Sweetwater Fishing Forums
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: aussiebasser on September 15, 2011, 05:34:35 PM
-
Just got a call advising that Gladstone Harbour and all of it's tributaries have been closed to all recreational and professional fishing and aquaculture due to an outbreak of a pretty nasyt bug caused by poor water quality. At least two pro fishos have come down with it. Any further information can be had by contacting DEEDI or Queensland Health.
-
You beat me to it Dale,
Been hearing lots of stories about a complete fishing ban in the Gladstone Harbour due to HEALTH REASONS, have heard the story from a number of credible sources. The extent of the closure will be from Rodds Bay to the top of the Narrows, initially for 28 days subject to more investigations but “likely to be longer”
:Hunting) If you listen to the pollies it's got nothing to do with the dredging in the harbour, but we all know pollies are a bunch of lying pr$#ks. I know it’s global warming????
Not happy Jan, maybe we need another tax to solve the problem.
>:( >:( >:( >:( >:(
Regards
Earl
-
Can this be confirmed?
No info on the DEEDI, Qld Health or DERM websites...
-
Just got a call advising that Gladstone Harbour and all of it's tributaries have been closed to all recreational and professional fishing and aquaculture due to an outbreak of a pretty nasyt bug caused by poor water quality. At least two pro fishos have come down with it. Any further information can be had by contacting DEEDI or Queensland Health.
whats the nasty bug? sounds like a stunt just before the holidays to keep people away from the river. the locals made it clear they did not want any one catching their barra lol so does that mean calliope too? and all the bay out the front of the harbour?
-
Definately not a stunt Wes, and possibly one of the biggest calls made for public safety. The politics of what caused it can be argued about by those who know. I gather it is some sort of staph infection that can easily pass to humans. All tributaries of the Gladston Harbour would obviously include the Calliope and the Boyne rivers. I would suggest that anybody planning a trip up there contact Queensland Health or DEEDI for news.
-
from the local rag up there:
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/09/16/contaminated-gladstone-harbour-fishing-ban-health/ (http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/09/16/contaminated-gladstone-harbour-fishing-ban-health/)
-
Definately not a stunt Wes, and possibly one of the biggest calls made for public safety. The politics of what caused it can be argued about by those who know. I gather it is some sort of staph infection that can easily pass to humans. All tributaries of the Gladston Harbour would obviously include the Calliope and the Boyne rivers. I would suggest that anybody planning a trip up there contact Queensland Health or DEEDI for news.
just a local rag going on believed to be lol easily passed to humans with only 2 could be infections out of how many fisherman that were fishing the same time. media stunt using a low key local rag , i guess when i see it officially on fisheries web site or from queensland health then i will be a believer ;)
-
Speaking to some othe govt agency persons last night.... this is a BIG call to make. It wouldn't be without some serious justification behind it. Will see if some stuff gets covered up or transparency is maintained. :popcorn)
-
just a local rag going on believed to be lol easily passed to humans with only 2 could be infections out of how many fisherman that were fishing the same time. media stunt using a low key local rag , i guess when i see it officially on fisheries web site or from queensland health then i will be a believer ;)
So Wes, do you really think if it was that, I'd post it up here? The person I received the call from in extremely credible but wishes to remain anonymous for reasons that are obvious to me, and none of anybody elses business.
-
So it's still just a rumour ATM?
Still nothing on DEEDI, Qld Health or DERM websites...
-
Just got off the phone to the DEEDI officer in Gladstone. The closures are to take effect this afternoon. He told me not to bother driving up to fish the Boyne. Their office is closed in Gladstone today.
-
Just found this on the DPI Site.
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/30_20910.htm (http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/30_20910.htm)
Cheers
Adrian
-
Temporary fishing closure in Gladstone areaNews release | 15 September, 2011
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fisheries Queensland will put in place a temporary closure on all fishing in an area centred on Gladstone while Biosecurity Queensland conducts testing on a condition affecting some locally-caught fish.
Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation (DEEDI) Director-General Ian Fletcher said fishers had reported barramundi being caught in the area, some with cloudy eyes and lesions.
"Public health is the number one priority and we are putting in place a temporary closure while we assess the situation," Mr Fletcher said.
"Fisheries Queensland has determined the boundaries for the temporary closure will be between Deception Creek at the top end of The Narrows down to Rodds Peninsula and to the outer edge of Facing Island.
"Biosecurity Queensland is testing fish samples to try to identify the condition.
"In the meantime, we are taking a precautionary approach to ensure handling of affected fish is minimised.
"An additional Fisheries officer has been sent to Gladstone and the Queensland Boating and Fisheries Patrol is conducting extra patrols.
"While the fish condition has not been identified, we strongly urge people not to fish in the local area.
"DEEDI is consulting with the Queensland Seafood Industry Association and Sunfish Queensland.
"The fishing closure can be lifted at any time upon scientific advice confirming it is no longer necessary."
Safe Food Production Queensland Principal Policy Officer David Wilkinson said the closure ensured that fish that were potentially unsuitable for consumption would not enter the food chain.
"There is no evidence to suggest that seafood harvested from other areas is affected," Mr Wilkinson said.
Queensland Health Acting Chief Health Officer, Dr Michael Cleary said seafood that showed signs of damage, deterioration or disease should not be handled or consumed.
"Anyone who has concerns about their health which might be attributed to the handling or consumption of seafood from the local area should seek medical advice," Dr Cleary said.
State agencies will continue to monitor the situation.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-
It is still a little sketchy about "recreational" fishing. I'm not sure how they'd stop it if someone really wanted to go fishing so they could handle one of these sick fish.
-
Thanks Dale & Adrian...
-
it was when i went searching for a closure of recreational fishing i could only find the write up from the local rag so i was not a believer of a total fishing ban for such a huge area, the problem is with sick fish and understand the reason for pro's and concern if recreational was going to consume their catch . just found it hard to believe that if i drove to benaraby i could not wet a line thats all, was not having a dig at your mate more so that it was only published in the paper and i was not able to find it any where else.. :)
-
Thanks for the heads up Dale. I think that anything in the public interest is great to find out about. The local tourism folks will be going nuts. One post here said about the ban extending as far away as Rodd's Bay that's a fair range. Any truth in that Dale?
Cheers,
John
-
Here's a map showing boundaries of the closure
-
it was when i went searching for a closure of recreational fishing i could only find the write up from the local rag so i was not a believer of a total fishing ban for such a huge area, the problem is with sick fish and understand the reason for pro's and concern if recreational was going to consume their catch . just found it hard to believe that if i drove to benaraby i could not wet a line thats all, was not having a dig at your mate more so that it was only published in the paper and i was not able to find it any where else.. :)
The call by DEEDI was only made at 4.00pm yesterday. I doubt that anyone there works 24 hours a day to update web sites. It is not being spread by the consumption of fish, from what I can find out it is spread by contact with either the fish or the water. It will probably be the case that all fish at Gladstone Hatchery will be euthenased (sp?) because their water comes straight from the harbour. There were a few hundred thousand fingerlings ready to go, not to mention brood stock.
-
geez I hope your wrong about that Dale, the southern Barra dams are going to be stuffed for a long time if they don't get a good dose of fingerlings this summer after all the rain and flooding.
-
It is not being spread by the consumption of fish, from what I can find out it is spread by contact with either the fish or the water
Guys Dale is correct about it not just being an issue with consuming fish, it’s also about contact with fish and/or the water.
So would I get fined if I was going out for sports fish (catch and release) while the closure is in place?
The reality is no one has a clue or wants to lay blame to the cause, seems to be a major arse covering exercise between government departments, industry and the pollies. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to see the issue started when the dredging began, one would have expected that an “interim” ban would have been placed on any further dredging until the issue had been resolved. Or would that have been too obvious???
Time for me to get of the high horse before I fall off……..
Regards
Earl
-
Let's forget the politics of why this happened, as there is nothing we can do on this site to correct that. Write to your politicians if you want to, but we won't fill Sweetwater with bitchy political posts. This has happened, and there is a danger to anyone who doesn't follow these directives. This could be an Australian first with regard to isolating an area so let's just hope nobody else has health issues caused by it.
-
Haven't seen a photo of one of the affected fish yet so here's one from a while back. Note the cloudy eye and lesion on the tail, also note the ding in the head where perhaps this fishy head butted concrete at 30kph.
(http://i464.photobucket.com/albums/rr4/dickpasfield/CalliopeRiver.jpg)
If I may, an 'over the horizon' perspective, take it with a grain of salt as I'm nowhere near the action .
Biggest mobs of fish took the plunge 10 or so months ago, I suspect that early estimates of how many went over the wall were an underestimation based on what people are saying about fish sightings and activity in the dam atm. Those fish that survived appear to have lost between 25 and 30% of their body weight in that short period of time. Regardless of anything else that would be extremely stressful for those fish.
Put all those fish into a number of large schools (which appears be what happened) all in close contact with each other, all under stress. Throw in any form of environmental pathogen into that mix and the the chances of the disease taking hold and spreading would have to be pretty favourable. Even what might be normally considered to be low risk diseases could become deadly in such situations.
Poorer water quality, due to increased turbidity, sudden environmental changes such as temperature could impact on the fish and also be conducive to the spread of the pathogen, there's a host of variables.
One thing I do know is generally you have to have a number of things to go wrong at the same time in nature to have a something fall off the rails. In this case stressed fish schooled up, a naturally occurring pathogen breeding up as the water warms and finally some suspect water quality all mixed together could give the current situation, take any one of those events away and you don't have the problem or the scale of the problem.
Has any other fish species been found to be crook, and if so how many? That answer may well provide some of the missing pieces to the puzzle.
Note: I'm speculating only on all of the above.
-
dead bream, dead herring, dead mullet, dead king salmon, dead estuary cod, dead fork tailed catfish.......................................... ...........................................not thousands of each, but enough for it to be alarming.
-
This one was near death and removed from the water.
-
Milky eyed, and tattered tail, yet still able to function. ( eat, swim, fight, jump)................but it's days are numbered.................................
-
What about dugongss ? There was film of a dead dugong on the box last night but I'm pretty sure it was file footage and not in the last week. There were suggestions turtles as well were affected so that sounds like poor water quality. Pat.
-
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/dugong-deaths-in-gladstone-harbour-spell-ecological-disaster/story-e6freon6-1226101522931 (http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/dugong-deaths-in-gladstone-harbour-spell-ecological-disaster/story-e6freon6-1226101522931)
-
Fitzy,
Thanks for the maps mate.
John
-
:OMGjeez Guys !!!
This is a bit sad :( I hope things have improved by the time our annual trip comes around .
We'll be up there on the 5th of November which is only 6 weeks away 8) I'd be a bugger to drive nearly 2000 k's & not to be able to fish . Although we can still fish awoonga , we like to be able to get out in the salty stuff aswell .
Thanks for bringing this to out attention Dale .
Johnny were those barra out of the boyne ??
cheers AL
-
The pictures are barra from the upper salty section of the Boyne.
-
Milky eyed, and tattered tail, yet still able to function. ( eat, swim, fight, jump)................but it's days are numbered.................................
far out johnny! what did that beast measure??
-
http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/09/23/dead-whale-lures-in-sharks/ (http://www.gladstoneobserver.com.au/story/2011/09/23/dead-whale-lures-in-sharks/)
Mate told me about this earlier in the week and has now made it on the Gladstone Observer website “Dead whale lures in sharks", as stated in the article probably unrelated to what is happening in the harbour due to their migratory nature..
Also reports of dead cod floating past wharves.
Regards
Earl
-
Courier Mail today
Commercial fishermen, pregnant wife of deckhand and two children ill after eating sick fish caught off Gladstone
THE commercial fishermen who blew the whistle on what they call an environmental disaster in Gladstone Harbour say dead fish will soon wash up on its shores.
They insist sick, blind and ulcerated fish were being pulled out of the harbour for months ahead of last week's official ban by the State Government.
Operators say they were working alongside Queensland Fisheries officers, who were monitoring possible turtle kills, when they dragged sick and slime-covered fish from waters around Gladstone Harbour.
The fishermen say the Government acted only after it was presented with an ultimatum a fortnight ago that they would go public with their concerns. The ban was slapped on 24 hours later.
A dozen fishermen have reported being ill from handling the fish, along with the pregnant wife of a deckhand and their two young children exposed when they met their dad when his boat was pulled ashore.
At least two of the fishermen have spent time in hospital, including Tannum Sands operator Trevor Falzon, who spent five days on a drip.
Mr Falzon said fishermen had no option but to act, fearing children would be exposed to the toxins during the school holidays.
"I couldn't walk," Mr Falzon said. "I spent five nights in the Mater Hospital in Gladstone. It cost $5800. My foot was flaming red. I had a temperature of 39C."
On Friday, Fisheries Queensland released findings that the dead fish had been attacked by a mystery parasitic fluke that was sending them blind.
They were also suffering from red spot, a disease usually found in Queensland waters after the first heavy rains of summer or during lean winter times.
But the cause of the outbreak was yet to be confirmed.
Fisheries Queensland's Dr John Robertson said red spot disease could develop into burn-like marks, or ulcers with red centres.
He said more research was needed into the parasite, which affected the eye of the fish.
"We now know that this parasite is what has been causing the cloudy eyes in some barramundi in the area," he said.
Additional testing is being conducted on new samples of other fish species, prawns and mud crabs but results are not expected for several weeks.
Until then, the fishing ban remains.
Fourth-generation fisherman Chris Sipp believed dredging was to blame.
He said the fish were fine in clear reef water but became stressed as they approached Gladstone harbour. Once in the port, they "roll" - die and go belly-up.
"We are devastated at the situation here in Gladstone but we know that we have done all the right things to advise all government authorities to keep people safe," he said.
Queensland Seafood Industry Association president Michael Gardner said the dead turtles, dugongs and fish found in the Gladstone area were "an environmental disaster".
He said the sick and dead animals coincided with dredging by Gladstone Port Corporation working on the massive LNG plant and pipeline being built in the harbour.
But the port corporation says they are not to blame.
Chief executive officer Leo Zussino said dredging was tightly controlled. He said the sick seafood had been fished out of the harbour before dredging began.
The corporation says the harbour has been dredged in the past without any impact on fish. Instead, it blames fresh water from the floods earlier this year hurting marine life.
Mr Zussino said the dredging had not stirred up contaminants because testing showed there were none on the harbour floor.
"A lot of people say there's been contamination in Gladstone harbour for a century. That's simply not true," he said.
(http://resources1.news.com.au/images/2011/09/24/1226145/315833-gladstone-harbour.jpg)
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/toxic-harbour-fish-fears/story-e6freoof-1226145338037 (http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/toxic-harbour-fish-fears/story-e6freoof-1226145338037)
-
I feel for kurt :'(
-
From The Age
http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/panel-to-probe-sick-fish-at-gladstone-20110927-1kuav.html (http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/panel-to-probe-sick-fish-at-gladstone-20110927-1kuav.html)