Thanks everyone, along with hard copy petitions, we now have 2087 signatures. We may have had a few more but some of the hard copy petitions have been removed from some locations by persons unknown!! Our Lakes Need You. We continue to be heartened by the supportive comments from many of you. It helps us stay motivated, in what has become a full time job. We are continuing to research (we are surrounded by paper) and learn from those who have lived and fished the Lakes all their lives, some of whom are in their 80's. Many are devastated to see the state the Lakes, the Wetlands and the Fishery is in. It is not only locals who are signing the petition, but people from Melbourne and other parts of Victoria as well as interstate. We have written to Fishing Clubs throughout Victoria with all contacted being supportive. ( It would be good however if the VFA kept the data base current-lots of return to senders and bouncing emails-Hint!) Some people who have not visited for years are sharing their disappointment in the deterioration in the fishery and the Lakes. Some sadly have said they will not come back. Keep sharing! Please keep sharing the petition via email or facebook. We need a lot more signatures. We also have a facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/EndCommercialNettingofFishinTheGippslandLakes/ where we post facts from our research or in response to mis-information or just plain sharing. Our page and No Nets Gippy Lakes have generated quite a bit of online discussion. Most of it healthy and robust. Writing to Politicians We are still waiting for a response from #Jaala Pulford to our second letter asking why it was Labor policy to only ban nets at the mouths of the rivers and not offer a buy out as per Port Phillip and Corio Bays. We suspect it may have had to do with votes! We have also pointed out that the ban is not a ban it is just an increase of 50%. We still hold that some of the tributaries that are not part of the fishing channels can still be netted entirely We have met with the Greens to present our case and they will be in touch when they have formulated their policies for the next Victorian election in November. We have a meeting with #Tim Bull, local National MP for East Gippsland in March. We have also written to #Darren Chester, local Federal Nationals MP, also requesting a meeting to discuss our concerns re the fishery, the health of the Lakes and our concerns regarding meeting some of the Ramsar requirements for the Lakes. We have a meeting with the East Gippsland Catchment Management next week to discuss concerns re some of items in the Ramsar Management Plan and also to discuss water issues, in particular water release from the catchments to the Lakes and some of the Wetlands after reading yet another plan!!. Letters are ready to go to Lisa Neville, Minister for Water and Lily D’Ambrosio, Minister for Environment. We Encourage YOU to Write …. Some have said it is fruitless to write to politicians as you just get the standard gobbledegook stock answers. We still say write, then write again. Be specific and state your case. Remember they are elected by us to represent us in government, so they need to listen!! The more of us who write the more likely they will know how serious we are. We will post their addresses and other contact details on our facebook page (link above). Media We have had a short segment on ABC local radio about the petition and also about the algae bloom and the new species of algae found in the Lake. The algae blooms are becoming more frequent but that is for another post…. We have submitted to a local paper, raised some issues with the Age in Melbourne and David is being interviewed for an article in a local fishing magazine. We would if we could have a wider media presence. We will keep pushing if you push too. We can help by giving you facts and others expert opinion via our facebook page. Thanks again Image downloaded from http://www.riverspace.com.au/item/investigating-the-gippsland-lakes/