The Last 30 years From reviewing the data, in the annual Gippsland Lakes Fisheries Assessments, it is obvious the Gippsland Lakes fishery has been in decline for over 30 years. While there has also been a reduction (through voluntary buyout) in commercial licences during the same period and it was not uncommon for some licences to be in-active, you would think this would increase the available fish stock for the remaining commercial operators and their catch volume. However the CPUE data has been standardised and does not reflect this. Catch rates only appear to increase in time of river flood. The current remaining 10 licence holders are reported as active but the catch rates are still historically low. The recreational catch is also low with catch rates of about one fish every 3 hours (all sizes). Making Improvements to the Fishery Overall the commercial sector in the Gippsland Lakes has been dis- inclined to work with the recreational sector. The last time an attempt was made to get the two sectors together to discuss the fish stock in the Gippsland Lakes was in 2005. No commercial representatives turned up to that meeting or following meetings. Again Craig Ingram in his report states that, "My discussions with the commercial fishing sector indicate they have limited interest in improving the current state of black bream stocks in the Gippsland Lakes." Recent comments on our Facebook page, support this. While we acknowledge that the threat of any buy out is emotive and will cause massive change, we also know that up to 50% of the remaining commercial netters have expressed a desire for a fair buy out of their licences. Quotas The commercial fishermen of the Gippsland Lakes net WITHOUT quotas or in the case of dusky flathead different size restrictions to the recreational sector, i.e. a minimum size of 27cm (rec fishers 30cm) and no upper limit (rec fishers 55cm) There has never been any attempt by the commercial sector to protect spawning fish, one of the keys to recovery and maintaining a sustainable fishery. The purpose of the report collated by Ingram was to ban netting at the mouths of the rivers due to "The regular movements of fish to spawn both into river and out of rivers make them susceptible to being taken in commercial nets, particularly if their movement is channelled through the mouth of a river." The CPUE and catch data supports that when there were flood events the bream catch increased dramatically due to the bream being washed out of the rivers towards the mouths and into the nets. Was it really a Ban? The commercial fishermen were not happy with the proposed netting restrictions at the river mouths but they reluctantly accepted them. They were implemented in 2017 and legislated accordingly in the revised Fishing Regulations. However, from our calculations of the 14 net restriction zones in the Gippsland Lakes, 50% can still be enclosed completely by gill nets. Most of the other zones can still be significantly covered!!. Setting of Commercial Nets-Best Practice vs Reality Again from the Ingram report; "The Gippsland Lakes commercial fishery operations predominately use set mesh nets which are passively set usually overnight. There is some evidence in the Gippsland Lakes fishery of nets being set for extended periods (over 24 hours between lifts). It is then standard practice of some operators to set nets back immediately after lifting. The long intervals between checks and the practice of leaving mesh nets unattended during daylight hours are permitted by current fisheries regulations, but are far from industry best practice. These practices can lead to increase by-catch dumping, spoilage of target species and increased protected species mortality." Despite some comments from commercial fishers that they care more about the Lakes System than most (and we are sure some do) there are operators, who as evidenced by their practices of setting passive nets for up to 24 hours or more, do not practice sustainable fishing methods. Recreational Fishers We accept that not all recreational fishers practice sustainable fishing. We believe there needs to be a review of legal catch sizes of some species and a reduction in bag limits. We also believe we need more Fisheries Officers to educate fishers and where necessary charge them for illegal practices Bream Classic Results 2017 As a measure of the state of the Gippsland Lakes Bream fishery we have attached a breakdown of the catch for 2017. The fact that 56 teams of two fishers, i.e. the best of the best amateurs, could catch only 1.5 legal fish over the 2 days in the Gippsland Lakes, with 19 or 33.9% catching NO fish. This is a damning reflection on the state of the fishery. What hope has an average recreational fisher got and no wonder many move on to other locations to spend their fishing dollars! By comparison at Mallacoota, competition fishers caught an average of 4.17 Bream, with ONLY 0.5 or 0.84% catching NO fish over the 2 days. PLEASE KEEP SHARING THE PETITION WE NEED AT LEAST 10,000 SIGNATURES TO GET THE GOVERNMENT TO TAKE NOTICE AND COMMIT TO ENDING NETTING OF FISH IN OUR LAKES. Also go to our Facebook page @EndCommercialNettingofFishintheGippslandLakes