A letter from Rob Morecroft to the
It is self-explanatoryt
It is self-explanatoryt
The Editor
Sir,
I became a little annoyed when Ross Scott of Duck Arm claimed on WIN NEWS on Tuesday 5 October, that the Gippsland Lakes were basically dead.
Earlier that day I had caught Taylor, Mullet, Flathead, King Georg Whiting, Silver Trevally, Leather Jacket, Cobbler, Angel fish, Perch, Bream, and earlier in the week, Flounder, Garfish, Gudgen, Shrimp, Spider crab, Shore crab, and Pike Eels. The jetties are loaded with muscles, and shell can be found buried in the sand.
Out on the banks the weed has begun to get so thick that I now divert around it rather than cut across the shallows. The swans are feeding in their thousands and I find I have to take care not to go to close to pairs of swans and their signets. The nesting on the islands near the Grange was significant.
Also breeding on these islands is a colony of Pelicans, and these can be seen, around the lake, sifting the weed edge for shrimp to feed their young.
This is not the first time I have been disturbed by Mr Scott’s claims. Several years ago he was complaining about the algae bloom that he said was persisting in the lake. Working on the lake as I do most days, I was aware that the algae bloom had cleared. I realise that Ross is well meaning and was convinced that what he was saying was correct, so I threw the kayak in the Ute and drove out to Duck Arm to see what he was on about.
When I arrived there was green alga everywhere. As I paddled past Ross’s jetty I could not see into the water at all, but 150 metres further on the water cleared and I was able to see bream and mullet running off the shallows in front of the kayak and the lake looked fine.
It occurs to me that Banksia Peninsular was not sewered, and it might be the heavier nutrient loads filtering into Duck Arm, from the septic systems, were feeding this bloom. This has now been partially rectified as some of the properties have been sewered.
I think it is a mistake for Ross to make claims about the health of the Gippsland Lakes when he is viewing them from such a narrow window.
7 Oct 2010
Robert Morecroft
Sir,
I became a little annoyed when Ross Scott of Duck Arm claimed on WIN NEWS on Tuesday 5 October, that the Gippsland Lakes were basically dead.
Earlier that day I had caught Taylor, Mullet, Flathead, King Georg Whiting, Silver Trevally, Leather Jacket, Cobbler, Angel fish, Perch, Bream, and earlier in the week, Flounder, Garfish, Gudgen, Shrimp, Spider crab, Shore crab, and Pike Eels. The jetties are loaded with muscles, and shell can be found buried in the sand.
Out on the banks the weed has begun to get so thick that I now divert around it rather than cut across the shallows. The swans are feeding in their thousands and I find I have to take care not to go to close to pairs of swans and their signets. The nesting on the islands near the Grange was significant.
Also breeding on these islands is a colony of Pelicans, and these can be seen, around the lake, sifting the weed edge for shrimp to feed their young.
This is not the first time I have been disturbed by Mr Scott’s claims. Several years ago he was complaining about the algae bloom that he said was persisting in the lake. Working on the lake as I do most days, I was aware that the algae bloom had cleared. I realise that Ross is well meaning and was convinced that what he was saying was correct, so I threw the kayak in the Ute and drove out to Duck Arm to see what he was on about.
When I arrived there was green alga everywhere. As I paddled past Ross’s jetty I could not see into the water at all, but 150 metres further on the water cleared and I was able to see bream and mullet running off the shallows in front of the kayak and the lake looked fine.
It occurs to me that Banksia Peninsular was not sewered, and it might be the heavier nutrient loads filtering into Duck Arm, from the septic systems, were feeding this bloom. This has now been partially rectified as some of the properties have been sewered.
I think it is a mistake for Ross to make claims about the health of the Gippsland Lakes when he is viewing them from such a narrow window.
7 Oct 2010
Robert Morecroft
A letter from Rob Morecroft in connection with a STATELINE - ABC, programme
Rob has contributed towards the website almost from the day we first hit cyberspace.
His pages " Come fishing with Rob " receive a constant stream of website visitors.
The Doomsayers are Circling.
Yesterday in Lakes Entrance I met a film crew who were doing a story for STATELINE -ABC, 7.30pm, Friday 26th March. They had interviewed a number of people in the region about the state of the lakes. I imagine they spoke about the crab plague; the difficulty in catching a bream; lack of fresh water; salinity etc
Today Thursday 25 March, I see a helicopter land on Gilsenan Reserve and a film crew doing an interview at the Boat ramp, another roaming up and down filming the edges of the lake around Paynesville.
So I am making the assumption that the lakes are deemed to be in crisis once again.
Being a commercial fisher that earns my living from the system, I am well aware of the changes that have occurred over the last 50 years.
In the fifties and sixties there was a plague of crabs in the lake, they were replaced with a plague of bream that ran through the seventies and eighties.
More recently we had a wave of flathead move through the lakes.
In ‘05 and ‘06 Seahorses were everywhere to be found.
This year has been a great prawn season and there is every indication that next year there will be a large number of King George Whiting in the lakes.
The sea horses all died off with the ‘07 flood as did the mussels. Both are now back.
On returning to Paynesville after a fishing trip, brother Jeff (Paynesville Seafood ) pointed out that the bin I had left for the shop had nine different species of fish: Taylor, Bream, Garfish, Flounder, Mullet, Luderick, Trevally, Flathead and Leatherjacket.
Other species that I saw in the lake that day were: Seahorses, Angelfish, Snapper, Toad Fish, two species of Crab, Mussels, and a Prawn.
If you look at any patch of sand you can see small mountains built by worms, holes made by blue shell and pipis. Small Mullet are everywhere and White Bait can be seen on the fish finder.
The weeds that are growing in the lake at the moment are unlike any I have seen before, but does this mean the lakes are in crisis, or are they dynamic, adapting to the changing salinity.
After 10 years of drought and with the State Government diverting more and more water out of the Thompson River for Melbourne, one must expect the lakes to become more saline.
In a multi species fishery like the Gippsland Lakes, change is inevitable.
Rob has contributed towards the website almost from the day we first hit cyberspace.
His pages " Come fishing with Rob " receive a constant stream of website visitors.
The Doomsayers are Circling.
Yesterday in Lakes Entrance I met a film crew who were doing a story for STATELINE -ABC, 7.30pm, Friday 26th March. They had interviewed a number of people in the region about the state of the lakes. I imagine they spoke about the crab plague; the difficulty in catching a bream; lack of fresh water; salinity etc
Today Thursday 25 March, I see a helicopter land on Gilsenan Reserve and a film crew doing an interview at the Boat ramp, another roaming up and down filming the edges of the lake around Paynesville.
So I am making the assumption that the lakes are deemed to be in crisis once again.
Being a commercial fisher that earns my living from the system, I am well aware of the changes that have occurred over the last 50 years.
In the fifties and sixties there was a plague of crabs in the lake, they were replaced with a plague of bream that ran through the seventies and eighties.
More recently we had a wave of flathead move through the lakes.
In ‘05 and ‘06 Seahorses were everywhere to be found.
This year has been a great prawn season and there is every indication that next year there will be a large number of King George Whiting in the lakes.
The sea horses all died off with the ‘07 flood as did the mussels. Both are now back.
On returning to Paynesville after a fishing trip, brother Jeff (Paynesville Seafood ) pointed out that the bin I had left for the shop had nine different species of fish: Taylor, Bream, Garfish, Flounder, Mullet, Luderick, Trevally, Flathead and Leatherjacket.
Other species that I saw in the lake that day were: Seahorses, Angelfish, Snapper, Toad Fish, two species of Crab, Mussels, and a Prawn.
If you look at any patch of sand you can see small mountains built by worms, holes made by blue shell and pipis. Small Mullet are everywhere and White Bait can be seen on the fish finder.
The weeds that are growing in the lake at the moment are unlike any I have seen before, but does this mean the lakes are in crisis, or are they dynamic, adapting to the changing salinity.
After 10 years of drought and with the State Government diverting more and more water out of the Thompson River for Melbourne, one must expect the lakes to become more saline.
In a multi species fishery like the Gippsland Lakes, change is inevitable.
Rob Morecroft
