Metro Whiting and a Trawler
On the Sunday 25th April coming back from Rottnest I saw a Pro trawler with his booms out around the 32 mts contour line,I saw a mate who had been out the Saturday and saw the same boat operating in much the same area,West of Double view water tank.I went out on Friday last week and tried for some whiting on the grounds were I have caught them in the past,I got 5 and that was after trying several spots (at least )7I did get several very small Flat head some about 6"inches long and some 2inches long,the smallest I have ever got,but,I saw the same Pro Trawler ,,with its booms out doing runs from South too North and back and although I did not go all that close by using the Cmap on my gps I saw he was working the sand.Now I do not know if it is just me but it seems strange that the whiting seem to have almost dis appeared? I asked my mate who had been out the previous Saturday,they got 12 between three fishermen Is it possible that the trawler is netting up the whiting on Perths recreational fishing doorstep I know for a fact that they used to 5/10 years ago,but I thought the netting had been banned in this area.My question is,Has any one else seen this trawler,in the area from Scarborough Observation city building to North of Hillarys marina working in the 30/35 contour line.Has anyone else noticed a sudden decrease in the whiting and the size of them?or is it just me who is not able to find fish that I could a few weeks back guarantee catching?jersey
DieHard
Posts: 1823
Date Joined: 06/10/08
Doesnt sound good but you
Doesnt sound good but you have a theory going!
Hope it doesnt stay the same.
maybe the whiting are going deeper because of the seasons?
DieHard – The Official “Ray & Shark” Chaser!
carnarvonite
Posts: 8680
Date Joined: 24/07/07
Demersal netting
I think it's only demersal netting and wet liners banned, not sure about the mulie boats and prawn trawlers
grahamg
Posts: 24
Date Joined: 27/12/09
Equipment test
I was talking to a scallop fisherman about this, he said there is an area around about there designated for trawlers to test their equipment. Maybe thats what was going on?
freedive spearfisher
Faulkner Family
Posts: 18161
Date Joined: 11/03/08
doesnt sound right to me. i
doesnt sound right to me. i thought they had a total ban . but if they were testing their gear it could make the fish in the area dissapear for a while. lets just hope they arent taking the fish
RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together
deepwater
Posts: 1921
Date Joined: 09/05/07
as am Xtrawler man we have
as am Xtrawler man we have an area in exmouth gulf where we trial you gear ,it is not to catch anything it is to make sure our gear is shotting away the way it should and not going to twist up and to make sure all of our winchers are all working the way they should, im not sure this is what is going on down there ,but they have to do it some where............
jeff
wopjrb
Posts: 1407
Date Joined: 05/03/09
thats where they do testing and training mate
seriously the amount of whiting that actually end up in the nets is minimal more often than not your not on a patch of fish - try changing bait or moving around - the trawlers that drop there are predominently chasing scollops
Brody
Posts: 1025
Date Joined: 06/02/07
yeah, the tafe boat,
yeah, the tafe boat, maritime image also uses that area as a training ground, we caught plenty of scallops, not many whiting and some rays etc.
swoffer
Posts: 83
Date Joined: 30/12/06
Jeff is onto it , that is a
Jeff is onto it , that is a designated sea trial area and they would have been trialling gear etc . absolutely no chance they caught all ya whiting as they are not permitted to have draw strings in the cod ends . Their gear would not even have been on the bottom as it is to rough there and would severly damage their nets .
wadetolley
Posts: 2258
Date Joined: 27/06/08
Hit
When i lived in Perth, we did heaps of whiting off scarbs mate They last few years we have done very well. But this year for some reason, there was bugger all around. You still catch a few, but no where as thick as the used to be. I was putting it down to a bad season for some reason.
Trousersnake
Posts: 172
Date Joined: 20/12/09
I started fishing in December
I have been out as often as I can beach fishing and I have been boat fishing a few times just off tha coast. In 6 months I have only caught 1 decent size whiting and haven't seen my mates pull any in worth putting on a plate. Before I landed tha decent sizer I didn't think tha they existed bigger than a few inches. Maybe it is just a bad year.
null
grayzeee
Posts: 2283
Date Joined: 09/07/09
wonder if the dredging had
wonder if the dredging had anything to do with it.
pity they couldn't test the trawling gear in blowfish country !
If I spent half as long fishing , as I do reading this bloody forum , I'd be twice the fisherman I am.