I have just witnessed a lot of line fishing where people un-hooked the fish due to undersize & returned them to the water. This seems a noble gesture at first glance.
However, taking a closer look, I watched in disbelief how the larger number of undersized fish had the hooks torn out half-way down their throats & drifting lifelessly away at being 'released'.
My question is; Why are barbed fishing hooks still legal in Australia ?
I think that more fish are killed because of BARBED hooks than would be by using BARBLESS hooks.
I think it's high time barbed hooks were banned from particularly the Great Barrier Reef where depletion of fish is now very noticeble during scuba diving.
Another Leanderthal mentality is to leave fish flapping away on jetties un til they finally succumb.
To me this is a reflection of the poor mentality that is still so prevalent !

Indi,

It is entirely possible to remove a barbed hook without killing the fish. That idiots can't be bothered or throw the fish on the ground is because they are morons. Taking an extremist knee jerk response to ban barbed hooks is the type of response expected of left whinge nut jobs.

Totalitarian state governments are gradually closing down the sport of angling, and fish stocks are dwindling. I buy fish from a professional fisherman. Couldn't be bothered sitting for hours trying to catch them. The days of hunter gathering are supposed to be behind us.

ttbn,

After China sends its fishing fleets to mine for seafood in Australia's fishing grounds there won't be any more fish for you and your family, who will then start getting sick from iodine deficiency.

Mr. O,

Remember the foreign fish guzzling super trawl operating in Bass Strait before public uproar put a stop to it?

And, if our wet government can pretend it knew that a couple of Chinese warships were going to steam into Sydney and buy up baby formula, and China has been allowed to take over an international water way (South China Sea) well, yes: there is no reason why they won't hoover up what is left of our fish.

Had the Ad Man been aware of the Chinese warships visit, the entire Federal and NSW parliaments would have been out on the wharf, bowing and bobbing, each with a full trolley of baby formula ready to be loaded onto the ships.

ttbn,

He was aware that three Chinese warships were coming into Sydney Harbour.

That's why he skipped out of the country the day before.

Now he's trying to keep them out. A bit late considering the enemy is already inside the gates.

My solution: cancel visas of non-Australian Chinese and send them packing for home.

Because things are only going to get worse so do we really want half a million Chinese in the country who are loyal to China not Australia.

PS What's keeping them from doing it?

You guessed it: Chinese international students. In fact they want to bring in more of them, not less.

Perhaps we could send some of the non-loyal Australians with them, and lift the overall quality of posts here. The apologists for China and Chinese need to see what it's like in China; some of them might like it if what they post is anything to go by. A favour for them; a favour for us.

... China is well on the way to buying Australia holus bolus, so it will have no need to attack us. We have already sold them enough rope to hang us, should they choose to do so, and there is serious doubt that there is sufficient political will to regain sufficient sovereignty to prevent it. The naked greed and political treachery of our universities and academic class has already sapped any residual will to resist.

Another little gem from a source I'm again not going to reveal for the posters demanding references so that they can write them off as bastions of right wing, toxic racist, white supremacy without being able to explain why.

ttbn,

If you're asking those in The Forum's pro-China camp like Foul-Mouth, Foxy and david f to put their money where their mouth is then I don't think so!

Putting hypocrites with parasites. Is that some sort of dystopian genetic engineering?

I am told by the outer reef professional fishermen, any half a dozen of whom know more about the reef & fish than all the marine scientists in Townsville, Peter Ridd excepted, that fish hooks rust very quickly & disappear when left in a fish. The way to handle gut caught fish is simply to cut the line at the mouth, rather than trying to pull it out. Most will survive that way.

I have fished with Polynesians fishing with barb-less hooks, but it is a specialist technique, with no hope of working in a normal fishing environment. They use a long pole over 3 meters, with a short length of line, with live bate, netted on the reef flat. They fish in the current run between the islands or reefs of an atoll, dropping the bate straight into the schools of pelagic fish hunting there.

They hook a fish & swing it up & into the canoe in one smooth movement. Any hesitation or pause in the swing & the fish is off & gone. The fish usually comes off the hook as it lands in the canoe.

I have tried it with them, & believe me, it takes a hell of a lot more skill & expertise than you would expect from the simple description. I caught a few, but lost many more than I landed.

The simple life image was spoiled a bit for me when one of the girls in my canoe picked up a still squirming blue runner & took a large bite out of it. I'm not really cut out for life that simple.

China’s land has been used to build office constructions. Chinese milk industries are producing toxic fake milk powder. Children get sick after eating it. Therefore, Chinese people love our high-quality milk powder. I think Australians should not sell milk powder to China. Let their milk industry to create more sick babies.

The anti Chinese sentiment here is quite amusing, yet that issue is very serious. China is not the enemy, but lots of posters here seem to want to make it the enemy; they want to pick a fight with the world's second most powerful nation, to the detriment of millions of innocent people, and to the benefit of nobody at all.

There's a much easier (and much more deserving) target: President Xi. Wouldn't it be better to try to make him lose face and turn China's population against him than to help him turn China's population against us?

______________________________________________________________________________

ttbn,
That super trawler had been bought (and intended to be operated) by an Australian company.

Aidan,

Your 'Lose Face' method worked on Hitler so now you want to try it on Xi.

You are an intellectual giant!

Mr 0,
Huh?
When exactly was it attempted on Hitler?
And isn't loss of face far more damaging in Asian cultures than it is in Europe?

Hasbeen,

The technique that you describe was known as "Kellying" when I was a youngster and we used it to effect on the South breakwater at Port Macquarrie which had a small beach behind it where the fish would land as 99% of the time they came off the barbless hook. We used a tiny bit of dead bait and struck as soon as we felt a touch.

The downside was that unaware strollers on the breakwater sometimes got snagged by the returning hook!!

Aidan,

Have you ever heard of the word 'sarcasm'?

I doubt if Xi would lose face over a bit of criticism from Australia.

Plus, you seem to think like a lot of others on The Forum that Xi lacks popular support in China.

I think you should reconsider that view because the Chinese people see Xi as someone who has made China into a superpower and will be able to expand China's territories in the future.

I'm sure they see him as a leader who is capable of invading Australia and bringing Australia under Chinese control.

Isn't that the reason he has been building military bases in the South China Sea.

Your mistake along with most on The Forum is that you think the Chinese want to be rid of the Communist State. That is a Western concept, not a Chinese concept.

Mr 0,
Of course I'd heard of sarcasm. Indeed I assumed you were being sarcastic and implying it had been unsuccessful against Hitler. But if there was no such attempt against Hitler then your post was not sarcasm; 'twas at most just a pathetic attempt to invoke Godwin's Law.

>Plus, you seem to think like a lot of others on The Forum that Xi lacks popular support in China.
Not at all. Of course Xi has plenty of popular support in China. But much of that support is based on false premises. He wouldn't be nearly so popular if everyone in China knew the truth about what he'd done.

AIUI Soeharto had popular support in Indonesia until shortly before he was forced to resign.

China has never wanted to invade Australia, and you're letting your fear of a Chinese invasion distract you from the real threats.

Aidan,

You say China would never invade Australia.

Do you mean like the way everyone thought prior to WW2 that Japan would never attempt to invade Australia?

I have the impression that you belong to The Forum's pro-China camp.

Only just got back into signal range. Had dives on reefs in the green Zone & Blue Zone. Saw some pretty big coral boulders rolled down the reef slopes by the cyclones but in general there's some good re-growth of coral.
Now, the fish life. Well, what fish life you may ask ! Most likely courtesy of barbed hooks & Neanderthal mentality boaties/fishers there is no fish life !
I saw one Coral Trout on # 5 Ribbon Reef & one on # 2 Ribbon reef. There was a total lack of fish of over 20cm in length. Dived on a few other small reefs, same story-no fish. On the way back I saw Trout boats working which provided the answer to my question of no fish !
40 years ago these same reefs had Maori Wrasse, Coral trout & Cod, Barramundi Cod, Red Emperor etc etc. Now ? Literally NOTHING ! Thanks commercial & recreational fishers !
And, to think there are still people who condone the use of barbed hooks ??

individual,

You forgot to thank the changing environment for the depletion of fish stocks.

"Do you mean like the way everyone thought prior to WW2 that Japan would never attempt to invade Australia?"

And they were right as Japan never intended to invade Australia.

Is Mise,

Attack is probably the more appropriate word rather than invasion.

Nobody in Australia (except for a few nutcases) thought that Japan would attack Australia. Just like only a few nutcases would think that China will attack Australia.

Interesting what Foul-Mouth say about there being a half a million non-Australian Chinese in Australia.

Talked with a bureaucrat this evening & he puts the blame on the sugar cane farmers. He only half-heartedly acknowledged that trawling, swarms of sunscreen lathered tourists, sport fishers & cyclones etc are also main culprits in the demise of the GBR.

I wonder if Northern Australia could ever reach the mentality of Northern Ontario ?

https://www.northernontario.travel/sunset-country/barbless-hook-fishing

Hook, line and sinker:

http://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/chinas-bold-new-fishing-plan-on-australias-doorstep-increases-tensions/news-story/a27224ce439fe490a93a7be81efb6148

Here come the Chiners!

I TOLD YOU THIS WOULD HAPPEN.

Here come the Chiners!
wrong !
here come the Australian sellers-out !

individual,

The Chiners are doing through commerce what the Japanese tried to do through force.

My suggestion: cancel all the visas of the Chinese and send them packing.

Remember it was our pro-China guru Foul-Mouth who pointed out the other day that there are half a million non-Australian Chiners here who are loyal to China, not to Australia.

But that won't happen because Iron Ore Scott and Dazza's gal want to bring in more cashed up Chiners.

There you go again Opinion,

"The Chiners are doing through commerce what the Japanese tried to do through force."

The Japanese never intended to take, invade nor attack Australia, despite bombing Darwin.

Is Mise,

We are both right.

The Japanese Navy wanted to invade Australia but the Army overruled the proposal so they decided to just attack British and American forces in and around Australia.

But I'm sure that if Japan had been successful in the South Pacific it would have moved to invade Australia to wipe out the British presence in South Asia and the South Pacific.

China will invade Australia FULL STOP if Australia refuses to kowtow to it.

Australia has lost trust with the South Pacific nation-states and China has been allowed to plant half a million Chiners in Australia. (I've coined the term Chiner to identify Chinese who are loyal to China.)

My suggestion: cancel all the visas of the Chinese and send them packing.
Mr Opinion,
My suggestion; cancel the Citizenship of those Australians who sell out to the Chinese without the sanction of decent Australians !
Name those treasonous morons !

...those Australians who sell out to the Chinese..

I suppose they're of the same mentality as those who oppose barbless fishing hooks !

While we're on the subject of barbed or barbless hooks, how come nobody complains about why pineapples are so prickly ? Why can't they be grown without so many prickles ?

Joe

Foul-Mouth,

You should get your half million Chiner mates in Australia to work on it and when they come up with a solution you can report directly to Xi and get the credit for it.

PS 'Chiner' is a term I have coined to define non-Australian Chinese who owe their loyalty to China. You know them: the ones planning to overthrow Australia from within.

And how come mango stones are so BIG ? Who dreamed that up ?

Joe

Foul-Mouth,

Here's a news item posted today about some of your Chiner plates:

http://www.msn.com/en-au/news/other/leak-reveals-chinese-communist-party-members-working-in-aust-uk-and-us-consulates/ar-BB1bTCcw

Mr 0,
>China will invade Australia FULL STOP if Australia refuses to kowtow to it.
The above comment shows a great ignorance of China. The countries that could be under threat of invasion are those that it has a historical claim (however tenuous) to.
Australia is not one of them.

And invasions have consequences. China would very quickly lose its "factory of the world" status if it invades another country, and would risk starting WW3.

As for your impression that I "belong to The Forum's pro-China camp", what I want China to do is respect the rule of law, both domestically and internationally. I don't see the failure of China as either a necessary or desirable step to that; I'd much rather see China succeed. So yes, despite my being anti President Xi, you could classify me as pro China.

Aidan,

Time will tell which of us is right.

So far I have been right about China and been able to say I TOLD YOU SO.

Mr 0,
I think I'm right. But I know you're wrong.
You're obsessing over non existent threats while ignoring the real ones. You want to deny China a fair go, and discriminate against Chinese people. And you don't seem to understand that tying our success to Chinese failure will stop us, not China, from succeeding.

Aidan,

That's where we differ: you are in the pro-China camp and I am not.

At least we know whose side you're on.

Hi Aidan,

Don't waste your time trying to reason with the Village Idiot.

Joe

Foul-Mouth,

Is that how you get out of confronting the truth? Just stick your head in the sand.

How many make-believe degrees have you awarded yourself this week?

Are you mutts done with hijacking the thread ? Maybe someone should put a barbed hook through your typing digit !