Raiders have your say - Bowfishing

[mrsswordfisherman]

Have your say on legalising bowfishing for Carp in inland waters

The NSW Government has opened public discussion for the legalisation of bowfishing for carp in specified inland waters and to restrict the activity in marine waters.

Bowfishing is a technique which could be used to help remove carp, a noxious pest fish species from NSW waterways. There has been substantial interest from the community to have this discussion about potentially legalising bowfishing of carp.

The public consultation period will close on Monday, 12 April and interested parties are encouraged to give their feedback and enter the discussion.  For more information and to provide feedback, visit the NSW DPI website https://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fishing/commercial/open-for-comment/have-your-say-on-bowfishing-for-carp 

A successful 18-month trial of bowfishing for carp in inland waters was undertaken in 2015 and 2016 and had shown the technique could be safe. 200 bowfishers took part in the trial program and safely harvested more than 700 carp from waterways across the State.

The trial and its subsequent review identified that bowfishing is a safe and sustainable fishing technique. If legalised, there would be strict regulations of the activity to ensure that safety is the number one priority. This includes how close bowfishers can be to people and public spaces.

Currently, bowfishing comes under the definition of spearfishing in the Fisheries Management (General) Regulation 2010 and therefore can be lawfully undertaken in the same areas as spearfishing, which is currently prohibited in inland waters.

To assist with ongoing education and awareness around the rules and regulations governing the activity, a Bowfishing Guide would be developed by NSW DPI Fisheries and bowfishing stakeholders
Fisheries officers would regulate the activity with support from NSW Police.

[savit]

Here is another opinion on 'a succesful 18-month trial':

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-12/conservationists-concerned-about-nsw-bowfishing-trial/7082632

https://www.smh.com.au/environment/controversy-over-bow-fishing-for-summer-carp-trial-20151223-glu8rn.html

Why not just give people some reward for catching and bringing carp to some disposal point - like for those  cans or bottles  - rather than spend more  money for the developing and monitoring age-limited bowfishing program and watch those smelly rotten carps along river banks?

[masterfisho7]

MANY YEARS AGO I USE TO BOW FISH FOR CARP IT HELPED TO GET RID OF THEM I THINK IT IS A GOOG THING

 

Edited March 13, 2021 by masterfisho7

[kingie chaser]

From memory looked into this when the trial started & madeup my mind not worth the effort.

 

As usual with NSW DPI, so many rules & the possibility of big fines because you put one toe over the line.

 

Why is someone going to spend money on equipment & time + effort to do someting where they tell you make once false move & your in for thousands of $$$ of fines 🤔

 

While it shouldnt be a free for all of course & yes you need rules like "dont shoot at aussie natives or wildlife" after that let people go for it.

 

I also think their should be an accreditation process as well just like there is with other DPI activities.

[Rebel]

@Fab1This is right up your alley. I can see you now, Robyn Hood of the waterways.

Cheers.

[Steve-o]

I saw this.

They want to ban bowfishing in saltwater as a part of the proposal. 

You can currently bow fish where you can spearfish when it comes to saltwater. They propose ending that.

I don't think this sport should be banned or even regulated. I don't think you should need anything more than a fishing license to do this. There should be rules associated with it, such as not done within 50m of other waterway users for safety, common sense type things, but apart from that there should be no special permit system or exemption for bow fishing.

Doing so encourages the public to hold the view that bowfishing is inherently dangerous or risky and encourages the perception that bows are lethal weapons and not sporting goods. 

If it can be taken legally with a line it should be legal with a bow. Sight stalking for fish in inland waterways would probably be fun for a lot of people and get them a feed of remove pests from the ecosystem. 

Imagine cruising down a waterway on a little boat with an electric motor and wearing Polaroid sunnies and seeing fish hiding in the snags along the shore. Then account for refraction and take a shot and motor along until you seen the next one swimming about. Probably would be great fun and should not be seen as unusual or in need of extra regulation.

Having said that I've never bowfished and have no interest in doing so, but I don't think this should be over regulated and should be an accessible option to everyone.

[Steve-o]

 

[DerekD]

Looked at this a few years ago. Back then from memory there were several hoops to jump through:

• Fishing licence =>Check
• Compound Bow => Check
• Special arrow (fibreglass) and retrieval device => Nope but had sourced it and quite affordable
• Restricted hunting licence => Check
• Advise local authorities 48 hours in advance of where you will be going => Just hit the too much hassle tipping point.

Would still love to be able to do it as it combines a few of my favourite pastimes. Just not sure how the catch and release part of it goes (depending on your accuracy you could inadvertently skip over the catch part of it and go straight for release).

[leonardgid]

as long as it is used  on  Carp only and not native species  i dont see  why not 

 

[PaddyT]

18 hours ago, leonardgid said:

as long as it is used  on  Carp only and not native species  i dont see  why not 

 

I think if it is done within bag limits and size restrictions i see no problem with bowfishing for anything