How to dispose of Tilapia if cought

[Member]

Hi All
This may be a dumb question but I have to ask.
I want to start fishing the freshwater systems around brisbane and have heard that Tilapia are a pest. If I am unlucky enough to catch some (my luck I will) how do I dispose of them as we should not put them in the bin.

sorry if its a stupid question

James

[Member]

No Not a stupid question a sensible one
Take a plastic bag or a bucket with you and when your finished fishing take them away from the water way and bury them in a deep hole or use them for fertiliser the ones I catch up here in Hervey Bay I give to one of the guys that lives on the lake and his garden looks great .

Paul

[Member]

Thanks Paul
I will add them to the compost heap
 
James

[Member]

Depending on the location, you may find fish disposal bins provided just for this reason. Places like Lakes Somerset & Wivenhoe have them & possibly at some spots at Lake Samsonvale as well.

Cheers,

fitz..

[Member]

If its not SEQ water land or a nice park, I just chuck them above the high water mark. Local birds will take care of it.
Otherwise first bin you come to put them in it.

[Member]

Of course, due to the fantastic Qld rules, if you take them home and put them on the compost heap you are breaking the law.
Putting them in a bucket is also breaking the law.
Pretty much anything except digging a hole right there, right then and killing / burying them is breaking the law.

People must not possess noxious fish or keep, hatch, rear, sell, consign or place them in any container.

Tilapia, carp and gambusia are some of the declared species of noxious fish. Along with other noxious and non-indigenous fish, they must not be released into Queensland waters or be used as bait, either live or dead.

After they are caught, all noxious fish must immediately be killed and must not be returned to the water. Noxious fish compete with native species and could greatly reduce native fish numbers and affect their habitat.

It is an offence to possess tilapia dead or alive, including as bait.

[Member]

Junglefisher
It sounds like leaving them far above the high water mark for the birds & worms is the only option

cheers
James

[Member]

Yeah mate, you need to make your own choices about it.
Cheers
Craig

[Member]

You know

I will get smashed for this I recon, but take them home, fillet, place in a fry pan and enjoy.

The frame, double bag and burn it.

[Member]

That's a refreshingly honest and sensible suggestion Steve. Too bad the Gov don't see it that way. I'm feeling left out! I have never caught a Tilapia, But I had a Tilapia sandwich once in the USA. So, if you eat it then it goes through your digestive system and ends up in the septic tank, are we then led to believe that in a few weeks said septic tank will be wall to wall with mouth brooders?? I can understand not eating carp, I'd rather pat a funnelweb, but down south you can eat all the Redfin you want. Can anyone "please explain" what the difference is? Hmm let it be known I have the greatest respect for Queensland Fisheries officers...
JD

[Member]

You know

I will get smashed for this I recon, but take them home, fillet, place in a fry pan and enjoy.

The frame, double bag and burn it.

I don't know of anyone being charged for doing this, and I know plenty who do it!

[Member]

That's a refreshingly honest and sensible suggestion Steve. Too bad the Gov don't see it that way. I'm feeling left out! I have never caught a Tilapia, But I had a Tilapia sandwich once in the USA. So, if you eat it then it goes through your digestive system and ends up in the septic tank, are we then led to believe that in a few weeks said septic tank will be wall to wall with mouth brooders?? I can understand not eating carp, I'd rather pat a funnelweb, but down south you can eat all the Redfin you want. Can anyone "please explain" what the difference is? Hmm let it be known I have the greatest respect for Queensland Fisheries officers...
JD

Even though the horse has well and truly bolted in SEqld in regards to Tilapia, the main game now is to keep them out of the Murray-Darling. A complete shutdown on posession and movement of Tilapia is the only tool they have.

[Member]

JD

pretty much as Dave has said above.

The problem is they can bread in a pothole. The brood can last so god dam long out of water. People are relocating unfortunately for their own schools for consumption.

[Member]

How about if you fillet them at the SEQWater disposal bin and take the fillets home to eat and dispose of the frame in the bin.  I can buy Tilapia fillets in Woolies, so it cannot be illegal to possess them.

[Member]

Even though the horse has well and truly bolted in SEqld in regards to Tilapia, the main game now is to keep them out of the Murray-Darling. A complete shutdown on posession and movement of Tilapia is the only tool they have.

I can understand that and it's true we don't want the bloody things to spread. But as Basser points out, if taking fillets only how can that hurt? Maybe electrofishing the dams and selling the Tilapia fillets on the open market may be a possibility. A mate of mine was talking to an Aboriginal bloke at Somerset who was hooking Tilapia on bait, garden worms actually and he was taking them home. There're probably a lot of people who don't wnat messy old Tilapia flopping about in the their boat all day in the sun, so may well be tossing them back once they know they are dead being ignorant of the survival rate of the young. I know Carp eggs can remain viable for 7 days after the fish is dead.
MOre information at launch places counldn't hurt either. People need to have information spoon fed to them a lot of the time.
JD