BRONTE / COOGEE AQUATIC RESERVE EXPANSION PROPOSED:

[CEO]

   ECOfishers opinion and advice, has been sought (19/5/09) concerning a "community" push, to expand the Bronte / Coogee Aquatic Reserve in Sydney. As representatives of NSW recreational fishers, our views are important to community groups, government departments  and decision makers. And since ECOfishers represents you, the recreational fishers of NSW, your views on any issue, are important to us also! That's why we keep you informed and involved, via our website and vast email network.
  Blur Groper (males) and Red and Brown Groper (females) are at the centre of this "community" push to increase the size and boundaries of this eastern Sydney, Aquatic Reserve.
  There is a perception among some community groups, that the size of the Reserve needs to be expanded to accommodate and "preserve," increasing numbers of Groper. Currently, there is a bag limit of 2 Groper per person per day for recreational line fishers only. There is a legal length of 30cm, with only one fish over 60cm. Groper stocks ARE NOT OVERFISHED. (Neither growth nor recruitment) Stocks are sustainable and healthy.
  ECOfishers preliminary advice to this proposal, is as always, we require irrefutable, site specific sound science, to justify or refute, any such proposal. And any scientific investigation of the population dynamics and habitat etc, of that resident Blue Groper population, ought also include live acoustic tagging, of a reasonable representative sample, of say 30 fish, and a study of their local habitat, and movements within and without the Reserve, etc.
  Obviously our Sydney metropolitan members and colleagues will play an important role, in determining the outcome of any such proposal.
  You can look forward to hearing from us and we canvas and welcome, your personal and collective views. Remember, we require irrefutable site specific sound science to determine any such proposal! That is the ECOfishers way and we continue to make our people, part of the solution!
  We will be talking and sharing on our network, so stay tuned.
       ECOFISHERS - UNITYING NSW RECREATIONAL FISHERS!

[CEO]

  And part of your ECOfishers policy that will be rlevant to this particular issue, is that, "ECOfishers calls for the protection of spawning aggregations and spawning sites, for species that are scientifically assessed as recruitment overfished, OR when  the stock-recruitment relationship, indicates this type of management is appropriate and necessary. For the size of the spawning stock able and allowed to spawn, is critical." (ECOfishers Policy 2004)

[Open Oyster]

        Once again ECOfishers  expertise is sought on matters of importance to recreational fishers. Can you afford not to be a member of ECOfishers?

[CEO]

Not if you want to be kept informed and in the loop, OO! ECOfishers are the best informed recreational fishers, in NSW.

[CEO]

This latest claim by a "community group," is also curious in so far as it coincides with the latest belated, NPA push to resurrect their Ripped Blue Fringe. Government ministers aren't entirely stupid. (Well those we meet anyway and that's a fair few of them) They know and recognize the NPA's outrageous claim for what it is, a stampede to cause more grief, before the next state election.

[CEO]

The meeting at the Clovelly Surf Club last night (11/6/09) outlined the scientific research to be undertaken. ECOfishers can clarify for local eastern suburbs recreational fishers, that there IS NOT a total fishing ban being proposed in the fishable parts of the Aquatic Reserve, for the next twelve months. (30th June 2009 to 31st July 2010) The requirement is that if you capture any Blue Groper, within the confines of the Reserve durig that time, you release it immediately, unharmed, into the site from which it was extracted. And this survey only relates to Blue Groper. We hope this clarifies the situation for some metropolitan receational fishers.

[CEO]

 ECOfishers, here is another Fisheries management issue, that has been taken over by DECC.  Wouldn't you think the current Minister for Fisheries, Ian Macdonald, would be objecting to this DECC initiative?  But no, not a peep. He obviously couldn't care less about the states recreational fishers or our fisheries resource. No wonder some of our most senior fisheries scientists are saying NSW recreational fisheries are, "appallingly managed." Are we being sold out again - just like the government marine parks imposed upon reluctant coastal communities?

[Nete-Quette]

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[Nete-Quette]

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[CEO]

 All we are supporting at this stage, is what we asked for when we were consulted. And that is "irrefutable site specific science that will determine, via internal acoustic transmitters, in a representative sample of Reserve Groper, the habitats that Blue Groper (both sexes) frequent, how long they spend in the variety of habitats and possibly for what purposes, and to chart the size and scale of each individual's home range (since Blue Groper are territorial and a sedentary species) There is no scientific evidence whatsoever, that may even suggest, that Blue Groper are growth overfished. They certainly aen't recruitment overfished. And yes, a "community group," could be a Sydney fishing club.
  Please refer to the three dot points, in the correspondence from DECC. This is a scientific investigation. The collected and collated data, will then determine the outcome of the investigation - one way or another.  And yes again, ECOfishers will  constantly be kept in the information loop. We already have that undertaking from DECC. We all find it curious that DECC is leading this investigation, but they secured the funding for the project and as the saying goes "she who pays the piper, calls the tune!" Personally, I know and have a lot of faith in, Dr Tracey MacDonald and "no," she is not related to the current Fisheries Minister.
  No, there is no pre-Reserve data on Blue Groper, that we know of. That would clearly  have been the role, responsibility and function of the Ministers ACoRF wouldn't it, before the Reserve was established and declared in March 2002. So no before data, that we are aware of. We agree, it seems to be a necessary requirement, BEFORE the Reserve was established though.

[CEO]

We are now aware of additional information relating to the establishment of the Bronte / Coogee marine reserve. Colleague and Strategic Working Committee member, Mel Brown writes, "ACoRF had nothing to do with the Bronte/Coogee marine reserve. After an alleged spearing of "Bluey," Bob Carr stepped in and dictated there would be a marine reserve. It was in his electorate. The only haggling was with the boundaries. "Bluey," turned up again a little later. There was no science then in the declartion and there will be very little valid science in the present proposal. Such a study needs to be done over at least a 5 year period, to have any real validity." Thanks for the additional info Mel. Your contributions, experience and wisdom is always appreciated.

[CEO]

  Clearly another case of "no science!" Mel, do tell all of us more about "Bluey turned up again, a little later." Wasn't he speared?