Will Gladstone become the east coast barra mecca ?

[kevin]

Dont count the chickens to soon, the square hookers are warming up and just waiting for these fish to be purged, gona be very tasty.

[BR65]

wonder what it will do to the Boyne River croc population??

[Awoonga]

wonder what it will do to the Boyne River croc population??

Crocs..... What Crocs ?

[nagg]

I'm thinking there would have been a fair number of barra that have already dispersed north & south & across to Curtis Island ....... within a couple of days people were catching barra toward the mouth of the Boyne ( even though it was closed season) ....... so no doubt plenty would have moved on .

Chris

[BR65]

keep the toes inside that skeet Trev.....

[Dusty]

You would have to think things like shark populations would rise too. Likewise, what will happen to the bottom of the food chain. Maybe the extra pressure will disperse the glut of Barra sooner than we think. It would be interesting to hear from marine biologist for an educated point of view. I mean, is there any precident to this sudden population boom, even of different species, to suggest what may develope. And as I wrote in another thread on this subject, does any data support short term closure and/ or restricted bag limits for the system and surrounding area to allow for breeding to take place. The flip side of course is that these fish originated from a stocked impoundment, and therefore should have little to no restrictions, at the most that of every other wild Barra.
Then there's the free for all that is the most likely outcome. Rec fishers, on the whole, will stick to bag limits and clock up NT catch and release figures. Pro's will take as much as legally possible, with every right, flood the market, drop the prices and possibly drive some pro's out of business. Far fetched maybe, but feasible. In the end, at the moment we have an awesome, possibly one off fishery to enjoy and despite the pressure to come I'm sure a number of fish will survive to breed. Numbers that weren't there last year which has to be a good thing.

Cheers,
Dusty

[BR65]

Im scratching my head as to why all these smart hard to catch dam fish have suddenly become suicidal - pure numbers in a small loacality or is that salt water some sort of appetite enhancer - even though they have ridden the big slippery dip and entered a totally foreign world to the fish?
Have a look at their fresh water bretheren left behind, fish caught Vs man hours spent.....
Thinkin its the salt

[ActiveAngler]

And the tide Brian...and the tide..

[Peter4]

Hunger Brian, hunger is the key. Now they have to compete for a meal with many other predators and they are no longer top of the food chain.

Not only is a meal harder to get in the salt, but you have to work harder to get one...see how lean the barra being caught are. Two months ago they would all have been big fat things...

Welcome to the Boyne Barra biggest loser...

[BR65]

didnt take much to stir em up Chew, tempermental little divas they are