# Petition To get a FAD placed within reach of kayakers



## GoneYakFishin

Hey guys!
Love the forum but to be totally honest I'm more active on "the other forum". Anyway I started a similar post there a few weeks ago and now want to extend it to you guys here as it's hopefully to benefit all of us yakkers in Syndey!

I was told that a FAD used to be within easy reach of kayakers a few years ago and I thought it would be awesome to try and get one placed closer in for us next summer so we can enjoy catching more pelagics!

Hopefully there's a few guys on here that will help and take the time to sign my little online petition to put a bit of weight behind my request when I write a letter to the DPI.

Here's the link

https://www.change.org/en-AU/petiti...ds-within-reasonable-reach-of-kayak-fishermen

Cheers

Nick


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## si75

Do you mean a floating FAD for dollies? Would be nice to have but not too sure how effective it would be say 2km off the heads (but having said that I did get a small dollie just off south head a couple of months ago).

The artificial is within paddling range as well so might be a bit greedy to have both in sydney!


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## keza

Hi Nick, where was the one that used to be within reach ?
Do you think we would need to have an idea for a location before partitioning it ?
That would be an interesting discussion too.


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## GoneYakFishin

si75 said:


> Do you mean a floating FAD for dollies? Would be nice to have but not too sure how effective it would be say 2km off the heads (but having said that I did get a small dollie just off south head a couple of months ago).
> 
> The artificial is within paddling range as well so might be a bit greedy to have both in sydney!


Hey mate yeah a floating FAD for dollies and other pelagics, I've heard there's been some decent game fish in close without a FAD so this might make it more common! I'm told there was one that was about 2km from Sydney heads so it's not a new thing, just looks like they deployed them all way out wide lately...



keza said:


> Hi Nick, where was the one that used to be within reach ?
> Do you think we would need to have an idea for a location before partitioning it ?
> That would be an interesting discussion too.


Would be great to have a location in mind but to be honest I wouldn't know the best spot... As it's been done in the past I would assume Fisheries already have an area that suited in the past... If anyone has any suggestions though!!?


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## GoneYakFishin

Guess there's not as much interest from this forum.. :?


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## GlenelgKiller

Im going to have to ask....what the hell is a FAD?


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## GoneYakFishin

Haha was only giving the post a cheeky bump to stir up a few posts and keep the thread alive! Sadly not many have actually supported it yet but there's still time!

I've been fishing up and down Sydney from Long Reef to Bellambi at the moment... I wouldn't mind seeing a FAD deployed offshore from Cronulla or somewhere like that, away from the Harbour where there's already a few things like the Artificial Reef as already mentioned...


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## keza

Signed with comments. When don't need a huge number of signatures so have a link at the link guys.
Even if you aren't in the Sydney area, this we start them thinking about us when they make other decisions.
There are only 26 signatures at the moment ???


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## MrFaulty

I signed. if this works, next FAD is off newy!!


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## Zed

kraley said:


> GlenelgKiller said:
> 
> 
> 
> Im going to have to ask....what the hell is a FAD?
> 
> 
> 
> Fish attracting device.
> 
> Usually a floating bouy
Click to expand...

I thought it was aggregating or aggregation.
It should be for GlenelG.


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## GoneYakFishin

Zed said:


> kraley said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> GlenelgKiller said:
> 
> 
> 
> Im going to have to ask....what the hell is a FAD?
> 
> 
> 
> Fish attracting device.
> 
> Usually a floating bouy
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> I thought it was aggregating or aggregation.
> It should be for GlenelG.
Click to expand...

It is Fish Aggregating Device but it all leads to the same conclusion... more fish!

Thanks for your support so far guys, hopefully more will sign it and help make this a reality for next summer! From all the reports it sounds like Sydney's going off at the moment so it would be awesome to tempt some of that action in closer!


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## GoneYakFishin

Any other takers??


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## GoneYakFishin

Come on guys! Takes 2 secs and could make your fishing next summer awesome!

https://www.change.org/en-AU/petiti...ds-within-reasonable-reach-of-kayak-fishermen


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## malhal

Great idea but do you honestly think if they put one in close you will be able to get a kayak anywhere near it without being run over?

Cheers Mal


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## mattattaylorsbeach

Ive signed and shared to Facebook. Off Sydney doesnt do me any favours but it will at least get the message out there. We could do with them all up the coast. I know I'd love one off Port Stephens!!


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## keza

Mal, the benefit safety wise is that boats look out for other boats around a FAD as they expect to find them there. A lot safer than a yak 2 ks off shore with no landmarks.

They could put the one back at Quarantine for a starter, that used to be a great spot. One a couple of ks out from either Malabar or Longreef would avoid the harbour traffic.


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## si75

I seem to remember reading that the current Sydney Harbour and Botany FADs are a lot closer than every other FAD up and down the coast because the powers that be didnt want small boats to be tempted to head a long way offshore. I dont know why fisheries think that Sydney boatowners are more stupid than anywhere else up and down the NSW coast but there you go.

Point is that rightly or wrongly they might not want to put out a FAD with the express intention of luring kayakers 2km offshore when not everyone would be safe to go there.

On a side note I have never seen a kayak fishing the artificial reef and thats about 2km out.


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## keza

Lots of us fish the artificial reef from our kayaks si75, it's only about a k off south head.
It produces sometimes but other spots in the area still seem better to me.


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## avayak

Hang a few large buoys off the artificial. BOOM in business.
Kerry's suggestion of reinstating the Quarantine marker is a good one. That thing was a king magnet.


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## kayakone

malhal said:


> Great idea but do you honestly think if they put one in close you will be able to get a kayak anywhere near it without being run over?
> 
> Cheers Mal


Mal

We'll deal with that with safety flags and hooters and whistles. IMO, the more the better:



keza said:


> Lots of us fish the artificial reef from our kayaks si75, it's only about a k off south head.
> It produces sometimes but other spots in the area still seem better to me.





keza said:


> Mal, the benefit safety wise is that boats look out for other boats around a FAD as they expect to find them there. A lot safer than a yak 2 kms off shore with no landmarks.
> 
> They could put the one back at Quarantine for a starter, that used to be a great spot. One a couple of kms out from either Malabar or Longreef would avoid the harbour traffic.


Mexican chip in here (I'll still sign it). This is a great idea by GoneYakFishin. The sport is still growing rapidly, and unless you have an AI/TI most of the FADS and Artificial Reefs on the East Coast are out of the (safe) reach of most kayak fishos. * I would encourage all Sydney region kayak fishos to sign the petition.* It is good to see the NSW government recognising the accessibility problem for kayakers.

On a similar note, the Redcliffe/Scarborough area (SE Qld) has been marked as the location for a new Artificial Reef (thanks to Sunfish and Billy Turner [http://www.akff.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=65528]. The reef is planned to be well over a kilometre long, and 1 - 1.5 kms off the shoreline. It would be fitting for it to be named the 'Billy Turner A.R.' Can't wait for it to happen.


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## avayak

Petition signed. Let's hope that they seek some input if it goes ahead.


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## kayakone

I signed (how's Jim's finger going)?


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## avayak

kayakone said:


> I signed (how's Jim's finger going)?


Hi Trev, I spoke to Jim today. He is recovering well after surgery. Pins and wires sounds like it will be a while off the water for Jim. He sounded keen to go fishimg as ever. Hope he will dust the Other Woman off in time for the hairtail season.


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## keza

avayak said:


> kayakone said:
> 
> 
> 
> I signed (how's Jim's finger going)?
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Trev, I spoke to Jim today. He is recovering well after surgery. Pins and wires sounds like it will be a while off the water for Jim. He sounded keen to go fishimg as ever. Hope he will dust the Other Woman off in time for the hairtail season.
Click to expand...

Hairtail would fix that finger in a jiffy.


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## kayakone

avayak said:


> kayakone said:
> 
> 
> 
> I signed (how's Jim's finger going)?
> 
> 
> 
> Hi Trev, I spoke to Jim today. He is recovering well after surgery. Pins and wires sounds like it will be a while off the water for Jim. He sounded keen to go fishing as ever. Hope he will dust the Other Woman off in time for the hairtail season.
Click to expand...

Jim should be considered for a TOW.....driving all the way from Sydney to break a finger in the first five minutes, without his bum on the seat, then drive home again. What was he steering with..........? ;-)

Thanks for the news anyway. He'll be back.


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## GoneYakFishin

si75 said:


> I seem to remember reading that the current Sydney Harbour and Botany FADs are a lot closer than every other FAD up and down the coast because the powers that be didnt want small boats to be tempted to head a long way offshore. I dont know why fisheries think that Sydney boatowners are more stupid than anywhere else up and down the NSW coast but there you go.
> 
> Point is that rightly or wrongly they might not want to put out a FAD with the express intention of luring kayakers 2km offshore when not everyone would be safe to go there.
> 
> On a side note I have never seen a kayak fishing the artificial reef and thats about 2km out.


Some good points there but you could also argue that keeping the FADs as far out as they are now might tempt some yakkers to head way out wide... It's been done before and I'd have a look if the opportunity came up with a few others..

As for the artificial reef, I was out there earlier this week. Nothing there that time sadly. It's not that far out, I would probably want to see the FAD a little wider than that. I'm sure having it 2 or 3kms offshore would stop most inexperienced or unprepared yakkers from wanting to head out that wide.

Thanks for all your support guys, we've made it past 50 which is a good milestone! Hopefully it will see 100 before I put it to Fisheries!


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## GoneYakFishin

https://www.change.org/en-AU/petiti...ds-within-reasonable-reach-of-kayak-fishermen

Thought I'd bump this one up again! Come on! You know you want to sign it! ;-)

https://www.change.org/en-AU/petiti...ds-within-reasonable-reach-of-kayak-fishermen


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## mattattaylorsbeach

salticrak said:


> Change Org? some bloody Labor Trojan Horse?


worse some greeny mob. but i signed anyway. I figure we should take whatever help we can get!! maybe we add that we only want to make docos from our yak ;-)


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## GoneYakFishin

mattattaylorsbeach said:


> salticrak said:
> 
> 
> 
> Change Org? some bloody Labor Trojan Horse?
> 
> 
> 
> worse some greeny mob. but i signed anyway. I figure we should take whatever help we can get!! maybe we add that we only want to make docos from our yak ;-)
Click to expand...

I don't know who runs the site, and to be honest I don't really care at the moment unless someone has info on why I should be concerned..? I started the petition myself and used this website as a tool to make it easy to do so and also make it somewhat more official looking! It beats the old fashion walking around with a clipboard collecting real signatures....


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## GoneYakFishin

salticrak said:


> yeah, but it's the unsolicited emails you get with this mob that are of the sort that leaves me in no doubt who is behind this.


Mate I assure you, no political parties are behind this petition. If you don't want to sign it then don't, if they are sending you emails after signing then I apologise, I didn't know that would happen. It's simply a small effort to try and get some better fishing for us Sydney offshore kayakers..


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## keza

salticrak said:


> yeah, but it's the unsolicited emails you get with this mob that are of the sort that leaves me in no doubt who is behind this.


The petitions are only the ones that people want to put up and nothing else.
There is a box you need to tick when you sign, that says you don't want to receive any emails.
If you didn't see that at the time, then you can unsubscribe from them at any point and they stop,
I signed the one about the super trawler and got notifications after that, so I unsubscribed and when I signed this one I didn't get any, so it must remember your preference.

Did you hear the good news today salti, Japanese mushrooms just got a lot cheaper


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## GoneYakFishin

A few weeks ago I forwarded on the petition to the DPI, asking for a FAD to be placed within reach of kayaker's. This is their response, I am happy to see a lot of thought and research has gone into this and with their permission, I thought it would be a good idea to make this information available on here for those who supported the petition.

Thanks to everyone who supported this, although we did not get the intended result, it looks like we will still be benefiting from a couple of new artificial reefs.



> Thank you for your email of 22 September 2014 regarding the installation of a FAD within reach of kayaking fishers and smaller vessels. The NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) FAD program aims at providing highly productive offshore fishing locations where recreational fishers can target a variety of popular pelagic fish, predominately dolphinfish. FADs are tactically positioned at 29 locations along the NSW coastline from Tweed to Eden and ranging from 9kms to 29kms offshore. The locations of FADs are determined based on recreational angler accessibility (boat ramps), the ability for the FAD to aggregate fish (ocean currents and water temperature) and minimal interaction with commercial fishers.
> 
> The positioning of a FAD is a key factor to the devices success in aggregating Dolphinfish. Initially, FAD deployment in NSW was trialed at varying depths and distances offshore. This trial found that inshore FADs (FADs in shallower water and closer to the coastline) aggregated prohibited size Yellowtail Kingfish and with limited effectiveness on Dolphinfish. This was primarily due to the fact that for a FAD to consistently hold fish, the device requires the influence of consistent warm water delivered from the East Australian Current (EAC). North Coast FADs are typically situated closer to the coastline compared to southern FADs, as the EAC tends to come closer to the coastline. As a result, inshore FADs in the Sydney area tend to be very limited in their effectiveness.
> 
> A potential alternative for Kayak fishers is the Sydney offshore recreational (Artificial) reef. This reef is located approximately 1.2km east of 'the Gap' (South Head) in 38m of water, which in the right conditions is accessible by kayak fishers (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/rec ... cial-reefs). Monitoring of the reef has found many popular recreational reef species including Yellowtail Kingfish, Snapper and Mulloway. Reports of Mako sharks and even marlin being captured around the reef have been received. (see
> 
> 
> 
> ... e=youtu.be). Further, the Minister recently announced two new reefs are to be installed of Botany Bay (http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets ... SYDNEY.pdf). These new artificial reefs are in the initial development stages of environmental assessments and site location.


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## Guest

Thank you for posting but the links don't seem to be working.

The following seems to be the artificial reefs link (which I found useful).

http://www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fisheries/recreational/saltwater/artificial-reefs#Artificial-reefs


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## hahn1

I tried and works
Thanks


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