Rex you may be referring to this, and at the top of it was a photo of a trailer full of Kahawai. I am not against it, but I believe there must be a better way. Hence I have asked for a constructive solution, rather than full criticism.

A few people I know left there fish in the bins as they didn't want them. These fish im sure where not wasted, but there must be a better option.

This is a very touchy subject, and one that does/will piss people off, and I knew it would, but, without raising these issues, change can't take effect. This is not directed at Pania, it is just a general question for the whole of NZ, trying to find a solution for club events, and competitions where a new system could take place to be in a position to release fish.

Initially to almost every idea you think.... NA THATS NOT GOING TO WORK! .... But in the 1800s who would have thought there would be a tv in a 100 years time? In the 1980's, who would have contemplated throwing back a 20 lb snapper to breed? There is an answer out there, it just needs to be found and given a fair chance.

Here is a copy of that thread below- unedited....


.......................................


Whilst it is fantastic to see so many target species coming in during a fishing contest, I would prefer to see a measurement contest so the fish can be put back rather than a mass amount on a trailer. There must be a good alternative for contests rather than killing all the fish, if you have an idea, I'd love to hear it!

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11 people like this.

Peter Langlands HOPEFULLY ALL THE FISH ARE USED- a good excuse to fire up the smoker
January 20 at 7:44pm · Like

Donald Searles certain measurement or weight would work well and cut down on smaller fish being kept
January 20 at 7:45pm · Unlike · 2

nz surfcasting Allot of these fish Donald, where over 2kg, infact from memory, the top 20 fish where all over 2kg. Peter, I would think they would be, allot more ice would have been ideal however. The aquarium down the road loves taking peoples fish to feed their fish, but thats a bit of a waste, but a good last resort.
January 20 at 7:49pm · Like

Adam Joseph Mcrae no wonder i only caught 2 at the mouth there is all the fish there.lol, measurement would be great to see... but there is alot of people the keep the smaller Kahawai...maybe donate the fish. or fire up the smoker..
January 20 at 7:53pm · Like

Taraia Vercoe Proper storage could've been used i say. Fish bins and ice. Maybe an idea for the next comp?.. Measurement comp sounds like a great idea. Didnt join the comp myself as i just found out about it today, And saw plenty people out there, but i had a good days fishing anyway.
January 20 at 7:57pm via mobile · Like · 1

Andrew Ever Inappropriate Critchley Our local forum does a measurement comp. every angler is given a number at the start of the comp, then measurements are taken and photo'd. "Weigh in" is done via laptop at the end of the day! Works very well. Central Coast Fishing
January 20 at 8:01pm via mobile · Like

Jason Christensen Take a note from the Eides Wanganui Fishing Comp. They have a HUGE bin full of salt ice that all fish caught are buried in. People can retrieve their catch afterwards, or it can be taken by others who want it.
January 20 at 8:02pm · Like · 1

Andrew Ever Inappropriate Critchley I'd love to be able to catch 2kg scumbos, we only seem to get them much bigger. Too big for live bait usually...
January 20 at 8:02pm via mobile · Like

Donald Searles maybe a limit of some kind, i.e there is a daily limit of most fish per fisho, maybe for contests that daily limit could be halved so they only keep the bigger ones and all smaller ones get released
January 20 at 8:04pm · Like

Robert Johnson Brag Matt's and photo not a take hold comp anyway there just scumbo's
January 20 at 8:26pm via mobile · Like

Ben Cullen Moocher Hunters does a comp where you use a video camera and measure your fish against a ''truth mat'' then let it go. Its a pretty good system that works. You also get some pretty entertaining videos. Heres one example. .

Mooching Around
www.youtube.com
Jim Bob Mooching Around. Moocher Hunters.
January 20 at 8:37pm · Unlike · 2 · Remove Preview

Eddie Ludlow seems sensible ^
January 20 at 8:39pm · Like

nz surfcasting 220 odd anglers today, for 112 Kahawai on the trailer.
January 20 at 8:40pm · Like

Danny Parsons where was the comp?
January 20 at 8:50pm via mobile · Like

nz surfcasting Napier
January 20 at 8:52pm · Like

Nick White Sounds like it was a good choice to change the location. Last few years have seen only a few fish caught. Does seem a shame there is no ice on that trailer!
January 20 at 8:55pm via mobile · Like

Andrew Ever Inappropriate Critchley Yeah, far from impressive. I ditched 5 fish on the weekend after they came back from being live bait. I was going to give then to the. Dogs, but they had cooked on the rocks. I didn't feel good about it, so I don't know how you could knowingly throw then in a trailer to rot like that.
January 20 at 9:07pm via mobile · Like

Jahaan Ormandy mate good session at hurunui surf alone can catch 50+ kawahai so 112 not even a dent in a school....
January 20 at 9:09pm · Like · 1

nz surfcasting There is some plastic containers which look like they had be froze, but it would have been good to see a little money set aside for ice.
January 20 at 9:09pm · Like

Gareth Mundt what a waste of kahwai... no ice even either.... why would you keep small ones like some of those
January 20 at 9:25pm · Like

Hamish Nichol The trailer is actualy full of ice and the fish were kept in very good conditon. Almost all the fish were taken home by competitors after the weigh in. Was a very well run comp.
January 20 at 9:31pm · Like · 1

Nick Powis there was a size limit of 30cm, i saw plenty little ones going back in the sea, and i dont think a single fish on that trailer went to wast, like Hamish said there was a good bed of ice on the trailer, and there were many happy people going home with full plastic bags of fish!It was a well run comp.
January 20 at 10:36pm · Edited · Like · 1

nz surfcasting It was a well run competition, but it would be fantastic to see more comps using a catch and release type system, its diffinitly something for the future. In allot of comps, the bike marshals drive around and advise anglers of a minimum size once the prize list has been fulled, that saves a few fish being killed and allows a few to go back. Im not running down what looks like a great competition, just looking at a positive way for competitions like this to take place and avoid masses ending up on a trailer. Eating quality is reasonably poor once a fish is un-bleed so there is not allot of point of keeping them. Yeah Ben thats a great system, it allows big fish to be measured and returned, rather keeping them on the rocks to cook in rock pools all day, especially in the hard to get to places. Great video by the way, good sense of humour lol.
January 20 at 11:29pm · Like

nz surfcasting Jahaan your right, kahawai can be prolific and in large schools, but they don't stay like that keeping them all without thinking of the future. There are allot of club events around the country where allot of kahawai are weighed and killed for points ex....., and I am sure they don't go to waste, some end up long line bait, some end up in the pet food and some end up in the smoker. Many clubs have adapted to the system of the measure board, where fish can be measured on a board and photographed, everyone in the club has the same board so there are no discrepancies. Anglers still get there club points and fish still count for competitions, and for the most part, unwanted kahawai go back in the water and don't have to be killed and good sized snapper get to continue breeding. It is not a bullet proof idea, but it goes along way to keeping New Zealands fishery in a healthy state, which is the most important thing. Commercial fishing plays a large part of decline to the fishery, and you would be amazed how much of an impact a recreational angler contributes. Little things like this help do our part as recreational angler to sustain awesome fishing.
January 20 at 11:39pm · Like

Stuart Adams bout time some of these big talkers step up start your own comps Mr perfect fish0.
January 21 at 12:31am · Like

nz surfcasting No one is being a big talker Stuart, just looking at ways in the future the amount of fish kept can be reduced. That topic can piss a few people off, but so be it, it highlights an ongoing problem. This isn't about bagging the competition, its about looking for a possible solution or alturnative in the future, which I am interested to hear what other do around the country.
January 21 at 9:21am · Like

Blair Rossiter I reckon for single species comps you should only be able to weigh one fish of that species per paid entry.Your 1 fish is weighed and your number recorded against that fish. If it is a boat comp no other fish of the competition species allowed in the boat.The rules have to be really strict to make it work.
January 21 at 10:17am · Unlike · 1

Kylie Thomson measure and release is a gd idea. i'm sure someone can come up with a formula based on measurement to accurately predict weight. with ky comps why not hold them in the autumn when they are much larger and put less pressure on them than in the summer when everyone seems to do most of their fishing. i know that locally 3kg+ ky are common in the autumn and easily caught in the surf after dark, larger hooks and large baits are a must to avoid hooking them in the gut.
January 21 at 10:23am · Unlike · 1

Nick Powis I am all for protecting our fish stocks, if anything i think the min size could of been much higher, would of prob seen a few more fish back in the water. But i do think at the end of the day, almost all the fish that had been land,d would of still found a dinner plate! So realy there should be a MAF size limit on ka,y. that would solve the issue all year round!
January 21 at 10:40am · Edited · Unlike · 1

nz surfcasting Those are all good ideas
January 21 at 10:37am · Like

Stuart Adams Maybe we need to be like Australia and need to buy our fishing licences hence having more officers to police our coast lines because in over 25 years of fishing NZ waters never ounce have i ever seen a fisheries officer ..2 years fishing NSW waters 5 times i was asked to view my catch bag and size limits.
January 21 at 2:45pm · Unlike · 2

Michael Jenkins Oh lord! Once the moocher mangina has been seen it cannot be unseen, surely that put un-due stress on the poor snapper haha! But seriously that was great, a short vid makes cheating bloodey hard, but could mean it takes a long time for officials to do weigh-ins if all footage was reviewed, would have to weigh-in based on people's word then get the prize winners to back it up with vid. Need atleast 1 tech savey person to deal with connections to various cameras if the vid didn't go onto the sd card and to deal with any video format issues to get the things played (vlc player is a great.no nonsense player that plays anything and everything plus it's free too). You'd definately want to get a bit of experience sorting out the methods/systems for doing it with small club comps before launching it in a $$ comp with lots of people but this is definately the way forward, I've heard quiet a few fisho's come back from the bounty hunter comp feeling a bit stink to have killed an old kelpy in the 16-19lb range and not even be close to the money (no slight on that comp though, it's great when such fish don't place, testamant to the location, timing and calibre of fisho who attends a winter comp) live and loud broadcasting of the smallest fish that's in the prizes threwout the comp may help a bit but most people fish dawn till dusk in comps, so best fish don't arrive till just before cutoff usually, maybe if lengths were texted in as good fish are caught? Could cause trouble if people BS, perhaps instant DQ if you get it wrong by 3cm or more?
January 21 at 10:14pm via mobile · Unlike · 1

Chris Moore Need a fishing competition app for mobile phones
12 hours ago · Unlike · 1

nz surfcasting Haha, there is a bloody app for everything else, should be a fishing one
4 hours ago · Like

Michael Jenkins Hell yeah, could do alsorts of live-feed stuff with that, only 2 draw backs is it locks those without android or iphones out (though the price of entry level is dropping fast) and would require a fishing area with full coverage for live stuff, but the ...See More
3 hours ago via mobile · Unlike · 1