Reel in real threats, Dave Fishing bans?

Reel in real threats, Dave Fishing bans?: DAVE Thomas’s love of Sydney’s saltwater environment is something to be admired.

His muddle-headed demands for widespread fishing bans along the northern beaches are not.

Yet again, those who want to curtail the greenest way to put some seafood on the table - recreational fishing - paint it as the passion of ocean ogres and environmental vandals.

But critics seem to mount their attacks on a base of ignorance. Certainly it isn’t science.

Mr Thomas, NSW’s recreational fishos are among the most tightly regulated in the world. And Sydney’s seas are, in fact, in stunning good health.

Have you been on the harbour lately Mr Thomas? I urge you to do so. Last week I cruised around the Emerald City’s jewel in awe at the sheer amount of life.

There are squillions of bonito attacking baitfish at North Harbour, at Middle Head, off the Manly ferry wharf. Above them, squawking flocks of birds picked off baitfish driven to the surface by predators underneath. A little penguin was hunting the edges of the baitfish in one bay. Sharks have been seen at Grotto Point, Dobroyd Point and North Head.


Mr Thomas was quoted in the Daily as wanting beach fishing bans at North Harbour and Manly Cove. Why?

Are you aware, Mr Thomas, that bans on recreational fishing from beaches are not supported by science? They are places of transient fish populations, here today, gone tomorrow. They are not places with resident fish which need specific protection.

According to the Daily, Mr Thomas’ big gripe is also discarded fishing line, hooks and rubbish. Beaches are the least likely place to lose a hook and sinker and some line to a snag. Why then do you demand bans?

If Mr Thomas is talking about rubbish left on land at these beaches, I presume he’s also calling for a ban on sunbathers and picnickers.

He would be better to direct his anger, and admirable passion for the marine environment, to the real threats; an increasing population, poorly regulated commercial fishing, pollution, chemical run-off from our streets, factories and farms and the degradation of mangrove forests.

Posted in: fishing sport