08-09-2004, 06:43 PM
<img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':angry:' /> hi glen, i work with a port phillip bay licence holder. I think the licence is officaly know as a bays and inlets accsess licence??? Anyway we both run the charters and do the comercial side of the operation. The beauty of combining the two is that for the squid season were on the water every day and can keep track of the day to day movements of the spawners. The pesky little buggers do have wings and subsiquently will move about a fare bit. One of our greatest problems down here is the seal numbers. It realy is getting out of control. Ive fished the calimarie run at the southern end of the bay for 20 odd years now and when i first started you might be unfortunate enough to be bothered by a seal once a season. Now if i get a day in without seeing one , and have him shut the squid down i feel privlaged. There have been a few good articals on the seal numbers in recent years , the last i saw was in the age and reconed seal numbers and there impact on the resorce is an issue that needs to be adressed soon. The bottom line on the seals is as i understand it is that the population is back to pre sealing days numbers
and the major preditor (great white sharks) is on the endanged species list. There seems to be a major imbalance. The age artical came up with a few interesting facts. the one that shocked me was that at the present time seals were eating as much as the comercial and recreational catch combined and if the population kept growing as it has, problems would start to arise. anyway it wold be good to hear if anyone else has info on seals. Im tippin seal numbers will be put in the two hard basket by fisherys/government and it will end up a nightmare. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/xyxthumbs.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' /> cheers blackhands
and the major preditor (great white sharks) is on the endanged species list. There seems to be a major imbalance. The age artical came up with a few interesting facts. the one that shocked me was that at the present time seals were eating as much as the comercial and recreational catch combined and if the population kept growing as it has, problems would start to arise. anyway it wold be good to hear if anyone else has info on seals. Im tippin seal numbers will be put in the two hard basket by fisherys/government and it will end up a nightmare. <img src='http://www.squidfish.net/forums/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/xyxthumbs.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt='
' /> cheers blackhands