bad..
More drum lines, kill the bloody sharks!
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
Dead right wal,
My exact thoughts were it probably heard me motoring around to find a suitable anchor spot, just like a potter motors around to find a suitable ledge to drop the pot.
We we had only dropped the anchor about 2 mins before, and my thoughts are the shark probably thought I was a cray pot, rushed me, realised I wasn’t a pot, before veering off and then another look.
BlueKiaser
Posts: 422
Date Joined: 22/04/15
Murphy's Law
What ever can go wrong, will go wrong ... and from my experience, if you feel that you are unnescessarily doing something that you would generally not choose to do, but are compelled to by outside forces, that's when Murphy really likes to come to town.
Just out of curiousity, a question to all you divers regarding the rules ... just how the heck are you supposed to get back to the vessel, get on board, get enough gear off to be comfortable to then check all your catch and clip your keepers and return the others in less than 5 minutes? ... I'm not a diver (haven't got the balls or heart to experience what Scotto just did), but common sense tells me that 5 minutes is totally unrealistic (especially if no non-diver is onboard, readily available to immediately sort the catch). Even if you are only checking your own maximum catch of 8 crays (nevermind if you are sorting more than 8 for more than one license).
I would like to see a few divers, time themselves from the second they get back to the boat, to the second they finish processing their catch.
(NB: My apologies, if this question has already been hashed out in previous threads.)
Rob H
Posts: 5743
Date Joined: 18/01/12
Do what Bret did, hang the
Do what Bret did, hang the bag off the ladder while you get out and sorted then lift bag out of the water
Give a man a mask, and he'll show you his true face...
The older you get the more you realize that no one has a f++king clue what they're doing.
Everyone's just winging it.
BlueKiaser
Posts: 422
Date Joined: 22/04/15
I asked the question given
I asked the question given the wording of the rules;
"Divers should make all attempts to measure and count rock lobsters as accurately as possible in the water. Check each rock lobster as you catch it to determine if it is totally protected (see page 10). If totally protected, release it carefully and immediately, before another rock lobster is captured.
Fisheries Officers in normal circumstances allow five minutes from when a diver returns to the vessel for divers to sort, recheck for any totally protected lobster and tail clip their catch (see page 14), before undertaking their inspection."
10 minutes I can understand and respect. 5 minutes is barely enough time for a diver to get out of the water and gear to start processing the catch.
Alan James
Posts: 2205
Date Joined: 30/06/09
...
The Fish Resources Management Regulations 1995 state "... within 5 minutes of bringing the rock lobster to the boat ..." so hanging a catch bag off a ladder or any other boat attachment needs to be treated with a great deal of caution also.
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
I've been leaving the
I've been leaving the Cylinder and BC in the water lately, I find it too hard to climb the ladder back onto the boat wearing it. I take all my other shit off as well and throw it in the motor well and pretty much just climb in with my catch bag around my waist.
I think even though this Carter thing has put me off the fisheries, they would be pretty tough of any Fisheries officers to start counting a five minute count before you were actually on the boat. I'm taking "return to the boat" to mean actually on board....
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
Ben85
Posts: 442
Date Joined: 20/11/11
Just as I had worked up the
Just as I had worked up the courage to get back in the water for some cray dives this summer I read that... Glad you're OK. It's suprising to hear it came at you in that amount of time. Going to have to start jumping in with no air in the BCD, go down like an anchor!
Curndog
Posts: 441
Date Joined: 21/11/16
Fuck me you lucky
Fuck me you lucky barstard!!! Stupid fucking rule. Hang up the bc and flippers! I bet you needed those beers
Coastrunner
Posts: 414
Date Joined: 25/10/14
Out of no where last day before the ban in 40m
I had a 3M + shark that I think was a bronzey come up from under the boat after I reeled in a snapper, in less than a second I went from hanging over the side thinking "whats that shadow in the water" to holy fuck, it was big, fast, aggressive and give me the eyeball before disappearing, I can understand you being rattled.
resurgence
Posts: 573
Date Joined: 23/04/14
Blaming Fisheries?
I would never wish ill on anyone, especially with regard to shark attacks, and although I haven’t been following things closely it does seem Fisheries are not handling this issue well.
However to blame for putting you in danger is, frankly, ludicrous.
It’s like the guy I read about a little while ago (might have been on here) that said the boat limit of two dhufish was a safety issue because it forced people to go out solo more often (his “logic” was that the limit made it not worthwhile for 2 or more people to go out together).
I just don’t understand this thinking.
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
Ok,
1). conditions below the surface were an absolute washing machine.
2). We tried to count and size our crays underwater, although conditions meant this was extremely hard to do.
3). As per fisheries regulations, We stopped catching crays when we thought we had 8 each, and around half a tank of air left each (but we could have kept catching).
4). When we surfaced and final checked our crays, 6 out of 16 crays were undersized or tarspot.
5). This put us in a position that we needed to do another dive, in order to try reach our quota, and make it worth our efforts.
6). It was at this fucking point, a fucking shark tried to fucking attack me.
stricko
Posts: 222
Date Joined: 10/05/10
Point 6 you don't look like
Point 6 you don't look like a cray pot it new what it was doing very lucky i think.
axey45
Posts: 1758
Date Joined: 26/11/13
What location were you
What location were you diving at m8? Glad ya safe.
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
3 mile
inside edge of the 3 mile, almost straight out of Hillarys mate.
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8047
Date Joined: 07/05/12
There's a small seal colony
There's a small seal colony around there at Little Island. Fuck me, that's the last time I jump in the water there!!
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
Quobbarockhopper
Posts: 391
Date Joined: 28/05/10
dont reckon you would have
dont reckon you would have had a problem surfacing with a couple extra... unless you were taking the piss, say like, with coming up with 44 crays in two bags between 3 people perhaps...
... and if it was an absolute washing machine, that bad you cant put a gauge on a cray accurately and are that hard up you just had to go back down into said washing machine to top up to make it worthwhile... maybe just dont bother going in the first place
Recreational Fishing:
"Recreation": noun. An activity done for enjoyment when one is not working
bennym_82
Posts: 86
Date Joined: 18/05/16
Read the room mate....
If it wasn’t for fisheries new interpretation of what used to be a long standing practice of having time to measure/check catch in the boat, these guys would’ve been well on the way back to the ramp with their quota. Comparing a diver taking the risk, albeit calculated and of their own fruition,of unnecessarily reentering the water verses someone’s misguided ‘logic’ for dhu fishing is drawing a pretty long bow.
Glad the blokes were able to get home with nothing more than a puckered asshole and a good story!
resurgence
Posts: 573
Date Joined: 23/04/14
Here’s the flawed logic
Bag and size limits = safety issue
Faulkner Family
Posts: 17861
Date Joined: 11/03/08
not good about getting
not good about getting buzzed and harrassed. unfortunately we enter their domain knowing the risks . glad to hear your ok apart from a possible skid mark in the wetty.
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
JohnF
Posts: 2836
Date Joined: 07/07/10
Scotto I bet that sheila who
Scotto
I bet that sheila who was trying to protect the "chickens" is having a bit of a giggle....... :)
Boston Whaler 235 Conquest......getting the flogging it was built for.
Dirty Mexican
Posts: 3
Date Joined: 23/11/14
Hey Scotto,I myself have
Hey Scotto,
I myself have recently ( 2 weeks ago) been buzzed by a white just off the back of 1 mile in 4.5m of water off Hillarys.
I'm not sure why Fisheries are copping it here though.You have 5 minutes to check your crays once you get back to the boat so you have plenty of time.
My concern is that you cant seem to go off Hillarys now to either Dive or to even pull pots without being harrassed by large bronzies and in your case ( and mine ) whites.
Were getting sharks follow up every pot we pull and see them almost every time were going out for a dive.
Ive been diving off Hillarys for the last 20 years racking around 200 dives a year and up until this season have only seen 2 sharks.This season I have seen dozens.
I think there is a bigger issue that nobody has the answer for nor the balls to do anything about.
...
scotto
Posts: 2470
Date Joined: 21/04/08
Gday DM,
the reason I’m having a dig at Fisheries, is because we used to try fill our bag best we could during a dive, which compensated for any undersize, unidentified tarspot, or if a dive buddy doesn’t get his limit. We’d then re-check the sizes and illegals, and sort the bag limits out on the boat.
Now we can’t surface with more than 8 each, and when you get conditions like we had the other week, we couldn’t even gauge them correctly underwater, and ended up throwing 30% of our catch back once we could triple check them on the boat. This put us in a position where we put fresh tanks on, and decided to do another dive to try top up our cray numbers. This is when I was buzzed by the shark.
In in a nutshell, if we hadve been doing it as we always did, we wouldn’t have had to do a second dive. If I didn’t do a second dive, I wouldn’t have had a shark encounter.
quadfisher
Posts: 1146
Date Joined: 28/09/10
Plain and simple
Good on you scotto for being patient and trying ( unsuccessfully) to explain the logic of how the new changed rules can and will put
divers at a increased risk that never excisted before.
It has been explained by experienced divers on here many many times , and as far as I am concerned if some cant see it by now , they never will.
Stuff Fisheries, why shouldnt the end users of the rule change and citizens of the state question the staus quo when its bad policy made by overzealous
office bound managers and little generals overstepping there station to win a court case,,,,,,,,,,, , what are we , sheep?.
quadfisher
Skull
Posts: 630
Date Joined: 03/01/12
Perhaps
Scotto, good to hear all is well, on this ocassion you encountered a shark on your second dive, you are blaming Fisheries for this, who would you have blamed if you encountered it on your first dive? certainly not the fisheries I would think.
As with most if not all shark encouters and attacks, sadly someone is in the wrong place at the wrong time, we dive by choice knwing that at any time something can go wrong and this includes shark encounters, do you wear a shark shield out of interest?
There are lots of contributors on this site who continually refer back to Phantoms case and issues with Fisheries, surely we can't blame the fisheries for your encounter, they can't know if a shark is going to be where you choose to dive unless of course it is tagged, do you check any of the shark sites before you dive?
You chose to do a second dive, we are all responsible for our choices
Just my thoughts
Skull
Skull
little johnny
Posts: 5328
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Can be dead calm
On surface . No winds or swell. Down below can be storm. Many many divers better than me on site( moose, Rockpom) 2 that comes to mind right now. Ask them , Unless targeting jumbos almost impossible to guage effectively underwater . To many factors to consider. If scotto and fellow diver didn't have to do second dive. Encounter wouldn't have happened . Pretty simple in my books. Catch Crays sort on top . Throw excess back in. Anyone who says it's simple is full of crap. Been in water most my life. Never come across situation like phantoms case( Brett's). I've lost 2 gauges dicking around gauging them underwater. This isn't about potters vs divers. It's about people's safety. ALL OVER A WORD (TAKE). Could have been very bad outcome for scotto. Lucky very lucky. Fisheries coping it due to divers only being able to swim up with 8. ( once snared you have taken it) .Problem being divers trying to follow make beilieve rule , due to not wanting to loose boat or cop big fine. Some days can be done underwater others impossible. And no not having dig at fisheries, but if this crap over phantoms case wasn't there( in this example) it wouldn't have happened. ( shark encounter) Both divers would have come up with few extras to make sure. My bitch done for night . All good:). Also do more damage to Crays while gauging them underwater. Legs ect. Double handleing them. Snare ,bag ,easy simple
resurgence
Posts: 573
Date Joined: 23/04/14
Analogy
So I get a couple of mates together and we go out on my boat to pull our pots. Conditions are pretty ordinary but we still think we are OK. Pull the first three pots and we get 20 crays, but while gauging them on the boat we have to throw four back, so we have sixteen legal size crays. Still short of our limit, so we decide to check the remaining pots. However in the meantime the wind has picked up and so have the waves and whitecaps. Conditions are now borderline unsafe, but we have to fill our bag to the limit, right? Motor over to the fourth pot and grab the rope. While manouevring to bring the pot up, which gets stuck momentarily, we take a wave over the transom. One guy nearly falls overboard but manages to hang on, and the outboard was in danger of being swamped, but we are OK, so we decided to call it a day.
On the way home I start cursing Fisheries for putting my life in danger by forcing me to fill my bag limit, and not allowing me the safety of taking the entire haul back into Cockburn sound where I can anchor quietly and sort my catch. They have a lot to answer for.
little johnny
Posts: 5328
Date Joined: 04/12/11
No , see your point thou.
Once diving your committed . Never ever guaged wrong on boat . I wouldn't go out on boat diving or potting in rough conditions. my point is it can be dead flat ( wind and swell).underneith water can be sand storms and current. Safe to dive hard to gauge . Come up with 8 keepers ,only to find out you fu--ed up. If fisheries there who determines ( conditions) is there any leeway?
resurgence
Posts: 573
Date Joined: 23/04/14
Maybe don't dive?
If it's too hard to safely comply with the regs then maybe call it off and come back tomorrow?
My point is this - all the way through the entire process of going to dive for crays (or pulling pots or fishing or any other activity on the water) there are a series of self-check points about safety; at any time if a person is not comfortable with the risks they can stop. Is my boat and safety gear in acceptable condition? Is my diving equipment in safe condition? Is the weather safe to go out in? Is the weather safe to dive in? Are conditions on the bottom safe for catching and measuring crays? On top of that, there are risks associated with any activity. Any time you dive off Perth, you know there is a risk that you will encounter a great white.
The OP was unhappy that Fisheries regulations put him in an unsafe situation, because he had to dive a second time "to top up our quota". This was after he'd already encountered less than ideal conditions on the first dive where he "personally got flogged the fuckoutof, and I even got sucked into a small cave at one point". Was that Fisheries fault as well?
This is a voluntary, recreational activity, no-one is being pressured to catch crays, and at the end of the day the prize is what, a handful of crayfish?
sea-kem
Posts: 14851
Date Joined: 30/11/09
I've also been on plenty of
I've also been on plenty of dives where it's blowing it arse off on top LJ and as calm as an aquarium below. I guess the point is we all have the responsibility to make the choice whether it's safe to dive or not. You can't blame fisheries for your own choices.
Love the West!
little johnny
Posts: 5328
Date Joined: 04/12/11
Point taken
Not blaming them for shark encounter at all. It's about a rule that isn't clear in legislation . And yes we make are own decisions. Sometimes silly ones. All good . Wait and see next court case I suppose.
Marineboy
Posts: 839
Date Joined: 14/03/14
Everyone’s gone mad
i have been a diver and avid hunter of crays for a long time now, most expierienced divers will have an idea of whether a cray is legal or not as soon as they grab it from the loop, if you gauge it under the water and it is borderline put it back and grab the next one. I think people on here are going overboard on the bring back 8 to the boat thing and I don’t think any fisheries officer would bust you if you came back with 10 and gauged them within 5 minutes and returned excess to the water immediately however if you came back with 20 maybe that’s taking the piss. Sounds like the conditions were a little average on scottos dive and maybe the need to bag out was what put him in danger not the fisheries dept. glad you are ok scotto and still plan to dive.
My spots are so secret even the fish don't know about them !
Jackfrost80
Posts: 8047
Date Joined: 07/05/12
Well said MB
Well said MB
Officially off the Pies bandwagon
gruntre69
Posts: 533
Date Joined: 15/10/16
x 2
x 2
Marine trimmer NOR (available for clears, tops, carpet, upholstery, custom equipment covers)
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
Yep, well said marineboy
Very glad indeed that he is ok, however I don't think fisheries can be held responsible for the close shave.