SE QLD SAFETY DAY II
May 14th
AUSTRALIAN KAYAK FISHING FORUM • View topic – SE QLD SAFETY DAY II.
Every now and then, an AKFF member will try and put together a safety, paddling technique, or fishing-related tutorial.
In the past , Peril has organised a Coastal Skills session ( http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=37442&p=390458 ), Craig from Adventure Outlet on the Gold Coast, makes himself available at kayak demo days for paddling technique sessions, and the boys from ECKFC manage to get in a few interesting speakers on their club nights.
For the month of June, Trev is organising a safety session for south-east Queensland AKFFers, with Gary Forrest, a professional sea kayak instructor (Level II).
Details from the link above.
Where have all the fish gone?
Jan 31st
Where have all the fish gone?Australia leads the way in trying to protect the world’s fish population. But stocks of jack mackerel, down 90 per cent in 20 years in the once-rich southern seas, point to a wider global calamity. Mort Rosenblum and Mar Cabra report.
BBC Nature – Squid and octopus switch on camouflage
Nov 15th
Scientists have discovered how two marine creatures are able to rapidly “switch” their colours – from transparent to reddish brown.
The species, an octopus and a squid, use their adaptable camouflage to cope with changing light conditions in the deep ocean.
The creatures’ skins respond light that deep-sea predators produce to illuminate their prey.
BBC Nature – Squid and octopus switch on camouflage.
Fishermen ‘ignored’ in catch zone changes – The West Australian
Oct 17th
Fresh seafood prices will soar and supplies could be threatened under changes to the Federal Government’s proposed South West marine park plans, fishing groups have warned.
In a move that sets up another potentially damaging brawl between Canberra and Perth, the Gillard Government has outlined plans to lock away several highly prized fishing areas as “no-take” zones.
The plans emerged during confidential Government briefings for stakeholders last week which revealed changes to draft proposals released in May.
They include the establishment of sanctuary zones that forbid any fishing or mineral exploration in Geographe Bay off Busselton, south of Margaret River and off the Mid West’s Abrolhos Islands – the centre of WA’s lucrative rock lobster industry.
via Fishermen ‘ignored’ in catch zone changes – The West Australian.
Bluefin tuna fishing quota increases as numbers rise
Oct 17th
THE fishing quota for prized southern bluefin tuna has been lifted from its all-time low, in what fishers say is proof the severely depleted species is recovering.
The gourmet sashimi fish found mainly off southern Australia slumped to around 5 per cent of its original stock size under international longlining pressure over 50 years.
Southern bluefin is on conservation groups’ fish-eating advisory black lists, particularly after it was found to have been devastated by a hidden 20-year Japanese overcatch.
Ingenious fishing method may be spreading through dolphins
Aug 25th
Researchers from Murdoch University believe a recently documented method of fishing may be spreading throughout a population of dolphins.
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins(Tursiops aduncus) in Shark Bay were photographed engaging in ‘conching’ in 2007 and 2009.
The dolphins would trap small fish in large conch shells with their rostrums (beaks), then bring the shells to the surface and shake them, causing the water to drain out and the fish to fall into their mouths.
Murdoch Cetacean Research Unit Researcher Simon Allen says this previously rarely witnessed phenomenon might be on the increase, suggesting that the technique is spreading.
http://www.physorg.com/news/2011-08-ingenious-fishing-method-dolphins.html
Taiwan to bar fishermen from killing sharks for fins
Jul 11th
Taiwan will introduce strict measures next year to bar fishermen from killing sharks for their fins, an official said Sunday.
From 2012, Taiwan will demand that fishing boats only bring back whole sharks, to prevent the practice of removing the fin and dropping the dying animals back into the sea, said Fisheries Administration director James Sha according to the daily United Evening News.
World’s oceans in ‘shocking’ decline
Jun 21st
The oceans are in a worse state than previously suspected, according to an expert panel of scientists.
In a new report, they warn that ocean life is “at high risk of entering a phase of extinction of marine species unprecedented in human history”.
They conclude that issues such as over-fishing, pollution and climate change are acting together in ways that have not previously been recognised.
The impacts, they say, are already affecting humanity.
No Pocket DNA Sequencer? –Better Catch Your Own Fish To Be Sure
May 28th
Testing shows what you buy may not be what was advertised, when purchasing from your local monger.
AKFF Catchphrases
May 15th
Ever wanted to knw who was responsible for that catchphrase that has somehow got stuck in your mind?
The tortured souls of 
AKFF share the vernacular that ticks the place over.
