Where Have All The Fish Gone?

By Sharkman.
January 5th 2005.

The 90 Mile Beach does not seem to have experienced any summer as yet. The cold winds persist almost every day and throughout the night. Wind chill is very noticeable even when the actual temperature is not very low.

Lack of fish has caused much disappointment for fishers and trying to work out a reason is probably impossible, but there are a few things I have noticed that might help in understanding how much the weather and temperatures apparently affect fishing.

• For weeks there has been no sign of birds diving except on one occasion a month ago. There were a few gannet out there and I bagged two large salmon and one large flathead. The lack of birds indicates a lack of bait fish.
  
• For sometime myself and another Fisher have been checking the stomach contents of all fish we have landed (other than shark), only to find they have empty stomachs, with the exception of one large salmon that's stomach contained large crab claws and crab shell. Usually they are full of bait fish, often spewing them everywhere.
  
• It has been passed on to me that bait suppliers have not been able to supply white bait this season because they have not been able to harvest many. The blue bait is very large or very small and being caught in the Bermagui area.
  
• Bait fish travel in the warm ocean currents, so with all the cold Southerly winds we have had this season, it is difficult to imagine how there can be many warm ocean currents coming down South and around the coast from the East to reach us, and bring the bait fish with them.
  Fishers usually complain about the Easterly winds as they are not considered good fishing conditions. It now appears to me that the Easterlies are what we actually need to bring the warm currents, and bait fish, in along our coast line.
  
• When fishing at night sea lice suck the bait away in minutes. Recently I caught a small salmon in rough weather and did not immediately realise that it was hooked. When I did bring it in, sea lice spewed out of it's mouth and gills, there were dozens of them.
  During my few years of fishing here, only on the odd occasion have sea lice consumed my bait. I would assume that sea lice would be a popular food for bait fish and other small fish. I tend to think that with no bait fish this could be a good reason for the over supply of sea lice this season.
  
• A relative in New Zealand said she has heard reports of very poor catches in Southern waters because it is too cold. It is obvious they have a similar problem there also.

Considering all of the above, the apparent lack of bait fish is a very real reason for our shortage of fish in 0our local, and my ideas are supported by by those regular fishers to whom I have spoken.

In general there is little food to encourage fish into the area, and we can only hope that some warmer weather is around the corner.

Where are those Northerly winds?

Perhaps somebody has more information they would like to add to this, which would interest the many disappointed fishers this season.

Update: 6 - 2 - 05

Tonight it was brought to my attention that a program on television mentioned that penguins at Phillip island are dying of starvation through lack of food.

This situation ties in with all my reports of lack of bait fish in this area.

More of the local fishers are now checking the stomachs of salmon caught. You can barely find their stomach as they are so small and withered and completely empty.

It is obvious that there is some major environmental problem in the Bass strait area.

We need some answers before it is too late!