Shortfin Mako Shark - not so prevalent in the Mediterranean and East Atlantic Oceans
Greetings all,
Whilst the Environment Minister Mr Peter Garrett is not handing out free roof insulation he is on to more pressing issues – like redrafting legislation that would have seen the end of recreational mako shark fishing throughout the country at the end of January. Angry anglers from around the nation put together a petition signed by over 5000 people seeking to have the proposed ban lifted. Thankfully common sense – an often missing element in Australian politics – seems to have won through and legislation will be introduced to see keen Australian fisherman legally still chasing the marvelous Mako shark after January 31st 2010.
For the record the longfin mako, shortfin mako and porbeagle sharks were to be included on the endangered species list and fishing banned for these species as from January 29, 2010. Many boaties have invested plenty in fishing tackle and vessels to be able to catch these species and of course charter boat operators were concerned for their livelihoods. Others contemplated the ban spreading to other recreational targeted fish such as coral trout and giant trevally to name a couple and tackle stores around the country were left very concerned indeed.
That being said – why is the mako shark being added to this list?
Well apparently the mako’s problem is not associated with Australian waters but their numbers have dwindled in the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean. The United Nations sponsored Convention on Migratory Species is listing several sharks, including short-finned makos, for complete protection and Australia is a signatory to an international treaty and “is prohibited to “kill, injure or take” members of a listed migratory species in Commonwealth waters.”
The funny thing is the local population of mako’s have nothing to do with northern waters. Biologically the ban makes no sense whatsoever because there is no sharing of populations between the impacted areas. Furthermore, the mako’s are not under threat in Australian waters at all and are a popular tag and release species. In fact, the Fishing and Reef Tour Specialists are off to the southern coast of NSW to target this species in an overnight adventure in June of this year which could have been called off if this nonsensical ban continued.
Bans are already in place for other sharks such as the great white and the grey nurse.
Next week I will run through the life cycle of the mako shark.
Sea you later,
Skipper Meggs
PS. For the latest update on the mako fishing ban see;
I’ve just come back from fishing down at Lambeth Park along the Georges River in south western Sydney after chasing some bream. I managed a couple of small fish but didn’t get anything of any size and I burleyed the water with a mixture of bread, prawn heads, oyster shells, sand and salt water for a few hours all to no avail.
Whilst I was there I did notice that there was a lot of activity at certain times with fish jumping out of the water left right and centre so I thought a good topic for discussion would be to try and explain why fish jump. When you think about it all manner of fish jump out of water – everything from your humble goldfish in your freshwater tank to whales. There’s not too many whales in the Georges River and thankfully no goldfish either but still the likes of mullet and bream put on a show from time time jumping out of the water when you least expect it. So why is this so?
Ok, there are several schools of thought….
Some marine biologists believe that some species of fish jump out of the water to help them loosen their eggs prior to spawning (eg the salmon) or to get rid of certain parasites like sea lice or suckers like remoras. Another popular belief is that jumping out of the water and crashing back down is a great way for a fish to scratch itself! Some fish eg Coral Trout rush out of the water as part of their mateship and courtship ritual and some scientists even believe that such behaviour in larger fish may be due to the assertion of dominance amongst a school to attract a mate.
A popular reason for jumping fish is that some fish feed on insects that lie on top of of the water and when they see them they jump out of the water to catch them. This theory obviously has some merit as there a number of fish including trout that feed in this manner.
Of course some fish jump to move away from predators and this is a common sight when you are fishing offshore with both prey and predators jumping in and out of the water in a battle for survival.
But for me there is one major reason why certain fish jump out of water – it’s because they can! The higher up the food chain you go the ability for creatures to run around and have fun and expel excess energy by exertion through running, jumping or playing is commonplace. I firmly believe that most of the fish I see in the Georges River jumping are simply enjoying themselves being a fish.
In some places in the world jumping fish can be quite dangerous. Remember there was a fatality a few years back when a woman was struck by a stingray when it jumped out of the water and struck her whilst she was on a boat that was powering through the water in the Florida Keys.
The final reason as to why a fish would jump is so that it can get away from a disturbance in the water. When the population of fish is so dense that it is impossible for them to make headway jumping seems an easier alternative. Some leaping fish are serial pests and lets hope we never experience a carp invasion in the Georges River like the one below in Illinois….
Skipper Meggs crew in Lifou with the Pacific Dawn in the background
Greetings all,
Well what a couple of weeks it has been – with Skipper Meggs and his family celebrating his daughter’s 21st birthday on the high seas with the sensational P&O team and the Pacific Dawn. For those of you that have never been on a cruise I can thoroughly recommend it – the staff are absolutely fantastic and there is just too much to do on and off the ship to possibly fit everything in. My special thanks go out to people like Cheryl on the front desk, Madlene in the casino bar, croupiers Joah, Bunny, Gerald and Preciville and of course our cleaner Roy.
We did have a bit of a false start and lost a day of the trip which meant that we bypassed Luganville which was unfortunate because I had a mate who ran a plantation across from there on Aore Island and I was looking forward to that port of call. Anyway there is a different reason for this post…
Many years ago I read a book called “The Hot Zone” by Richard Preston and I always remember the opening where he paints a picture of a guy on a plane throwing up in a brown paper bag. He describes in detail how a disease can travel around the globe quite easily if the germ associated with it spreads through a plane full of people simply by having them breathe it in. An airborne virus could have tragic results.
So what has this to do with The Pacific Dawn?
Well the ship has been made infamous in the past with its connection to Swine Flu and I’m not making any accusations that there is still evidence of any continued epidemic on board. What I will say is that all three people in my cabin and several others in nearby ones were all struck down by a mystery bug that caused vomiting, diarrhea and flu like symptoms (sore throat, cold, runny nose etc). None of our crew took advantage of a rumored $500+ doctor visit and diagnosis and the illness took place on the second or third last day of the trip. The staff explained to us that it was just sea sickness but clearly this wasn’t the case. I for one love the sea and the rocking of the boat actually sends me to sleep. I didn’t even notice any movement of the ship whilst I was sick because I was too worried about throwing up again! Both my mother (a veteran of many cruises without any hint of sea sickness) and I fell ill last Thursday night vomiting and going to the toilet every hour. My wife fell ill the following night.
I mus be one of the very few people in the world to have spent 10 days on a cruise and actually lose weight!
To further prove the point that it couldn’t have been sea sickness I got a call from my son last Sunday claiming he had “Land sickness” with the exact same symptoms as us. A few days later his prospective in-laws fell ill as well.
The dynamics of the cruise are thus; roughly 2000 passengers and 700 staff visiting 4 ports of call across a ten day cruise. The cleaning staff are fantastic. It was said that one guy’s cleaner was so good that when he went to the toilet in the middle of the night he came back and his bed was made! The cruises turnaround pretty quickly – they come into port one day and are gone the next. The cabins aren’t tiny but it’s not as if you can open a port hole to let some air in either. I’m not sure I’d like to be amongst the bunch of people staying in our cabin for the next trip and I wonder about the history of our room before we got on board.
Anyway, like I said – we did have a ball! I was upset that I couldn’t get to eat the chili mud crab at the Steak House because of my wife and I’s illness. I would have no hesitation in recommending the cruise and the Pacific Dawn to everyone and the proof of this is the answer to the question would I ever go again?
Too right I would!
If you’ve had a similar experience on the Pacific Dawn or any other cruise liner let me know by sending through your comments below.
I’ve just returned from a week’s holiday at one of southern NSW’s prettiest towns – Sussex Inlet. The weather was not kind to us but with great company and the help of four local drinking establishments we all managed to have a fantastic trip.
There was one minor moment for some concern.
Whilst we were putting the boat in a certain height disadvantaged individual who I never care to meet again started rabbiting on about how I owe him a beer because he spent all day “fixing up the boat ramp”. Most people just say hi, how you going? Now I’m the type of guy who doesn’t need to be told who I need to owe a beer to because it’s always self evident. There was no sign on this ramp that said “Must buy small man syndrome individual beer for making himself feel important”.
There are a couple of points to be made here. Those of you who have been to Sussex Inlet would attest to the fact that there are no shortage of boat ramps in and around the town. There is also nothing wrong with the ramp in question that needed to be fixed. This bloke just came along and put down a load of bricks at the end of the ramp for his own use. Our boat and trailer didn’t come close to needing any of it to launch and retrieve the boat safely.
Just as abhorent was the next statement to come out of this blokes mouth that he had spent the last two days finding the best fishing spots in Sussex Inlet and that if our boat was to come within 150m of him he would start to throw snapper leads at us. Can you believe that?
Not only was this guy the saviour of the ramp his boat was one huge fish magnet!
He then described how people use to throw snapper leads at him – this I could understand. Unfortunately mine were back at the unit.
Stupidity is obviously inherited as his son aboard the vessel pointed to the water and declared a 55cm flathead was lying below. Clearly he was his father’s son and not afraid to spin a story.
I’m not prone to violence and I did bite my tongue and walk away. The fact was we weren’t going fishing that night anyway – we just wanted to put the boat in and tie it to our jetty. All this took place in five minutes of us arriving at the ramp.
As the week went on we did get a few laughs out of the thought of tossing snapper leads at passing boats but clearly there was something dangerously wrong with this individual to even think about putting the safety of people on the water at risk in this manner, let alone thinking he had the right to all the fish in Sussex Inlet within a 150m radius of his boat.
As a postscript to this story justice did seem to prevail. It blew a gale, the heavens opened up and God put on a thunder and lightning show like you wouldn’t believe whilst our new friend (the one who I and apparently everyone in Sussex Inlet still owes a beer to) was on the water.
The lesson here is clear. Always be kind and considerate to your fellow fishermen and boaties. You don’t have to be an idiot at the ramp. All you need to do is to say hi, smile and get on your way.
Pilchards and Squid are reasonable bait when livies aren't available
Ok, today we continue the second half of our feature on fishing the Far North Qld reefs.
Of course as in any situation fish you are keen to keep should be placed on ice as soon as possible.
Smaller fish, and believe me in far north Queensland you may be surprised on what constitutes smaller fish, may come
to the surface too quick and may have an enlarged swim bladder. You should put a small hole in the swim bladder before returning the fish to the deep. Without this operation and with the swim bladder extended the fish is easy prey for any bird or shark because the swollen bladder acts as a balloon and keeps the fish afloat preventing it from descending to the deep.
A gentle prick either through its mouth or through the vent of the fish is all that is needed for the fish to swim back to safety. The swim bladder will repair itself in quick time with little damage to the fish.
If you are fishing amongst the coral there will be those moments when you are snagged on the bottom. An advantage of
fishing with a handline is that it makes it very simple to retrieve your hook, line and sinker without too much hassle.
Ok, first what not to do…. don’t yank your line upwards or wrap it around a bollard or strain and pull as hard as you can as this will only serve to set the hook.
If you feel that you have caught the earth the best method of retrieval when handlining is to loosen the line a little and then give a forceful downward tap a few times. This will cause your sinker to work its way towards the hook and the tapping motion will work the hook away from whatever it has taken hold of.
Try it. It does take a little time to get use to but it will save you a fortune in hooks and a heap of time in having to re-rig.
Before embarking on the trip my advice would also be to invest in a Queensland Fisheries sticker and make sure that you have that handy when you go fishing. You will be amazed at some of the size limits of the fish that can be taken in these waters. For example a coral trout needs to be 45cm long and a red emporer needs to 60cm long.
Without the sticker depicting legal fish lengths you could run the risk of keeping under sized fish.
An inner tube takes the pain out of retrieves and lets you feel the bite
Fishing the FNQ Reefs Part 1
One of the biggest mistakes southern fishermen make in far north Qld is that they fish way too light for the area and they also insist on using rod and reels to catch bottom fish because that’s the way they do it at home.
Of course you can use the rods and reels for casting poppers and for trolling but when it comes to hauling in fish from the deep and enclosed reef sections you can’t go pass that tool of the trade that most fishermen started off with – the humble handline.
Not that I’m talking about any old handline! It is best to fish with 80lb nylon, no trace and a bean sinker straight on top of a 9/0 hook and there’s some tricks to learn even after that.
The first has to do with etiquette on the deck.
Whilst fishing with a handline you should leave the spool on the deck of the boat and when you wind the line in this should fall at your feet.
You shouldn’t bother to wind the line back onto the spool until after the day’s fishing.
This has two impacts; it allows you to retrieve line quickly and it also saves you from losing your spool overboard if it is taken by a huge fish.
The next thing to remember is how to let the line out of the boat once you have it loose on the deck. The trick here is to throw the baited hook, line and sinker over the side and every 10 metres stop the line so that that the sinker can catch up to the hook.
If you don’t do this you will find that the sinker can run up the line creating twists and tangles.
So how should the hook itself be baited? I can assure you a couple of things. Big hooks require a substantial amount of bait. I would recommend that you first put on a whole squid and then on top of that half a pilchard or fish pieces to the bottom half of the hook.
The fish that you are trying to catch have very large mouths and are looking for a decent feed so it’s important to oblige them if possible.
As for the technique to use to hook the fish this is the most difficult part of the exercise but you can practice whilst on board.
When your bait hits the bottom of the ocean you may find that familiar tap tap tap on the end. My advice is to at first give a little bit of line and then with a substantial horizontal pull of line set the hook and continue to arm over arm bring in the fish.
This is why it is important to fish with handlines as opposed to a fishing rod.
The first one metre of fight is the most important.
The fish that you are going for live on the bottom of the coral reefs and are protected from predators in caves and holes where sharks and other enemies are unable to get them.
They take a huge risk in leaving their place of refuge to take the bait and you must win the battle in the first one metre. If you are too slow trying to reel in a fish with a rod and reel you may lose this fight.
Pulling the fish in an upward manner may extract the hooks from its mouth.
The art of pulling the line in horizontally causes the line to tighten in such a way that sets the hooks.
Next the arm over arm technique where either your left or right hand is pulling in line at the rate of between 1 to 2 metres at a time is necessary for a very good reason – sharks!
A fishing rod is not very effective in these parts of the Australian coastline because predators keep an eye out for every morsel they can get and none comes as cheap as those that are caught and skull dragged to the surface using a conventional fishing rod.
That’s not to say that you won’t lose good fish to sharks if you fish with a hand line – it is still possible – but you will win more fish than you lose using this method.
Using the thick 80 pound line and catching large fish can be highly damaging to your hands and fingers and one way to overcome this is to use a finger grip that wraps around the index finger. You can make one of these out of rubber tubing and slot it over your index finger.
In this way you can still use the tip of your index finger to feel the bites but when the hard work comes and you need to haul in a huge fish the rubber ring can save severe line cuts to your hands.
Anyway, today’s topic is in regard to releasing fish.
Rules and regulations concerning size and bag limits compel anglers to release fish upon capture.
Generally these limits are applied for a number of reasons but in the main the intent of all fishing regulations is to protect the individual species from extinction.
After researching individual species the authorities set size limits largely according to the stages of sexual maturity of the fish. The idea is to allow the fish to survive so that it can spawn at least once in its lifetime and make a contribution to its ongoing population.
Not that research is conclusive on when a particular species reaches sexual maturity and there many instances that have been cited where this may even vary by geographic location.
For example a Sailfish is said to be sexually mature at 23kg in Western Australia whilst on the East Coast it is reached at 30-35kg.
New research comes out on a regular basis that indicates some species mature later in life and that their legal size limits are actually smaller than when they reach sexual maturity.
In these cases the authorities tend to be rather slow to react and change the laws which is understandable as it would be mayhem in the fishing world if we were to have changes to the regulations every second day of the week.
It would appear though that some popular Northern Australian fish species such as the Fingermark and Mangrove Jack both have published legal size limits below that of which they attain sexual maturity.
For some fish species there are maximum legal size limits and the reason for this is that in a few species (for example the barramundi) larger members contribute more to the populations not only in terms of spawning volumes but also pass on survival traits to future generations.
Bag limits have been set up not only to conserve fish populations in certain areas but also to stem the illegal trade and selling of fish by amateurs. It also makes sense to set bag limits for fish that are relatively simple to catch (eg Black Jewfish) or that are severely depleted. Bag limits also ensure that the fish is accessible to a wide range of anglers.
Aside from the fishing rules and regulations there are also some other really good reasons why fish should be returned.
If you are in Northern Australian waters and have caught something that you can’t identify it is it may be wise to return it to the depths rather than run the risk of being poisoned or catching the dreaded ciguatera disease.
Regardless of fishing regulations you may also find yourself in a position where you have too many fish for your purposes and even though you are well within your bag limits you should consider releasing any more fish caught.
A good rule is to only keep those fish that you know you can cook at home fresh without the need to freeze them.
If you have little storage or ice to keep the fish fresh and cool during the day it makes no sense to keep a dieing fish that will only be hardened and ruined in the sun.
Some fish or sharks are on the endangered list and must be returned to the water immediately for example the Port Jackson shark.
There are also closed seasons for certain breeds (for example the coral trout) so that large aggregations of mature fish are able to survive through their spawning period.
In some areas across Australia, particularly in the Whitsundays, many marine parks and no fishing areas exist prohibiting anglers to even wet a line let alone extract fish form the water.
Perhaps the best reason to return fish to the water is so that the species will survive and prosper.
Wayne and I had moved to a designated red hot black jew spot in Weipa right at the change of tide.
If anyone has read one of my earlier blogs about the black jewfish you may recall they are fairly reliable to aggregate in numbers at known spots so we should be on the money.
Bang, I was on and then twang I was busted off as the damn leader was too light.
A couple of re-rigged lines later with the same result Wayne and I headed back to the Houseboat mothership with our own tail between our legs instead of the fish’s.
The next night with heavier leaders the boys went to fish the same spot again at the bottom of the tide.
The tide had only just bottomed out when one, two, three and four of the guys all hooked in at once.
The result? One, twang! Two, ping! The third was wrapped around a channel marker and the fourth was brought thankfully to the boat by my son Grant – a nice black jewfish at a respectable 84cm.
Most avid fisherman could probably fill a book on bust offs and one day I may offer up some of the highlights of my own personal defeats.
All that aside, the difference between landing a large fish or being broken off is huge.
So, as always, I went in search of answers.
The initial bust offs were with no doubt caused by the use of an inadequate leader line (25Kg). In the wilds of Weipa this was unforgiveable but it was also all we had on board the runabout at the time (it’s amazing how forgetful you become after a few days on the grog!).
What is interesting is that the next day, the boys were on the money with their leaders in place.
Hooks were ok as well – between 6/0 to 10/0 and some circle hooks.
There was no doubt either that each had a fish on – they weren’t busted straight off away.
So here’s my theory…
Each was using braided line which we all know is fantastic in the right situations because you have so much better feel for what is going on at the end of the line.
And therein lies the problem with handling big fish – there is no stretch and no margin for error.
Fishing for big black jew with mono (or for that matter other large species) allows for headshakes and the times when the fish want to crash tackle the bait or take off to the other side of the ocean with it.
That’s what your drag is for I hear you say and to a certain extent that’s true.
The thing is that with no stretch comes little margin for error – and for this reason it’s a lot easier to de-snag a braided line than it is a mono line.
Anyway, I’m happy to enter discussions with anyone who has a contrary view.
Don’t forget to have a look at the www.skippermeggs.com website and view the bareboat sailfish caught by our own F&RTS team member Gary (the fisherman formerly known as Harvey). See what you think and have a vote in the poll to tell us if you believe it’s over the Australian record mark of 78kg.
I must admit that I’ve been thinking of buying a fishing kayak for a while now but something always stops me from going ahead with the purchase.
There is an old Chinese proverb that basically says that one should never think about anything three times because twice is enough. If I followed this line of thinking I’d probably have ten kayaks by now!
A recent episode of Fishing Australia aired on the weekend and there was Rob Paxevanos inflating an i12 Hobie Kayak with a hand pump. Believe it or not he flew the kayak into a Torres Strait Island resort in its own suitcase. That’s right it comes with it’s own carry bag and the whole kit weighs in at 25kgs. Even so once inflated it can handle loads of up to 500lbs or 225kgs.
You can throw it in the boot of your car and away you go.
Now that’s pretty cool.
What’s more the kayak can be inflated in around 5 minutes.
That’s pretty good too.
The kayak utilized pedal power, or what Hobie refers to as Mirage Drive. If you’ve never seen a kayak propelled in this fashion it’s an amazing sight as each time you pedal, two underwater flippers move back and forth.
Being powered by your feet means that you have both hands free to fish. There is also another clever inclusion with a hand controlled rudder that sits next to the driver.
As the name implies the i12 is twelve feet in length once inflated. Rob mentioned that there were no rod holders but these were on there way on the latest model. It also comes with a high back seat and an 8 inch hatch for storing things that are not meant to get wet.
I live near the Georges River in Sydney’s south west and the thought of heading down to Kelso Beach, blowing up the boat and setting course for the local bridges is pretty enticing.
I went and had a look at the cost of the kayak and I only found pricing in US dollars at around $1800 which I think is a little excessive but how convenient is the storage and transport of this thing?
In the past I’ve looked at solid kayaks and had thought that the inflatables were like toys but this one seems to have jumped a few hoops in the making.
I’d be happy to hear from anyone out there who has had some experience with fishing kayaks. In particular anyone who has any first hand knowledge of the i12 Hobie inflatable.
Excessive fish handling can remove slime and scales and can be detrimental to the fish's survival
Greetings all,
Firstly, let me apologise (once again!) for those of you eagerly awaiting the updated life cycle story on a popular pelagic fish – it’s been one of those weeks with Skipper Meggs and his crew preparing for the upcoming Weipa trip.
I must confess, I’ve just plain run out of time to get that story finished.
We head off on Sunday night (25th May) so you can imagine things have been pretty hectic.
Never mind, today’s topic is fairly relevant to those of you who believe there is merit in releasing fish that you catch and certainly we’ll be doing a fair bit of that in Weipa next week.
So let’s take a minute to explore some of the reasons why released fish die…
Sadly, anglers trying to release fish safely to the water inadvertently cause either life threatening impacts to the fish or place it in immediate danger from predators.
So what kills released fish?
The major causes of mortality to released fish include;
· Fatal hook damage
· Barotrauma
· Excessive handling
· Over exposure to air
· Predators killing the fish upon release
· A slow death may be the result of damage to organs, stress, poisoning by hooks or infection caught by slime or scale loss
Barotrauma is common amongst reef species as their swim bladder inflates as they are raised from the depths. If released in this condition they will remain at the surface and become targets for predators.
In this case it is best to use a fine hollow needle to deflate the swim bladder before releasing or even use a weighted line to return them to the depths quickly out of harm’s way.
Not all injuries lead to death of the fish, other impacts include the loss of ability to spawn, decreased growth rates and resistance to disease.
It is worth remembering these factors the next time you try to release a fish.
Guys, there may be a delay in next week’s amidships blog due to the Weipa trip. I will have a notebook and an internet connection but I’m not sure of coverage.
Anyway, I will try and have it loaded by 6pm EST next Friday.
