This is so wrong...

[Member]

I have heard about what is happening at Somerset dam but now I hear this from a fella at my work who is involved with the white bucket brigade. This is happening every weekend and might even be happening during the week.I have been told that at O'sheas crossing which is on the Upper Brisbane River, maybe even classed as Wivenhoe dam- not sure, that from 2am Saturday morning to late Sunday night the white bucket brigade is targetting any fish they can catch, taking every fish. They are using bait, catching Bass, Tilapia, Yellow Belly, Catfish, Eels, and even eel tail cat fish, again I am told every fish is taken. Bucket loads of fish are caught and pickup are organised for cars to come by and pick them up to be processed elsewhere.

At O'sheas it is standing room only along the bank in the middle of the night, thinking of going out there myself to check it out!

So how is this allowed? How can it be stopped and why do  these people have no respect for the laws. Do they even have a license and what do they do with so many fish. It is turning my guts to think all the hard work that the members of the stocking groups have done only for some ignorant people with no respect can come along and do this. This fella is skiting how many fish he catches and laughs at me when I mention the rules. It just sux.

Is there any truth in what this fella is saying. we are talking hundreds of bass, maybe thousands of fish....

[Member]

I doubt that any of our members would be involved.  What did Fisheries say when you reported it to the hotline?   1800017116

[Member]

I just came home, will ring tomorrow, but I don''t have hard facts just rumor... will they even act on it.

Heard about Somerset and have been told to write letters to politicians to get action. Now that's hard core out there and we have to put pen to paper- fingers to key board, to maybe get some thing done.

[Member]

Photos, video, rego numbers for evidence will help. I'd also be telling seqwater as they will be breaking the access rules being in there after hours.

[Member]

Report it keep details of report and if it continues a letter to local member WILL result in some surveillance.
Would not be too hard for local boys in blue to do a couple of drive byes through the night.bit harder to get fisheries out .
Cheers
Ray

[Member]

I doubt that any of our members would be involved.  What did Fisheries say when you reported it to the hotline?   1800017116

Usually nothing

I have done 4 reports and left my number and not one call back. This is after the fact when they ask you if you would like to be kept informed. Have taken pics and sent them.

They are understaffed and will be on the goldy or fraser or anywhere but a fresh water scene.

Can say the whole situation is fcuked

[Member]

Last summer the same sort of caper was going on at Shines rd at Wivenhoe Pocket.

I did see fisheries officers visit there a few times.

Also saw one of the perpetrators vehicles with a few tyres let down too.

I haven't seen them there for awhile now though.

[Member]

As at right now, there are 34 Guests viewing this topic, that is 34 people who are not members, or not logged in.  My guess is there will be nobody there this weekend, or there will be some pretty good lookouts watching for Fisheries.

[Member]

If that's the case Dale,  that's as a good as win, then.

Fisheries can focus their attention on chasing the Mary river cod botherers and it gives Seqwater some time to move their infra red motion detecting cameras to that site.

[Member]

I'm sure there are members on this forum that have video cameras with powerful zoom lens.

Surely it's not too difficult to film these "white bucket" people in action, save the recording with time, date and location of the alleged offence. Without time, date and place of the offence being recorded it would be thrown out of court.

Bondy

[Member]

What makes me annoyed about this if its true is that somerset and wivenhoe are the two lakes i ticked to alocate funding from my fee when purchasing the stocked impound permit . And theres people out there taking fish illegally/ or over bag limit.
Cheers joseph

[Member]

G'day Joseph,

That's a very valid point you raise. Some of those fish that was mentioned in the first post are actually vermin or pest fish, so I don't know what the issue is there, I would not be making a song and dance if someone is removing declared pest fish from the rivers, creeks, lakes and dams. e.g. tilapia, and banded grunter are declared pests. Good luck to them if they have.

As for the regulated fish, there are enforced bag and size limits and that's a different matter.
Cheers, Peter

[Member]

I have heard about what is happening at Somerset dam but now I hear this from a fella at my work who is involved with the white bucket brigade. This is happening every weekend and might even be happening during the week.I have been told that at O'sheas crossing which is on the Upper Brisbane River, maybe even classed as Wivenhoe dam- not sure, that from 2am Saturday morning to late Sunday night the white bucket brigade is targetting any fish they can catch, taking every fish. They are using bait, catching Bass, Tilapia, Yellow Belly, Catfish, Eels, and even eel tail cat fish, again I am told every fish is taken. Bucket loads of fish are caught and pickup are organised for cars to come by and pick them up to be processed elsewhere.

At O'sheas it is standing room only along the bank in the middle of the night, thinking of going out there myself to check it out!

So how is this allowed? How can it be stopped and why do  these people have no respect for the laws. Do they even have a license and what do they do with so many fish. It is turning my guts to think all the hard work that the members of the stocking groups have done only for some ignorant people with no respect can come along and do this. This fella is skiting how many fish he catches and laughs at me when I mention the rules. It just sux.

Is there any truth in what this fella is saying. we are talking hundreds of bass, maybe thousands of fish....

Nativeman,

I understand what your saying but without hard proof and first hand knowledge I.e. to see this happen up close i.e. to be there on the spot would be more or less hearsay. For police to take action they need hard tangible evidence, costs money to set up a sting, overtime x resources x manhours.

Bondy

[Member]

This is such good timing!!!

I haven't fished the top of the Brissie for about a year but on Sunday morning I took my neighbour for his first yak. We slid down heartbreak hill got to the bottom to find a whole family of Asian white bucket killers manning the bank, I counted six of them. They had three buckets with shrimp loaded up and in the water they had a net with at least 5 bass in the net still alive. I could see at first glance that two were undersize so I let them have it, I opened the net and scooped the two undersized out but before I could unload the whole net the father came bolting over and snatched the catch net away from me. We had a heated verbal exchange but there was not much else I could do.

SOMETHING HAS TO HAPPEN TO STOP THIS!!!!!

Can we not be "deputised" as "volunteer" fisheries inspectors with similar or same powers? This would allow all of us to all enforce size limits and "educate" these people.

I am not scared to speak up!

Fitzy that was me emailing you from the yak!!!

Fckin broke my heart seeing those bass go to the dinner table.

Bryan

[Member]

Six people fishing can legally have 12 Bass in their possession can't they?  They'd also be entitled to have quite a lot of Golden Perch, 60 in fact.  Did you get a rego number and phone it through to fisheries?