2Dans Fishing - Radio Program 9 - 3rd October 2010

FUTURE FISH
Always a touchy subject - the future of Marine Parks in Australia. With the relatively new government in place and their back room deals with the Greens still cloaked in mystery, there are many Australian fishermen very nervous about what is going to happen to our rights to fish where we want when we want in the foreseeable future.
Marine Parks it is argued are a necessary part of fisheries management and conservation. However as many scientists around the world have shown this is not necessarily the case. There is no denying that the conservation of the marine environment and the organisms that live within it is an imperative no one can afford to ignore, however are Marine Parks really the correct solution to achieve this end or are the merely a political manoeuvring to increase the funding from large scale international NGO's? In society perhaps the most environmentally aware individuals or groups of individuals are those that are out and about within the environment themselves - when it comes to the oceans the people who see what is happening the most are the fisherman. As a result many fisherman Australia wide can be counted as passionate guardians for the oceans, and have as history shows on numerous occasions been the group to encourage and introduce better management practices for all manner of fish species.
Unfortunately there are groups of so called conservationists who would have the public believe that the decline in fish stocks and marine biodiversity is directly attributable to over fishing by recreational anglers, when time and time again scientific research has shown that this is simply not the case.
All of the debate aside what is clear is that the Labour Government of Australia has sided with the Greens and plan to push through further Marine Protected areas where fishing of any form will become prohibited.
It is important for recreational anglers to get educated, activated and stand up for what they believe in, the future of your access to historical fishing grounds in this great fishing nation of ours is in all of our hands.
Here are some links to get a broader understanding of the issues at hand;
Marine Parks Mayhem
Emeritus Professor Bob Kearney - On Marine Parks in NSW
A review of the Batemans Bay MPA paper by Professor Bob Kearney
Ben Diggles - The Science of MPA's


TACKLE HAPPY - Spinning or Threadline reel reviews
In Tackle Happy this week Dan Burgess and myself took to the water armed with two different spinning reels from two different manufacturers to put them through the paces.
The Pflueger Patriarch 9540 matched to the Pflueger Patriarch XTR 7" rod is designed to for light offshore or medium estuary spin targets. Expect to catch yellowtail kingfish, snapper, silver trevally and mulloway on this super light weight outfit packed full of impressive technology, with an impressive drag rating.
You can check out the reel here. They are priced competitively in the market and should deliver years of fishing pleasure.

The NEW Daiwa Certate 4000 is a high end reel with a high end price tag for those who take their fishing seriously and are happy to spare no expense. The technology that has been folded into the new release reel is a magnetic fluid in the bearing casing or housing. The purpose of this fluid is to prevent any water getting into the bearings and oxidising the bearings and reducing their working life. As always the reels are built to high standards and punch a drag out well above their weight for the size of the reel. Check it out here