The Sustainable Fisherman...

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    Posted: 26 Sep 2018 at 9:22pm
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Hi All,

Ive been thinking about posting this for awhile as it is something that bothers me nearly every time I enjoy a days fishing. The question is - How can I enjoy my favorite past time without negatively impacting the environment around me?

This is a tough one for me, as in my heart and in my daily life I do all that I can to lessen the impact on our environment. I try to sustainably commute, I recycle all that I can, we choose environmentally products etc. etc. BUT when I go fishing I can't help but think of the negative impact I have on my environment just to enjoy the opportunity. I burn copious amounts of gas, utilize a ton of non-environmentally friendly products, use plastic bags when cleaning fish frames, snip hundreds of metres of mono and braid, lose gear on the bottom, buy a mountain of bait and burley etc.

The conversation I want to start is how can we enjoy our favourite past time while lessening the environmental impact? What do you do? Any tips we can share with each other? Does this bother you?


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Snappa Geoff Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 5:42am
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Hi Riceowl, i would say 99% of us fisho's would bring home rubbish from a day out- bait bags, tangled line, food wrap, bottles etc. Where i live in Mokau there is a big council rubbish bin at the boat ramp that gets well used. first thing we do is unload our rubbish once boat is out of water. Do the City ramps in Auck etc have bins? They are a good idea as you don't have to cart your stinky rubbish home, encouraging you to gather it all up on boat while fishing. Burning heaps of gas is part of fishing, you either do or you don't go at all. But there is Kayak Fishing! Did see an article not so long ago on an NZ design electric outboard. Maybe as technology improves they might be on market one day....
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote MacSkipper Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 7:10am
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Get a smaller boat uses less fuel, or take a few bods out if in a bigger boat or go on charters and sell boat or get a kayak if it concerns you or fish from wharf or beach? 
If rubbish gets dropped in water or flies out of boat I turn around and pick it up - I would hope others do the same.
 
Everything has a price - but being careful with rubbish and common sense is the least you can do and to put in perspective I fly once or twice a month with work - that creates a lot more greenhouse gas!
Good fishing trip nothing breaks, great trip catch fish.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 7:49am
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BUT when I go fishing I can't help but think of the negative impact I have on my environment just to enjoy the opportunity.
 I burn copious amounts of gas,
Have a well powered boat propped well to limit fuel and oil consumption

 utilize a ton of non-environmentally friendly products, use plastic bags
Use freezer packs rather than packed ice, cut your own bait burley (recycle bait fish (mullet/ trev heads frames) and pack into recyclable plastic milk containers.

 when cleaning fish frames,
Gut at sea.. frames heads go to local neighbourhood families.. skins compostable
 snip hundreds of metres of mono and braid, lose gear on the bottom,
Improve your fishing skills.. dramatically.. on ave we may loose 1 or 2 m of trace fluro on a bad day.. hooks rust away..
 As to loosing mainline.. happens but 99% of the time that can be recovered.
 buy a mountain of bait and burley etc.
Problem here? you can catch your own, or buy.. at the end of the day the same amount comes out of the sea and is returned.

All rubbish is taken home..be it fishing , picnic camping whatever..

Does this bother you?
 Well now you actually mention it.. but looking at our practices,  from well powered well propped, to cut baits burly etc.. its not because of any greenie thing.. its just commonsense economically and convenient to do so.
 Just as composting at home , for the veggie garden is... and copposing our own trees to recycle for heating... and this in the middle of the city.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote RiceOwl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 8:19am
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Thanks Steps, they were great points and that was what I am trying to get to here. What are the small things we can all do to have the least impact on our environment. They are all great tips and for some just common sense, but wanted to begin the conversation as food for thought for others.

I get that burning gas is just part and parcel of it (esp when game fishing) but was food for thoughts.

Absolutely all rubbish is taken home, just wondering if there ways to lessen what goes to landfill, and your points above about improving skillset are good points that maybe many havent considered.

Sharing of fish heads and frames is a great way to have less go to waste and also connect with the community. I also saw on tv OBC had a partnership with Papatuanuku marae where they were sharing fish frames and heads which were well utilized, and was just a great example of how we can work together to lessen our footprint and impact.

All good tips team! Keep em coming.

Surely it can only be a matter of time before electric outboards too! Might be hard to have floating charge points though :)
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Reel Deal Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 8:26am
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Great to confirm there are inlightened people out there that also think about what damage we do.- think being the key word here.

The lads that commented are all bang on - I smiled reading the compost for gardening and harvest back yard trees for wood burner in the suburbs. I do the same ! And I thought I was a freak haha.

Good advice and yes we untimatly do damage so the goal is to lesson it as stated in this thread. Cleaner motors etc etc note there are solar powered launches on the market now so interesting where that all goes.

I do the same as mentioned on thread but try and do a bit extra to counter balance in my mind, like always stopping the boat to pick up rubbish if I see it. My crew have a landing net on standby. Landing on hard to get at beaches bays etc with a bag and spend 15mins picking up rubbish. Good for scouting guts and cray spots too. Targeting pest fish. Fresh water cat fish carp koi etc sea Kina in bad locations. When at the ramp when walking to or from trailer do a wide berth and pick up any non natural items and bin them.

I never buy commercial caught sea food unless no other option at a restaurant.

All of the above my dad and grandfather etc would have never entered their mind - Good on ya RiceOwl your thinking is progressive.
The gods do not subtract from the allotted span of men's lives the hours spent on fishing - Assyrian Proverb
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 9:06am
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Fish frames/ heads.. there is an app.. great idea but my experiance was bad.. data bases why out of date etc.
In this moderen urban world, ppl dont know their neighbours, often would not even recognize them at the local supermarket...
Simply pack them up into a bag, then go door knocking.. grab their cell number. When close to finish filleting  txt them.
 9 times out of 10, you end up with the occasional bottle wine on the door step... Find Asians are far more likely to do this.

That is just about making good use of the resource... others here put into trenches in the veggie garden, then turn them into veggies..also which the excess often gets shared around the neighbourhood

 None of this stuff is modern .. we give it a modern twist..
 Hell "burn bash bury" "take home rubbish" any ex scout, boys brigade, guide from the last  100 od yrs will be very familiar with that....as with frames... And compositing, coppicing trees goes back 1000s of yrs

That we now have to market the concepts, recycle etc is a simple reflection on a modern BS society and the parents who never passed these 1000 yr old concepts on.. If they where passed on we would not need to market the concepts. And spend the millions on better education , hospital services , would not have a housing or traffic problem emerge.

 This simple question/ thread goes far further than just taking rubbish home..
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote MB Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 9:34am
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A good thread.

Plastic waste - that's easy I suppose, take it home and dispose of it properly. Where it ends up is another matter.

Bait/burley - don't bother! Not required for the upper north island at least. Apart from the cost, I'd rather those pilchards were left in the ocean to make our snapper fat.

Fuel - difficult for a boatie. A kayak is an option if you want to be really green.

Fish - don't take more than you need. I know it's nice to feed the whole neighbourhood, but I'd rather leave some in the ocean for the next day. Heads/frames to a good home.

Lost tackle - an inevitability at some point. If you get snagged, pull for a break rather than cutting the line. I've seen quite a few people do the latter. Why? You lose more line and leave it in the ocean. If you pull for a break, the line generally breaks at the terminal tackle or leader. Protect reel and rod from excessive pressure. 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Coutta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 10:19am
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I agree with what this thread is trying to achieve but most of it is already done by responsible anglers using simple old fashioned common sense.There are some who do and will continue to abuse what we have but unfortunately idiots can't be educated.  My only concern here is that our Minister of Conservation might see this as a mandate to ban internal combustion engines, mono lines, lead sinkers, cruel fishhooks and anything else she may think of.
Having said that, well done RiceOwl.  A reminder every so often to look after what we have can only be good.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (2) Likes(2)   Quote Muppet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 10:33am
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Simple solution really to lessen your environmental impact. That is don’t have kids.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Clifftastic Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 10:35am
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Humans are genetically set-up to be complete a-holes. For every plastic bottle you recycle, 2,000 are being dumped either in a landfill or tossed onto the side of the road. 
I've spent a lot of my life travelling around the world and had my above statement reaffirmed in every country i've visited. My advice is to relax, fish, be happy, do what you want to keep yourself happy whilst trying not to be a complete a-hole. People are different, try not to be too harsh a judge of others actions.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 10:50am
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My advice is to relax, fish, be happy, do what you want to keep yourself happy whilst trying not to be a complete a-hole. People are different, try not to be too harsh a judge of others actions.

Yep go out and do your think with a commonsense clear conscience.. as to others.. But DO judge them as self centered self absorbing idiots.. their action DO define who they are, and they should be judged on their actions.
 Without rules regulations, and common sense , not judging ends up in free for all anachey
 But dont  EVER let these idiots spoil your day...

There is a comment above about taking what need.. not feed the whole local community...
 Thats important.. 
Have caught limit many a time  but only once come home with a limit in the bin...Less than 1/2 limit  for 3 ppl with good sized pannies will feed all 3 families for several nights plus a few fillets to give way ..each.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote SaltyC Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 11:58am
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Agree with Muppet!

Breeding has a larger environmental impact than any of the rest of this stuff.


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Snappa Geoff Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 12:43pm
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Originally posted by Clifftastic Clifftastic wrote:

Humans are genetically set-up to be complete a-holes. For every plastic bottle you recycle, 2,000 are being dumped either in a landfill or tossed onto the side of the road. 
I've spent a lot of my life travelling around the world and had my above statement reaffirmed in every country i've visited. My advice is to relax, fish, be happy, do what you want to keep yourself happy whilst trying not to be a complete a-hole. People are different, try not to be too harsh a judge of others actions.
Totally agree Cliff! Year ago visited Fiji for Stepson's wedding. Booked a fishing trip-Cheaper than most advertised. We took a half deserted road through mangroves to a small bay where we boarded boat from beachLOL The mangroves were a metre thick of floating rubbish and plastic on top of water. Thousands of plastic items. Filthiest mess iv'e ever seen! Was like it for about a Kilometre. The locals seem to use these out of way mangroves as there DumpThumbs Down
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (2) Likes(2)   Quote Tagit Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 1:23pm
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Use compostable plastics and plant some trees. We have over 200 planted now and depending on whose calculations you use that offsets around 6000l of fuel use per year. 
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Muppet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 3:49pm
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Thing about recycling is at the moment we are stuck with tons of plastic China does not want anymore. So all you are doing is adding to a plastic mountain. 

Don't they just burn it in Singapore? 

Apparently trees only absorb 25 litres of C02 a year. But obviously a billion helps LOL

I know a lot of people who harp on about climate change etc. And they are some of the biggest C02 producing travelers too, funny they don't tend to see the irony.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote pjc Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 4:12pm
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Makes me wonder those who litter the sea,are they the same ones who toss the kfc maccas etc out the car window??


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Post Options Post Options   Likes (1) Likes(1)   Quote Steps Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 4:52pm
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I recon you are onto it there also PJ.
 
 A lack of respect for the environment, others goes further than just a car or boat..
 litter on the street, if not picked up at by those employed by our rates and taxes, gets washes out to sea also.
 Areas that should be council/ government  revenue gathering  'user pays'
 you litter , you get fined.. those fines go to paying to clean up their mess..
 You run a red light, that pays for more red lights...more revenue.. and when ppl stop, we let the red light cameras become obsolete.
 User bloody pays.. stop penalising the honest ppl
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (3) Likes(3)   Quote Coutta Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 5:59pm
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Been thinking about what SaltyC and Muppet said about breeding.  They make a good point but I got quite depressed when it struck me how flash a boat I could have had if I hadn't spent the money on bloody kids.I just hope they pick me a good Rest Home.
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Post Options Post Options   Likes (0) Likes(0)   Quote Muppet Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 27 Sep 2018 at 6:19pm
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LOL Life would be a whole lot easier Coutta.

It is a fact that though, of all the damage we do its continuing it that is worse by reproducing more than ever. Big carbon footprints included flying which really is our problem down here. 

The cattle emissions thing I don't really care about either, way I see it if humans were not about there would probably be the same if not more herbivores wandering the planet producing the same amount of gases. Was there not 10-20 million Bison in North America just over a century ago, imagine the gases! 

But back to the OP I got a bit off track, yes I do worry about plastic entering the natural systems. Its never happened before so we don't know how it is going to affect things in the future just yet.  
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