There are growing concerns among grey nomads that the ‘legendary’ fishing traditionally available in the Gulf Country isn’t quite what it once was.
Writing in Fishing World magazine, former fishing charter boat owner, Gordon Petersen, said the decline has been dramatic.
“This year, by all reports, saw the caravan parks slow to fill due to reports coming out of Karumba that the fish were nowhere to be seen,” he said. “Now, at the first week of July, they are still missing.”
Having visited Karumba in northern Queensland every year since 2008, Gordon is in a good position to be able to make an assessment. And, he says, that out of the usual six fish species that have usually turned up by this time, grunter have been prevalent in the Norman River.
“As a result, in one day they were targeted by 180 boats in a half mile stretch of the river,” he said. “My contact tells me that 50% of the fish were in roe and every boat got their bag limit.”
Many grey nomads believe that the fact that fish are big caught in great numbers when they are in roe and about to spawn is the biggest threat to future fish stocks.
Grey nomad Ray Walters would like to see far tighter bag limits during the busy tourist season. In a letter published in Fishing World magazine, Mr Walters, explains why.
“I have been coming over to Karumba every year from my home in Kennedy now for approximately 11 years and we stay in the caravan park for 5 to 6 months to do some recreational fishing and to meet our friends that come north for the winter,” he writes. “During these years we have noticed how fishing has declined to a level that surprises me as every year it appears less fish are being caught by the people that come here and I believe that if the current fish limits are maintained the fish numbers will continue to decline.”
According to Gordon Petersen , other reasons being speculated on to explain the apparently dwindling fish stocks are: the water’s too hot; there is too much food out wide so the fish are staying out there; the water’s too cold; the fish don’t know there is plenty of food in the river; the tides are all wrong; there’s too much wind.
The one thing that everyone does seem to agree on is that the fishing is not as plentiful as it used to be.
Bag limits are critical to try to stop the decline. Also there has to be a limit that anyone can have in total at any time to stop people bringing big freezers up there and taking them back down chockers with fillets.
Absolutely agree Bill. Maybe more policing of bag limits might help as well.
Agree with Bill Riches
Cant expect any different For years southerners have filled freezer after freezer every year to take back home. Its the same with all inland rivers too. Over fished by greedy people who take more than legal limits and much more than for personal use.
If you take the numbers of boats given above for a quiet time, 180 boats averaging two pewople on board catching a couple of fish each equates to over a tonne of fish a day and with the fish in roe and breeding the localised depletion is enormous.
I left Karumba in 1985 and that was before the influx of the annual winter nomad migration.
This has been occurring at such a rate it is amazing that there is even a fish remaining.
Amateurs blame professionals for fish numbers declining but many people with small numbers adds up to a huge impact.
And the bag limit is in possession and is not a daily bag limit so anyone with a freezer full risks a fine.
BTW I was a Fisheries Inspector when in Karumba so I do know my facts.
We were up at Normanton 2 yrs ago and the barra were dying because the water was too cold. Every day you would see a barra floating belly up. Even the ones in the fish farm would not feed for the tourists.
It’s not just the southerners filling freezers. North easterners have been filling their freezers with SA whiting & snapper for years- all Aussies need to stop being so greedy.
The grey nomads caused this with their greedy fishing every day
In Karumba at the moment caravan park is only at 50% full if that and the fishing is woeful.