Crab and Prawn Buoys/Floats revised by DFO

[Local Hali Hunter]

I moved this into its own Thread in the category it falls under, Thanks for providing this new detail Last_Call !



DFO met with the SFAB GFSFWG and Prawn Committee throughout 2021 to discuss standardizing buoys/floats used in the BC recreational fishery. The SFAB and DFO have determined that to support improved enforcement and identification of gear/species being fished the following crab and prawn/shrimp buoy/float requirements will come into effect by condition of licence on April 1, 2023:
• Crab Traps - Floats attached to crab traps must be bullet shaped cylindrical floats a minimum of 27cm in length and 12cm in diameter.
• Prawn and Shrimp Traps - Floats attached to prawn and shrimp traps must be round (spherical) in shape and a minimum of 27cm in diameter.
The fishing community will be advised that these proposed changes to crab and prawn/shrimp float requirements will come into effect for the licence year beginning on April 1, 2023, by Fishery Notice and public outreach in the Spring of 2022. This advance notice should provide sufficient time for manufacturers to prepare and for fishers to purchase any new gear. Over the next year, fishers should start to transition to the new requirements. The Department will continue to work with the Sport Fishing Advisory Board and other recreational stakeholders to communicate this upcoming change.
Starting April 1, 2022, as a condition of licence, all crab, prawn and shrimp floats must made of a durable material and designed for operation in marine waters. Fishers should avoid using plastic jugs, bottles and foam blocks as floats as they may deteriorate or sink, or are hard to see or mark.

Any Thoughts? Good or Bad??

 

[mbowers]

I moved this into its own Thread in the category it falls under, Thanks for providing this new detail Last_Call !



DFO met with the SFAB GFSFWG and Prawn Committee throughout 2021 to discuss standardizing buoys/floats used in the BC recreational fishery. The SFAB and DFO have determined that to support improved enforcement and identification of gear/species being fished the following crab and prawn/shrimp buoy/float requirements will come into effect by condition of licence on April 1, 2023:
• Crab Traps - Floats attached to crab traps must be bullet shaped cylindrical floats a minimum of 27cm in length and 12cm in diameter.
• Prawn and Shrimp Traps - Floats attached to prawn and shrimp traps must be round (spherical) in shape and a minimum of 27cm in diameter.
The fishing community will be advised that these proposed changes to crab and prawn/shrimp float requirements will come into effect for the licence year beginning on April 1, 2023, by Fishery Notice and public outreach in the Spring of 2022. This advance notice should provide sufficient time for manufacturers to prepare and for fishers to purchase any new gear. Over the next year, fishers should start to transition to the new requirements. The Department will continue to work with the Sport Fishing Advisory Board and other recreational stakeholders to communicate this upcoming change.
Starting April 1, 2022, as a condition of licence, all crab, prawn and shrimp floats must made of a durable material and designed for operation in marine waters. Fishers should avoid using plastic jugs, bottles and foam blocks as floats as they may deteriorate or sink, or are hard to see or mark.

Any Thoughts? Good or Bad??

Not a bad idea but seems way too quick to force a change. I just bought two new cylindrical floats for $200 for prawn traps that haven't seen the water yet so guess I have to throw those out. It should have been phased in over the average lifetime of a buoy like 5 years so people could replace gear economically without having to buy all new gear within a year.

What if you have two floats on the line? Do they have to match shape? What if you fish a shrimp and a crab trap on the same line? Guess that is now illegal?

 

[Local Hali Hunter]

What if you have two floats on the line? Do they have to match shape? What if you fish a shrimp and a crab trap on the same line? Guess that is now illegal?

I'm pissed o%% with this regulation update. Yo yo us around yet the commercial prawners and other commercial fisheries float types are just fine with DFO. I've witness seeing floats (Crab and Prawn) submerged about 5' down. I was told later by a commie that these floats are on a GPS marked beacon locator. And that's allowed by DFO? A bit of a navigational hazard like for trolling and catching your downrigger on it. This is what happened to me a year ago in this same situation. Enough is enough, regulate everybody, not only the sporties.

 

[Bryan Allen]

An example of the SFAB doing DFO's work IMO. All DFO had to do was to make it a condition that the floats were visible ( no sinking bleach bottles etc.) As far as DFO enforcement needing to be able to distinguish between a crab or pawn traps ? Really ? Any Officer that knows his job is well aware of the depth fished ( for the most part) by crab traps or prawn traps. Yes-- in a few areas ( off the Tsawwassen ferry dock for example ) commercial crab traps are regularly fished at prawn depths. But dammit-- if the Officer is not sure, most RH enforcement boats are equipped with pullers. They can check ..... And how about getting more checks for line weights that are navigational hazards ? As a member of an SFAC that did not approve this proposal, I wonder how many others did not too. It has been posted on this site numerous times that we are slowly being strangled to death -- be it SRKW avoidance areas , while others get a free ride (FNs, Whalewatchers , etc. ) refusal by the politicians unwilling to do the distasteful , but necessary in some areas , pinniped harvests and dont forget the ridiculous blanket shellfish limit reductions -- prawns, oysters, clams, that do nothing for conservation, but makes the uninformed public feel that DFO is "managing" properly.
And in my home waters (Area 14) we have major DFO hatcheries on the Qualicums and the Puntledge Rivers and MANY community enhancement facilities ( Oyster River, Little River, Fanny Bay, Tsolum River, Nile Creek, French Creek and almost a streamkeeper voluteer program on every other salmon stream in Area 14. So what do we get as far as fishing opportunities ? Molest and Release salmon fisheries for most of the summer because the odd Fraser River chinook or upper Fraser River coho had previously been caught in our area. We dont even get a marked coho or chinook fishery. And DFO now wants us to buy new floats that range from $10 to $60 . Well-- at least the marine supply outfits will make a buck or two ( unless Amazon gets the orders ) Yes-- buying a few new floats is not a big deal when we see what is happening to the price of gas. But it is just another example of slowly being strangled to death.

This rant is not meant to disparage the guys and gals that spend many hours in the SFAB trying to get proper recognition for recreational anglers. Been there-- Done That. But I do hope that doing DFOs work when it come to enforcement, is not in the SFAB TOR when we get the upcoming SFAB modernization document

 

[searun]

Well this is a DFO request. DFO approached the SFAB looking to make a change, and asked the SFAB for advice as to how to go about that. The SFAB's role is to provide advice when requested. My understanding of the request and DFO initiative was basically 2 fold. 1 - reduce ocean plastics; 2 - establish a simplified way to quickly identify recreational vs other stakeholder traps through establishing a standardized float/buoy. DFO wanted from a catch monitoring perspective easy to visually recognize recreational buoy styles to make on water surveys easier to implement.

Lots of various options were discussed, including special colours for rec buoys etc. Eventually the SFAB landed on recommending 2 style of buoys to distinguish prawn from crab. For crab we selected the least expensive style commonly available in retail stores - bullet style buoy which at the time sold for $9.99 each. For prawn, we selected the A-1 style round buoys as those appear to be the most commonly fished style within the recreational fishery, and represented an easily distinguishable standard buoy. Again, the reason being was to find a prawn buoy style that impacted the least number of people who would have to modify their prawn gear. SFAB also recommended, against DFO wishes, there would be a 1 year notice and implementation period to allow for education, and industry to produce adequate supplies of buoys etc. for April 2023.

If someone has a round buoy for their crab traps for example, they can just add a bullet style to indicate the gear is fishing crab and run both in tandem. Many people already use a 2 buoy system with short rope between each to make it easier to pick up the gear in rough seas.

It ain't perfect, but given the request and timeline DFO wanted to implement that was the advice offered back. Go ahead and flog the SFAB, they have broad shoulders and big pay cheques to do volunteer work.

 

[Bryan Allen]

Well Pat-- You wrote " It ain't perfect, but given the request and timeline DFO wanted to implement that was the advice offered back. Go ahead and flog the SFAB, they have broad shoulders and big pay cheques to do volunteer work.: See the problem here ? We are expected to jump quickly so they can keep telling the public that they have "consulted" On the other hand when the SFAB provided viable alternatives to DFO when they started slamming the door on public fishing opportunities based on sketchy "science" on SWKWs , Fraser chinook and coho, shellfish, the SFAB was told to pound sand. So where is the reciprocity ???? The way the SFAB is treated by DFO has to change if the organization wishes to remain relevant to those who love our public fishery. Again-- nothing personal towards the folks who are truly trying to make a positive change in these difficult times. But I feel that this old saying is relevant in this discussion.. “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

 

[ship happens]

Well this is a DFO request. DFO approached the SFAB looking to make a change, and asked the SFAB for advice as to how to go about that. The SFAB's role is to provide advice when requested. My understanding of the request and DFO initiative was basically 2 fold. 1 - reduce ocean plastics; 2 - establish a simplified way to quickly identify recreational vs other stakeholder traps through establishing a standardized float/buoy. DFO wanted from a catch monitoring perspective easy to visually recognize recreational buoy styles to make on water surveys easier to implement.

Lots of various options were discussed, including special colours for rec buoys etc. Eventually the SFAB landed on recommending 2 style of buoys to distinguish prawn from crab. For crab we selected the least expensive style commonly available in retail stores - bullet style buoy which at the time sold for $9.99 each. For prawn, we selected the A-1 style round buoys as those appear to be the most commonly fished style within the recreational fishery, and represented an easily distinguishable standard buoy. Again, the reason being was to find a prawn buoy style that impacted the least number of people who would have to modify their prawn gear. SFAB also recommended, against DFO wishes, there would be a 1 year notice and implementation period to allow for education, and industry to produce adequate supplies of buoys etc. for April 2023.

If someone has a round buoy for their crab traps for example, they can just add a bullet style to indicate the gear is fishing crab and run both in tandem. Many people already use a 2 buoy system with short rope between each to make it easier to pick up the gear in rough seas.

It ain't perfect, but given the request and timeline DFO wanted to implement that was the advice offered back. Go ahead and flog the SFAB, they have broad shoulders and big pay cheques to do volunteer work.

round boys such as what exactly? scotchman? What about the scotchman that are a little bit cylindrical? this is what I don't get

Scotchmans for sport gear is a dumb idea. These guys can hardly keep their gear down as is. Add a huge scotchman so the tide can drag the gear away? This came from SFAB?

Who gives a shoot anyway? The traps have rot cord. Rot cord is the only thing that makes any sense

More rules less rights pretty soon i'll be joining @Oceanmaster in mexico. Canada is turning into a bunch of sensitive, green peace micro managers.

 

[searun]

round boys such as what exactly? scotchman? What about the scotchman that are a little bit cylindrical? this is what I don't get

Scotchmans for sport gear is a dumb idea. These guys can hardly keep their gear down as is. Add a huge scotchman so the tide can drag the gear away? This came from SFAB?

Who gives a shoot anyway? The traps have rot cord. Rot cord is the only thing that makes any sense

More rules less rights pretty soon i'll be joining @Oceanmaster in mexico. Canada is turning into a bunch of sensitive, green peace micro managers.

Hope this answers your questions....The standard A-1 is 12" or 27cm diameter, and the requirement under this regulation coming into effect next season is for only that size. You can use larger versions if you wish however. Aside from the size portion of your question, its not clear to me why there are people having issues with round buoys. Perhaps people are having their gear drag because they are setting in high current areas without using small anchor weights to hold the traps in place? Not giving away any trade secrets here, but placing a weight ahead of the traps helps keep them from bouncing around scaring off prawns from entering the trap - resulting in better catches. BTW, another tip, there are cheaper plastic round buoys as well that they sell to the commercial guys, you don't need to buy the vinyl version. I suspect that as time goes by, someone in the tackle industry will see an opportunity to sell and market less expensive round style buoys and fill the demand. Again, the motivation was to adopt a buoy style that many of the prawn fishers already had in use - the round scottsman style is pretty popular.

And, to the other comments Bryan....well, I suppose the SFAB could sit around and stomp their feet in righteous indignation and offer no advice to DFO when requested....even though that is the purpose behind the SFAB. Also, this request didn't come out of the blue...the discussion has been going on for a few years...you seem to know that, having referenced that there have been ongoing discussions at local SFAC meetings.

Frankly to suggest the SFAB just ignore DFO requests for advice....well, that ignores the mandate of the SFAB. Further, that would result in the Department simply moving ahead regardless and for the SFAB not to have some meaningful input on behalf of recreational fishers. I'm sure in your career at the Department you likely experienced that on other occasions, so you know full well that the Department will march on with or without the SFAB. I argue (and agree with you) that if it marches on ignoring the advice of the SFAB, the Department misses out on opportunities to take in quality ideas from expert knowledge holders on how to approach difficult fishery management issues.

Therein lies the value proposition of the SFAB for the recreational community AND our friends at DFO. If we all adopt the view that DFO is the evil empire enemy, and working through these issues with them has no value, I suspect things in our recreational fishery would become even more dire than they are today.

That result would be more untenable IMO. For context - the SFAB is NOT a lobby or advocacy organization - its role is clearly to offer advice and recommendations to DFO when requested. Check the SFAB Terms of Reference. If you want to lobby or advocate, join a fishing club, SFI, BCWF etc.

Regional Sport Fishing Advisory Committees (Regional SFAC) terms of reference | Pacific Region | Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Regional Sport Fishing Advisory Committees (Regional SFAC) terms of reference

www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Roles and responsibilities​

To provide advice and make recommendations to DFO on matters affecting tidal fisheries and non-tidal anadromous fisheries. On matters affecting tidal recreational fisheries recommendations and advice will cover all species and all forms of recreational fishing.

To provide advice and make recommendations to provincial Ministries with responsibility for fisheries policy or fish management on matters affecting anadromous species.

To review and provide feedback to DFO and the relevant provincial ministries regarding policy or management programs pertaining to tidal recreational fisheries and non-tidal recreational fisheries for anadromous species.

To assist in the dissemination of information to the angling community and the general public on matters pertaining to tidal fisheries and non-tidal anadromous fisheries.
These terms of reference will apply to the North and South Coast Regional SFACs and to any other Regional SFACs that may be established. Regional SFACs will cover such geographic areas as agreed to by the Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

The Regional SFAC will provide formal advice, make recommendations, and forward local SFAC motions and recommendations to the SFAB on matters relating to tidal recreational fisheries and non tidal anadromous fisheries.

These terms of reference will be in effect until April 2012 at which time they will be reviewed in conjunction with a broader assessment of advisory processes.

 

[BC Coast Pilot]

Not sure what this is to accomplish as it is clear what a recreational trap is fishing for just by looking at water depth relative to location. If DFO doesn't recognize that they have a bigger internal problem. What is important is that the buoy is resilient and well constructed. Even the commercial gear lacks consistency on the crab buoys. The conical buoys are my preference for both crab and prawns as they have less windage and buoyancy to drift a trap. $$$$85.09 plus tax retail. Can't we just label crab/prawn?

 

[ship happens]

My question is still unanswered

They say spherical. Which is round. A round scotchman. I'm asking what about the cylindrical scotchmans. Their oval

I wasn't asking for a prawn lesson either


SFAB need to go fishing and get a lesson by the sounds of it

 

[ship happens]

Not sure what this is to accomplish as it is clear what a recreational trap is fishing for just by looking at water depth relative to location. If DFO doesn't recognize that they have a bigger internal problem. What is important is that the buoy is resilient and well constructed. Even the commercial gear lacks consistency on the crab buoys. The conical buoys are my preference for both crab and prawns as they have less windage and buoyancy to drift a trap. $$$$85.09 plus tax retail. Can't we just label crab/prawn?

It's pretty obvious on location to identify crab vs prawn gear with sport gear. Hardly any sporty crabs deeper that 200. Really don't see the point in this and they need to make it more clear.

 

[OldBlackDog]

Hope this answers your questions....The standard A-1 is 12" or 27cm diameter, and the requirement under this regulation coming into effect next season is for only that size. You can use larger versions if you wish however. Aside from the size portion of your question, its not clear to me why there are people having issues with round buoys. Perhaps people are having their gear drag because they are setting in high current areas without using small anchor weights to hold the traps in place? Not giving away any trade secrets here, but placing a weight ahead of the traps helps keep them from bouncing around scaring off prawns from entering the trap - resulting in better catches. BTW, another tip, there are cheaper plastic round buoys as well that they sell to the commercial guys, you don't need to buy the vinyl version. I suspect that as time goes by, someone in the tackle industry will see an opportunity to sell and market less expensive round style buoys and fill the demand. Again, the motivation was to adopt a buoy style that many of the prawn fishers already had in use - the round scottsman style is pretty popular.

And, to the other comments Bryan....well, I suppose the SFAB could sit around and stomp their feet in righteous indignation and offer no advice to DFO when requested....even though that is the purpose behind the SFAB. Also, this request didn't come out of the blue...the discussion has been going on for a few years...you seem to know that, having referenced that there have been ongoing discussions at local SFAC meetings.

Frankly to suggest the SFAB just ignore DFO requests for advice....well, that ignores the mandate of the SFAB. Further, that would result in the Department simply moving ahead regardless and for the SFAB not to have some meaningful input on behalf of recreational fishers. I'm sure in your career at the Department you likely experienced that on other occasions, so you know full well that the Department will march on with or without the SFAB. I argue (and agree with you) that if it marches on ignoring the advice of the SFAB, the Department misses out on opportunities to take in quality ideas from expert knowledge holders on how to approach difficult fishery management issues.

Therein lies the value proposition of the SFAB for the recreational community AND our friends at DFO. If we all adopt the view that DFO is the evil empire enemy, and working through these issues with them has no value, I suspect things in our recreational fishery would become even more dire than they are today.

That result would be more untenable IMO. For context - the SFAB is NOT a lobby or advocacy organization - its role is clearly to offer advice and recommendations to DFO when requested. Check the SFAB Terms of Reference. If you want to lobby or advocate, join a fishing club, SFI, BCWF etc.

Regional Sport Fishing Advisory Committees (Regional SFAC) terms of reference | Pacific Region | Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Regional Sport Fishing Advisory Committees (Regional SFAC) terms of reference

www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Roles and responsibilities​

To provide advice and make recommendations to DFO on matters affecting tidal fisheries and non-tidal anadromous fisheries. On matters affecting tidal recreational fisheries recommendations and advice will cover all species and all forms of recreational fishing.

To provide advice and make recommendations to provincial Ministries with responsibility for fisheries policy or fish management on matters affecting anadromous species.

To review and provide feedback to DFO and the relevant provincial ministries regarding policy or management programs pertaining to tidal recreational fisheries and non-tidal recreational fisheries for anadromous species.

To assist in the dissemination of information to the angling community and the general public on matters pertaining to tidal fisheries and non-tidal anadromous fisheries.
These terms of reference will apply to the North and South Coast Regional SFACs and to any other Regional SFACs that may be established. Regional SFACs will cover such geographic areas as agreed to by the Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

The Regional SFAC will provide formal advice, make recommendations, and forward local SFAC motions and recommendations to the SFAB on matters relating to tidal recreational fisheries and non tidal anadromous fisheries.

These terms of reference will be in effect until April 2012 at which time they will be reviewed in conjunction with a broader assessment of advisory processes.

And as Bryan stated, The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

The SFAB was set up by DFO .

The Competition was not set up by DFO and they are ALL LOBBY GROUPS!

DFO tried to get the other groups to mirror the one set up by DFO and they refused.

DFO Has to show it has discussed with all the public. That is the reason they set up the SFAB.

So, the playing field needs to change.

You either force DFO to make ALL the other groups do exactly as the SFAB or you walk away and force them deal with ALL the SPORTS GROUPS lobbing as the other groups.

DFO has put sports fishing in a box,that is not equal to its competion.

Hell, when was the MINISTER at the SFAB meeting to listen to HIS/HER SFAB??

I was at the last meeting that the Minister actually showed up and it was many years ago.

WHEN did the HEAD OF DFO actually sit through a full meeting of the MAIN BOARD?
Go ahead and look that up. I Have never seen it and I have been around a long time.

So, mabey it is time to re evaluate.

 

[BC Coast Pilot]

It's pretty obvious on location to identify crab vs prawn gear with sport gear. Hardly any sporty crabs deeper that 200. Really don't see the point in this and they need to make it more clear.

I'm gonna fish squat lobster.....no restrictions on those traps

 

[searun]

My question is still unanswered

They say spherical. Which is round. A round scotchman. I'm asking what about the cylindrical scotchmans. Their oval

I wasn't asking for a prawn lesson either


SFAB need to go fishing and get a lesson by the sounds of it

I think you know the answer....and I'm sorry if I insulted your intelligence...only trying to ponder why the concern over a round scottsman pulling gear, and suggesting how a lot of prawners deal with it.

 

[SpringVelocity]

I think you know the answer....and I'm sorry if I insulted your intelligence...only trying to ponder why the concern over a round scottsman pulling gear, and suggesting how a lot of prawners deal with it.

I am really trying to figure it out as well? I guess everything DFO does is the SFAB's fault now.

 

[searun]

I am really trying to figure it out as well? I guess everything DFO does is the SFAB's fault now.

No kidding - Thinking as appears to be suggested, that success for the recreational fishery looks like DFO does everything the SFAB advises is a little unrealistic IMO. After all, its advise not advocacy....and when was the last time an advocacy group got 100% of everything they lobbied for anyway?

 

[Admin]

The tone of this thread is getting close to the edge. We have stated many times here that volunteers on various boards or committees will not be called out on this forum. We get it, people are frustrated with DFO, but the volunteers don't control the department and are limited to doing what they can within the guidelines they operate under. If you want to create a lobby group to represent the public fishery, go for it or support one of the groups that is already doing that.

 

[ziggy]

All the floats are gonna start looking pretty similar starting next year:

Crab and Prawn Buoys/Floats
DFO met with the SFAB GFSFWG and Prawn Committee throughout 2021 to discuss standardizing buoys/floats used in the BC recreational fishery. The SFAB and DFO have determined that to support improved enforcement and identification of gear/species being fished the following crab and prawn/shrimp buoy/float requirements will come into effect by condition of licence on April 1, 2023:
• Crab Traps - Floats attached to crab traps must be bullet shaped cylindrical floats a minimum of 27cm in length and 12cm in diameter.
• Prawn and Shrimp Traps - Floats attached to prawn and shrimp traps must be round (spherical) in shape and a minimum of 27cm in diameter.
The fishing community will be advised that these proposed changes to crab and prawn/shrimp float requirements will come into effect for the licence year beginning on April 1, 2023, by Fishery Notice and public outreach in the Spring of 2022. This advance notice should provide sufficient time for manufacturers to prepare and for fishers to purchase any new gear. Over the next year, fishers should start to transition to the new requirements. The Department will continue to work with the Sport Fishing Advisory Board and other recreational stakeholders to communicate this upcoming change.
Starting April 1, 2022, as a condition of licence, all crab, prawn and shrimp floats must made of a durable material and designed for operation in marine waters. Fishers should avoid using plastic jugs, bottles and foam blocks as floats as they may deteriorate or sink, or are hard to see or mark.

I wish they would standardize Commercial Crab Floats! In fact for both crab and Prawns the Commercial gear should be standardized and maybe even some visual clue that it’s a commercial set.

 

[Bugs]

Well this is a DFO request. DFO approached the SFAB looking to make a change, and asked the SFAB for advice as to how to go about that. The SFAB's role is to provide advice when requested. My understanding of the request and DFO initiative was basically 2 fold. 1 - reduce ocean plastics; 2 - establish a simplified way to quickly identify recreational vs other stakeholder traps through establishing a standardized float/buoy. DFO wanted from a catch monitoring perspective easy to visually recognize recreational buoy styles to make on water surveys easier to implement.

Lots of various options were discussed, including special colours for rec buoys etc. Eventually the SFAB landed on recommending 2 style of buoys to distinguish prawn from crab. For crab we selected the least expensive style commonly available in retail stores - bullet style buoy which at the time sold for $9.99 each. For prawn, we selected the A-1 style round buoys as those appear to be the most commonly fished style within the recreational fishery, and represented an easily distinguishable standard buoy. Again, the reason being was to find a prawn buoy style that impacted the least number of people who would have to modify their prawn gear. SFAB also recommended, against DFO wishes, there would be a 1 year notice and implementation period to allow for education, and industry to produce adequate supplies of buoys etc. for April 2023.

If someone has a round buoy for their crab traps for example, they can just add a bullet style to indicate the gear is fishing crab and run both in tandem. Many people already use a 2 buoy system with short rope between each to make it easier to pick up the gear in rough seas.

It ain't perfect, but given the request and timeline DFO wanted to implement that was the advice offered back. Go ahead and flog the SFAB, they have broad shoulders and big pay cheques to do volunteer work.

Looping back to this as April 1 gets closer. @searun you mention that "

If someone has a round buoy for their crab traps for example, they can just add a bullet style to indicate the gear is fishing crab and run both in tandem.

Would this not be a problem (if you have two different floats on the line would you not be in violation of the rule?

 

[ship happens]

I wish they would standardize Commercial Crab Floats! In fact for both crab and Prawns the Commercial gear should be standardized and maybe even some visual clue that it’s a commercial set.

You know it's a commercial set when the number is written all over the float.