This last week or two has been very encouraging in terms of the commitment by both New South Wales and Victorian Fisheries to enforce trout regulations. At this time of year a lot of anglers worry about the increased vulnerability of spawning trout to illegal fishing. So it’s great to see that our fisheries officers have been busy keeping an eye out for people breaking the law. On the Eucumbene River in New South Wales, I’m receiving plenty of reports of regular fisheries patrols and even a police checkpoint inspecting catches and breathalysing anglers as they drive out of one of the popular access tracks.
Either side of the closed season, trout like this Eucumbene River rainbow can provide great fishing, but the concentrations of trout are also a temptation for a few to do the wrong thing.
Meanwhile in Victoria, Northern Regional Fisheries Officer Mike Hosking and his team have upped patrols on the Rubicon River in response to reports of illegal fishing. Fisheries officers in north-east Victoria have a track record of dealing with trout fishing offences, particularly close to and during the closed season. In recent years they’ve issued numerous fines and summons for offences on streams like the Goulburn, King Parrot and Steavenson.
Fisheries officers have been keeping a close eye on angler behaviour these last few weeks.
As a result of surveillance and patrols on the Rubicon River in the last week alone, seven anglers now face heavy fines for offences including exceeding bag and possession limits, the use of trout or salmon ova as bait, failure to immediately release unwanted fish and exceeding the number of salmonids of more than 35cm in length. Mike Hosking says, “The vast majority of fishers inspected along the Rubicon River have been compliant with the size and bag limits. Unfortunately for other fishers, we again see a few taking excessive numbers. Those found ignoring the regulations relating to both brook trout and other salmonids (brown trout and rainbow trout) in the Rubicon River are facing heavy fines.”
This recent illegal haul of brook trout exceeds the bag limit by many times – fortunately fisheries officers were there to catch the offender.
So although for most anglers too much enforcement is never enough, it’s worth noting that fisheries in both states are taking trout fishing offences seriously and are doing a good job with the resources available. Remember, even the most dedicated fisheries officers can’t be everywhere at once so if you see or suspect illegal fishing activity in Victoria, contact the 24-hour fisheries offences reporting line on 13FISH (13 3474). In New South Wales, phone 1800 043 536. The information you provide may or may not produce an instant response, but at the very least it will provide valuable intelligence to help with targetting future surveillance and patrols. It may even prove to be a missing piece in an intelligence puzzle.
