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Post by fish on Jan 6, 2023 19:42:39 GMT 12
I had cause to call 0800 4 POACHER this evening, and was very pleased with the process and response.
Got through to an actual person after 2 or 3 rings. No fucking around with "press 1 for.." "press 2 for..." or "leave a message and we will get back to you within business hours". Noting it was 6:30 pm on a Friday, during holidays.
And no fucking around once I got through to the lady, just the location of the offending, nature of the offending and my name and phone number. No form filling, no case numbers, no twaddlebollocks.
Fisheries officer called within about 1/2 hr and was on route to the location. Just wanting to confirm basic details of the offending. He sounded kind of excited actually.
And just while I'm writing this, had a return call from the Fisheries officer to update on outcomes, been to site, sorted the offending issues, gave some education and will be posting a formal warning.
Job done.
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Poachers
Jan 6, 2023 21:50:37 GMT 12
via mobile
Post by sabre on Jan 6, 2023 21:50:37 GMT 12
You got me curious about the nature of the offending... undersize fish?
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Post by fish on Jan 7, 2023 11:18:48 GMT 12
You got me curious about the nature of the offending... undersize fish? Set nets. Was really interesting. I read all of the rules just after Christmas, wanted to update myself on baitfish and reef species sizes before I went nuts with my new topwater rod and spear fishing over the New Years holiday period (noting summer is cancelled so it was a waste of time) There are a number of requirements for set nets, and I hate set netting, so I read them all. Anyway, went for my evening walk on the local beach last night, and spotted multiple breaches of the rules based on my recently appraisal of what was permitted. 4 nets, spaced maybe 20m apart, plastic bottles for floats, no markings, and what appeared to be a net size of 50mm. Two very large islanders in a nearby van. Rules: Nets must be a minimum of 60 m apart. (not 20m) All floats must have clear markings including initials and surname 1 person can only use or poses 1 net (2 islanders permitting 2 nets max, not 4) minimum net mesh size is 90mm (I thought it was 50mm but the Fisheries officer said it was OK) Other than the technicalities, the main issue was these guys were on Manly Beach, in a busy water user spot. There were several wind foilers out and a wind surfer, and two people swimming, despite the rain. The nets were right along the area the wing foilers launch and recover. A beachfront resident also phoned it in, but only saw 2 nets and wasn't familiar with the rules, so didn't know what grounds he had to get the Fisheries Officer out to action it. Noting that the first two nets were so poorly marked I walked straight past them without noticing first time. Personally I think set netting should be banned in the Auckland / Hauraki Gulf area. It is incompatible with recreational beach users and the already under pressure fishery. Week before last a large hammer head was spotted 3 m off that same piece of beach, in about 1 foot of water. I've seen juvenile sharks discarded on the beach at Shakespeare after being caught in set nets. There were literally dozens out there then, but I think they've clamped down on the netters staying over night without booking into the camping area. So there is a real risk these guys will catch and kill a shark at Manly. A kayak fisho was nudged by a 1.8m white shark back in December about 200m from where those nets were as well... A white shark was recently killed in set nets at Bowentown. Same spot that girl was killed last year. Fish stuck in a net ring the dinner bell for sharks, so set netting on busy beaches is about as stupid as you can possibly get. Part of this started about 2 weeks ago. I was walking on my local beach (Stanmore Bay, I'm not posh enough to live in Manly) and a surf caster was holding a clearly undersized snapper, not in the process of putting it back. I made sure he knew I knew it was undersized, but didn't directly challenge him on it*. But man it put me in a bad mood for the rest of my walk, so I checked up on the reporting process, 0800 POACHER. *I recently got into a fight with a labourer wearing a govt issue ankle bracelet. I had his dog and he wanted it back. It had just come into my house and killed a guinea pig in the lounge infront of my son. The Pound was already on its way. The guy's brother threatened to kill me, so the police were involved. Hence I am now a tad more cautious to avoid direct confrontation, esp when I'm by myself and the random is likely to have a knife handy (for fishing purposes), hence I have committed to memory the 0800 4 POACHER number. |
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Post by fish on Jan 15, 2023 17:52:01 GMT 12
Chatting to two young guys today that had been out spearfishing off the local beach.
They didn't get anything apparently, accept a couple of scallops...
Clearly weren't aware of the scallop closure.
I felt a bit mean setting them straight on that. The one that said he got the scallops then said he'd dropped his catch bag. Judging by the mood he was in before I mentioned the current issue with scally's I'd believe him.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 15, 2023 18:28:32 GMT 12
Good Stuff "Fish" it doesnt pay to confront offenders
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Post by fish on Mar 23, 2023 20:40:02 GMT 12
Major crayfish poaching ring busted. Was using Customary rights certificates to enable the take. All forged. But it shows there is zero traceability in the customary take system. Noting they only got busted cause they were raffling crays on facebook. About 1,500 crays poached. 8 arrested. Bit of community service and some home detention. Kind of like the whole country in lockdown. Weak as piss punishment. www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/486584/facebook-raffle-brings-down-crayfish-poaching-ring |
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Post by armchairadmiral on Mar 24, 2023 8:58:02 GMT 12
Read the court penalties. All were jokes. The penalties were no more than an expense of doing business.
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Post by jim on Mar 24, 2023 10:50:51 GMT 12
Yep - its all part of a widespread affliction the country is suffering... on one of the local beaches here a while back a fisheries officer was interested in the size/number of catch a couple of guys had... they told the fisheries bloke to piss off or they'll sort him out so he called the police. they arrive and the 2 guys ran off and hid in a huge toi toi bush, refusing to come out and hurling abuse. The cops however knew the dog unit was visiting from rotorua that day and called them for help - apparently when given their last chance to come out they were still abusive so in went the alsatian and dragged the first one out and the second poacher suddenly lost his aggro. Joe public has no chance trying to reason with scumbags these days - phone the police and walkaway safe
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Post by armchairadmiral on Mar 24, 2023 12:17:30 GMT 12
If they come. ....#1 son has prowler @ 3am. Calls Police,3 times....still waiting
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Post by fish on Mar 24, 2023 14:31:27 GMT 12
If they come. ....#1 son has prowler @ 3am. Calls Police,3 times....still waiting You probably need to be a little economical with the truth to get the police to turn up. I'd probably start with "assault in progress", then when the police get there, say the prowler ran away when you tried assaulting him... |
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Poachers
Mar 24, 2023 16:11:39 GMT 12
via mobile
fish likes this
Post by Fogg on Mar 24, 2023 16:11:39 GMT 12
They key to getting the police to turn up is to say: “ Just calling to let you know there‘a a break-in going on but no need to rush because I’ve taken my rifle out of the safe and I’m going to confront them myself right now…”
Apparently the cops turn up quite quickly. In quite large numbers. And via several methods of transport. For a chat.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2023 18:01:39 GMT 12
And the penalty??
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Poachers
Mar 24, 2023 19:08:48 GMT 12
via mobile
fish likes this
Post by Fogg on Mar 24, 2023 19:08:48 GMT 12
They had a chat and went away. They couldn’t prosecute for ‘wasting police time’ because there was a real crime underway.
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Poachers
Mar 27, 2023 10:19:08 GMT 12
via mobile
Post by Fogg on Mar 27, 2023 10:19:08 GMT 12
This morning at Bon Accord there were 2 MNZ boats skulking around the bays. One a black tinny with black engines etc. the other a black RIB with similar blacked out kit. And all the crew in black clothes and life jackets. Literally setup for black-ops work.
Wonder what they were looking for out here?
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Post by GO30 on Mar 27, 2023 15:13:49 GMT 12
A little birdie whispered quietly in my ear, one or 2 agencies are stepping up their visibility to fend off accusations by a certain group that they aren't protecting the Gulf as this group demands.
I don't know how legit it is but they are a very knowledgable birdie who is normally very reliable. It also fits so I'm thinking if not 100% correct it will be at least partially correct.
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