Fisheries Victoria
'A fortnightly round-up of recreational fisheries management issues'
Fish-e-Fax Issue 200, 19 July 2007
Fines issued for illegal trout fishing in Gippsland rivers
Three recreational anglers have been fined by Fisheries Officers for illegal trout fishing in the Tarago and Latrobe rivers.
Fisheries Victoria Operations Manager for Gippsland, Peter Courtney, said the plain-clothed officers discovered the two groups of recreational anglers during a planned patrol targeting people fishing inland rivers for trout during the trout closed season.
Vietnamese know your limits pocket card
The anglers were found to have committed a number of offences including:
taking or possessing trout during the closed season,
using trout eggs for bait,
fishing without a Recreational Fishing Licence, and
taking more than the daily catch-limit.
The Fisheries Officers issued six infringement notices with fines of up to $330 for each offence. They also seized 29 brown and rainbow trout, and fishing equipment used by the offenders.
The 2007 closed season for trout fishing in rivers runs from 11 June until midnight on 31 August. The closed season protects riverine trout during the spawning season when they are at their most vulnerable. During this time anglers must not take or possess trout in rivers.
Members of the public who observe any suspected illegal fishing activity are reminded to call 13FISH (ph. 13 3474) at any time, seven days a week.
Australian Trout Foundation tables their Trout Policy
The Australian Trout Foundation (ATF) has tabled their Trout Policy at the latest Victorian Recreational Fishing Peak body (VRFish) Council Meeting.
The Executive Office for VRFish, Christopher Collins, has agreed to distribute the policy to all associated groups within the VRFish structure for discussion. If any interested club or association would like obtain the policy, contact the VRFish office via email at info@vrfish.com.au .
River/Stream Classification – NFA and ATF working together
The Australian Trout Foundation (ATF) and Native Fish Australia (NFA) in cooperation with the Victorian Recreational Fishing peak body (VRFish) are working together to determine a comprehensive model for stream classification, basin by basin across Victoria. This will assist Fisheries Victoria to determine the final classifications of Victoria's streams.
It should be noted that classified waters program is species specific and do not relate to angling methods. Trout waters, native waters and mixed species waters will be identified in the outcome.
The ATF/NFA/VRFish committee will seek angler input for the report on the classification model and once completed the report will be circulated by VRFish for further angler consultation.
Know your limits pocket cards in foreign languages
To help Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) communities enjoy their day fishing, Fisheries Victoria has released the Know Your Limits recreational fishing pocket card in Cambodian, Chinese and Vietnamese.
The pocket card is a condensed field version of the Victorian Recreational Fishing Guide and summarises minimum legal length and bag limit information for Victoria's most popular fish species.
Funded by recreational fishing licence fees and printed on waterproof and tear resistant paper, the pocket card has been designed to accompany anglers out onto the water, either in a jacket pocket or a tackle box.
CALD communities make up a growing proportion of the Victorian community. Some CALD community members consume a lot of seafood, and for many, catching their own fish for the table is commonplace. Despite this, there are few educational resources available in languages other than English to help CALD communities comply with recreational size and bag limits.
These translated pocket cards are a small step towards improving the provision of this information to CALD communities that might otherwise remain unaware of the rules.
The free pocket cards are available from metropolitan and regional multicultural centres, selected fishing tackle shops, some Department of Primary Industries (DPI) offices or by ringing the DPI Customer Service Centre on 136 186. They can also be downloaded from the measures, rulers, pocket cards, posters & stickers page.
Water level update
Below are the current water levels for a selection of waters in Victoria as of July 9, 2007.
Home :
Welcome to the Sportsfish Network 
