Didymo

[catch N release]

sigh!!!

[catch N release]

Ok moving on with this now please.
Fish and Game NZ have posted out a survey regarding Didymo, I don't know how many of you got it, but if you go here
www.acnonline.com/freshwatersurvey?p=fgnz  you can fill it out and give your opinion to them.

[Magpie]

Thanks Catch I have just done the survey....hopefully once it is completed and enough people actually fill it out it may get some action

At least I feel like I have done something abiet small but something..

cheers

[Kotuku]

Hey GREAT survey.  I wonder if someone has been listening to what has been said here on this Forum?

Well worth the time for all the people here to take the survey (it's fairly long) and add your comments to your hearts content

I surely haven't seen any of the promotional gifts, I wonder where they are??

[Freddo]

Kotuku, I second your excellent and wise comments about the thread.

Thanks for your support and good comments Cicada. I don't mind a bit of robustness in replies to my posts as it's something people feel strongly about, and I thought I might get some robust replies.

Keep up the good work here Catch. I know I appreciate the great forum you provide here, and I'm sure everyone else who reads and writes here does as well.

David, I am getting a copy of the April Target Taupo with your article from my brother. Thank you for your kind offer. If/When I see you out and about round Taupo I'll say hi.

[catch N release]

Hey Freddo
yeah it is a VERY emotional topic for many of us. Your posts are thought provoking and that is what we need.
You mentioned the birds and oil and I think this is brilliant and is what forums are all about. If I have your permission I will pass this onto the correct authorities? My feeling is if we can dispel the theory the government has on birds spreading it, then they can concentrate on anglers and that way we may slow the spread down until the scientists find a cure or some way to kill an initial outbreak.

[tie1on]

...... i heard somehwere that a good forum post is like a mini skirt, short enough to be interesting but long enough to cover the essentials ...... good on ya catch i think what ya doing is awesome ! it has certainly opened my mind about didymo and has made me change my ways !

[Freddo]

Yes Catch, please feel free to pass on my perhaps rambling ideas on the bird spread aspects to those who have some say in this issue if you think they may be helpful.

[8THEB8]

This has been very rewarding thus far.
We have heard some new and interesting ideas proposed.
We have wandered from time to time BUT managed to get back on track.
The survey may reach some ears.
Let's all try and support anyone who stands up and tries to educate those who may put our fishery at risk.
A big hand for Didymo Dave and any other kindred spirits.
Let's try not to lose our way on this topic PLEASE?

[catch N release]

Hey Guys I am not too sure if I was seeing things but have some posts been deleted?? Cicada had some names up here of the new people in charge of the Didymo fight, Dave had last weekends report on here and I put up a post regarding that. Did anyone else see these posts or am I going mad.

[Freddo]

Hi Catch,

Yeah I noiticed that too. I added a post to the thread about the quality of the fish at the moment, replying to 8theBB's post about the 40cm limit not being through for July 1 and my post has disappeared now. It was there initially soon after I posted it.

[Cicada]

Yep, I put up a link to a bio-security press release on the results of tests done on control agents for didymo which included information on the people they have selected to be at the forefront of the Didymo issue in NZ.

I have been away for several days running fishing clinics in the lower North Island and fishing in the Central North Island and have not had access to a computer so it wasn't me who deleted my post. I don't know how many or who has the ability to delete posts on this forum.....

BUT IT SURE AS HECK WASN'T ME!

Maybe there are gremlins in the system which randomly delete such stuff... I only visit here when my e-mail tells me there has been a new post. Curious to know how it got deleted but not worried about it... more concerned with Didymo... keep flying the flag fellas and felleses!

[8THEB8]

Hey Guys,
Another 'snippet' in a Fish & Game news letter.


FELT SOLED WADING BOOTS TO BE BANNED FROM 1 OCTOBER

The Minister of Conservation agreed in principle last week with a Fish & Game New Zealand submission to ban the use of felt soled wading boots for freshwater fishing. The ban, yet to be approved and included in the proposed 2008/09 Anglers Notice for Fish and Game Regions, will be effective from 1 October 2008, and applies to freshwater sports fishing anglers in all New Zealand waterways, except those within the Taupo Fishery.

The Lake Taupo fishery is administered by the Department of Conservation. The Department has advised that if a ban were introduced for the rest of the country it would recommend that the Minister approve a ban applying in Taupo.

The ban applies to the use of felt-soled waders or footwear incorporating or having attached a sole of felted, matted or woven fibrous material when sports fishing.

Felt-soled boots are considered a high risk vector or carrier of microscopic aquatic organisms like didymo. Preventing the spread of didymo is an important aspect of ban, but it is increasingly understood that felt soles are an effective vector for other microscopic pest organisms. While there are procedures for decontaminating felt soled waders, it is acknowledged that these are not practical in many situations. The proposed ban supports three of the objectives of the didymo long term management plan; to slow the spread of didymo and other freshwater pests throughout New Zealand, to protect valued sites and at-risk species, and to maintain the North Island free of didymo for as long as possible.

Earlier this year Fish & Game New Zealand consulted widely with agencies and stakeholders on the proposed ban. Formal submissions from MAF Biosecurity, the Ministry of Tourism and Environment Southland all supported the proposed ban. Of the 43 submissions made through the Fish & Game website, 20 supported the ban, 17 opposed it and six supported the ban with various conditions.

Some opposing the ban cited the safety provided by felt soled boots. Felt, or fibrous, soles provide a good grip on slippery boulders, and, for this reason, have become popular with anglers. However, other boots and sole types are available that offer alternative ways of maintaining grip on slippery surfaces.

The use of felt soled waders was strongly discouraged during the 07/08 season, and the ban should come as no surprise to most anglers.

Fish & Game New Zealand believes that banning the use of felt soles will immediately remove a high risk cause of spreading unwanted organisms like didymo among New Zealand’s waterways. Anglers must still “Check, Clean and Dry” all equipment that has been in contact with the water wet before moving to a new waterway.

For more information:

Bryce Johnson
Chief Executive Fish & Game New Zealand

[8THEB8]

Copied this from Jarad at Sporting Life:
Just to add some more to the following on the banning of felt soled wading boots, check out the following link.  It has a Question and Answer page which will most likely answer quite a few of the burning questions that some anglers will have.

http://www.fishandgame.org.nz/Site/Features/FeltsoledFAQ.aspx 

We need to keep talking this up guys.
Even Ross @ TRM recognises the biggest threat is apathy.
As elections draw nearer, it would be a good time to ask what party policies are in this regard. Watching John Key snag some crays while out with Graham Sinclair makes you think his heart may be in the right place BUT we need a whole lot more than that, DON'T WE???
Do you know who your local MP is?

[8THEB8]

Can you believe these people?
Not enough money to pay Dave for some more hours or whatever else could help stop Didymo??
Plenty money for this though:

MAF staff dined on tiger prawns and drank Riverstone Reserve sauvignon blanc at a $500-a-head conference, Parliament was told today.

National's agriculture spokesman David Carter said this year's policy group staff conference cost twice as much as last year's and he wanted to know why.

Energy Minister David Parker, standing in for Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton, said he could not help Mr Carter.

Another revelation was that the ministry sent a memo to Mr Anderton the day after the conference saying it would have been better advised not to have invited political commentator Colin James to speak.

"He said National is odds on to be the next government and National offers fresh leadership," Mr Carter said.

In May this year the Government had to explain a series of expensive conferences attended by Housing New Zealand staff, and the corporation was ordered to use cheaper venues in future.