MINUTES OF GENERAL MEETING - Sunday 2 June 2013 at Zep’s Campbell Town

ANGLERS ALLIANCE TASMANIAMINUTES OF GENERAL MEETINGSunday 2 June 2013 at Zep’s Campbell TownPresentMike Stevens AFTA Chair, Terry Byard STLAA Vice Chair, Malcolm Crosse Exec Committee,Gary France TGALT Exec Committee, John Diggle IFS, Neil Morrow IFS, Charles ThompsonNWFA, Tony Cross NWFA, John Broomby Northern Forum, Ken Beager Quamby Fly Fishers Club, Bruce Gilham Corralinn Fly Fishing and Casting Assoc, Alan Gordon Break O’Day FFC,Michael Caminada Indep North, Greg Peart Indep South, Denis Edwards Exec AssistantApologiesAdrian Hope, Norm Cribbin, Alex Grodski, Peter WilliamsMinutes of previous meetingMotion: “to accept the minutes of the of the meeting held 17 Nov 2013”Moved , Terry Byard. Seconded, Malcolm Crosse.Matters arisingScottsdale Irrigation Scheme. Michael Stevens has attended the initial briefing for this project and will represent the AAT at future meetings.Habitat Fund. Resolution is very slow with Trustees yet to report to the Federal Govt.FinancialsFinancial statement tabled showing –TRADING A/C 17-1550 $23,291.65 CRGRANT A/C 47-7934 $ 1,758.11 CRMotion: “ that the Financial Statement be accepted”Moved, Terry Byard. Seconded Greg Peart.Inland Fisheries ReportNeil Morrow gave an enlightening presentation on the almost completed Mersey River Anglers Access project.This project has been produced on time and within the estimated budget of approx. $100,000. It has licence agreements with 14 landowners, resulting in 25 km of access over private land (including Lamberts Dam) and some 20 km of access through parks and reserves that will open up some excellent trout water. Brochures will be available in July 2013.Terry Byard suggested that AAT seek publicity for the Anglers Access work done by IFS.In addition to this IFS has been a partner in the implementation of RBF projects includingWoods Lake concrete ramp, Brandon Bay infill, Tods Corner extension, Arthurs Lake breakwater, Lake Burbury campground ramp, and maintenance at Dee Lagoon , Tooms Lake and Little Pine Tier. 2013/2014 projects include a new ramp and pontoon at Bradys Lake and some 25 navigation lights on various waters. Hydro and Central Highlands Council have contributed substantially to these projects. Possible near future projects are a new ramp at Little Pine Lagoon and maintenance to the Canal Bay ramp at Bradys Lake.Neil has received a good response to a call for club members to nominate as monitors to assist in maintaining access infrastructure by reporting damage, weed infestation, any access changes required, damage to fences, gates etc and flood damage. The volunteers to date are –Huon River Huon Anglers ; Leven River Ulverstone Anglers Club ; Mersey River Devonport FFC ; Tyenna River New Norfolk LAA, Fly Tyers Club, Upper Derwent Valley Anglers Club ;Brumbys Creek Corralinn Fly Castors ; Meander River Westbury Anglers Club , Van Diemans? Macquarie River TGALT plus ? ; Lake River ? ; North Esk ?Insurance and admin. issues to be addressed by ITS/AAT.Penstock. In an effort to improve water quality, in the coming season a Penstock brochure recommending boating and wading practises will be produced. Signs will be erected on the water to facilitate compliance.Lake Fergus. Walking route has been marked with signs and track markers; the access map is now available on IFS website.John Diggle tabled a comprehensive IFS report that included the following --Liawenee 2013 weigh and measure of brown trout in the spawning run showed that while the average weight and length had dropped the condition factor has improved with a younger fitter cohort coming through.Adult transfers to Four Springs (fin clipped), Bradys and Nineteen Lagoons have been done.Follow up surveys will be done at Four Springs to give information on the sustainability of the current management regime.Electrofishing survey results on rivers in the South, Northwest, and North showed markedly reduced fish numbers. The results are similar to the 1978 “cormorant plague”surveys and a follow up survey in 1985 showed a full recovery in affected waters.Recent Stocking chart was discussed.Hatchery Ova has been collected for the 2013-2014 annual stocking plan of 315,000 brown diploid fry and 164,000 brown triploid fry . First hatching is expected in early June.Legislation for the following 2013/14 Regulation Changes have been gazetted –o 5 year full season angling licence available for Senior, Pensioner and Adults.o ‘Powerbait’ ( artificial or manufactured baits ) along with natural bait are only permitted at waters where bait fishing is specified.o Lake Leake regulations changed to allow for outboards or electric motors to be used for trolling.o Lake King William to be open all year round.o Craigbourne Dam regulations amended to prohibit fishing from the damwall.oo Infringement Notices can now be issued for- the taking of fish from a boat within 100M of an angler fishing from the shore orwading, without the boat being moored.- using any lure or bait that is not an artificial fly to take fish in specified ‘fly fishingonly ’ waters.Four Springs Trout Survey results tabled with a further survey planned for July 2013.Penstock Lagoon Trout Survey results tabled.Compliance Statistics tabled. Anglers are encouraged to report illegal activity on the phone number listed on their Licence.Carp Management Program Important findings from a recent two day workshop were –o Carp have been contained to Lake Sorell, no evidence of carp in Crescent or Clyde R.o No spawning for last three summers.o 83% have now been removed from Lake Sorell.o Only one cohort ( from 2009/10 spawning) remains.o This cohort have been slow in maturing, males will mature this spring and females at least two years from maturing. This provides an opportunity to remove fish and reduce the opportunity for further recruitment.o An estimated 8,000 to10,000 carp remain in Lake Sorell. (37,000 have been removed)o Remaining carp expected to be more easily captured as they mature and visit the shallow margins to spawn.o 14 km of barrier netting is maintained to block and trap in spawning areas.Program is funding of $810,000 per annum is jointly funded by State and Federal Government. Current Federal funding finishes on 30 June 2013 and IFS have applied for funding for a further two years.Shannon Lagoon Update IFS is in the process of acquiring land to reserve the western shore of the lagoon for public access.IFS has initiated meetings with Hydro and as a result of these discussions a project proposal is being developed which will include floating islands and/or buoy systems to break up the wave fetch and so reduce turbidity.Initial costings, based on the 2007 Hydro report, are over two million dollars.The ‘Big Southern Fishery’This is still on the IFS agenda. John Diggle and Greg Peart to contact Irrigation Tasmania to progress ideas.Little Pine LagoonA letter from the NWFFC to the IFS expressing concerns on deterioration of water quality over recent seasons, was tabled. John Diggle discussed factors such as changing climate conditions (reduced and changed flow regime), which in dry years can severely affect shallow lake ecosystems. IFS will do a paper on the effects of angling on shallow lakes and Little Pine in particular. Hydro is implementing a program to monitor turbidity in shallow lakes and this will include Little Pine.Gowan BraeA letter from the NWFFC to the IFS was tabled expressing concern that continued access through this property would be available under the new ownership. AAT to write a letter seeking clarification to the Aboriginal Land Council of Tasmania and the Tasmanian Land Conservancy.Kerrison’s HutJohn Broomby tabled a letter from the Tasmanian Mountain Cattlemen’s Association which offered their support for the proposal to relocate Kerrison’s Hut.Mike Stevens received a reply to an email to Josh Bradshaw of Parks which stated in part --“Kerrison’s Hut is one of the central plateau huts that has been assessed as having cultural heritage values . The hut and its location are therefore afforded protection under the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area Management Plan. So it is highly unlikely that such a proposal would be supported through the assessment process.While this hut is in a state of poor repair, the Mountain Huts Preservation Society have this one on their wish list of huts to repair and maintain.It would be difficult to move the hut at this stage without a review and amendment of the management plan that resulted in changes that would permit such a proposal. The next major review of the plan is not scheduled until March 2015, however there may be opportunity for public consultation prior to that date. ….. “John Broomby to talk to James Lyne.BiosecurityConcern was expressed by John Broomby and a number of members that the Sydney Airport quarantine standards for checking incoming passengers that have been fishing in NZ are not of sufficient standard or consistency.Letter to be written to quarantine service expressing concerns.Liawenee Ranger Reply from Minister to STLAA letter was tabled and it was suggested that the Minister and Neil Pinkard (STLAA Sec.) be invited to next AAT meeting to clarify issues that have been raised.Four SpringsJohn Diggle discussed results of angler input which indicated that the present management regime should be maintained but that fishing hours should be extended .Lake LeaParks reply to issues of management of Lake Lea and surrounds was tabled. The possibility of boat access( no outboards) to the lake over the private land was canvassed and Neil Morrow offered todo a title search to establish land ownership.WebcamsMalcolm Crosse introduced Ken Beager who was responsible for the Quamby Fly Fishers Club website. The performance and possibilities for the webcams/website were discussed with the possibility of Ken looking at the software and server issues to get a better outcome.A brief to Ken of issues to be addressed would allow costing of perceived outcomes.Gary France reported that the AAT website had 300 visits per day in peak season and receives approx. 60 visits a day in the off season.Trout WeekendIt was thought that the AAT was poorly represented at Trout Weekend and a review of the stand location and presentation is needed , and this should include a prominent live webcam display.It was proposed that Terry Byard carries out a review.Trout Sesquicentennial 2014AAT involvement in this advent was discussed and it was felt that its role should be a supportive one that compliments the work being done by TAGLT/IFS/Tourism.It was suggested that involvement in the Derwent Valley Autumn Festival would provide an opportunity to publicise the sesquicentenary to a large audience. DE to contact Jess Dallas , the council Community Development Officer.Australian Fly Fishing MuseumMike Stevens reviewed the successful opening of the museum and noted that the funding goal of$300,000 has been achieved predominately from private sources with only $25,000 coming from grant monies.Constitution and Code of PracticeThe revised Constitution was tabled and the amendments will be voted on at the AGM on Sun8 Sept 2013.The Code of Practice was tabled and its adoption will be voted on at the AGM also.Future Meeting DatesProposed meeting dates are2013 GM Sun 8 Sept, AGM Sun 17 Nov2014 GM Sun 16 Feb, GM Sun 26 May, GM Sun 4 Aug, AGM Sun 10 NovPlease advise if any of these dates clash with club or other events and they will be adjusted accordingly.General businessAlan Gordon queried that with predicted reduced rainfalls, what water management plans are in place for all rivers, particularly regarding environmental flows and cease to take provisions.Wes Ford of dpiwe to be contacted for an overview.LicencesJohn Diggle reminded that along with the 5yr licences available this season there is a boat package valued at $22,000 up for grabs. There are prizes for junior licence holders as well.Gordon River nettingA proposal was tabled from the Gordon River Anglers to prohibit the taking of fish by netting south east of a line drawn between Steadman’s Point and Coal Head in the south eastern section of Macquarie Harbour and within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area.The proposal would protect and improve the brown trout fishery to world class standard and boost the tourist dollar.It would protect whitebait and other species such as the Maugean Skate.Gordon River Anglers have already established a voluntary No Net Policy.The proposal was supported unanimously and the AAT is to write a letter of support to Bryan Green, Rod Pearn dpiwe, Tarfish and Recfish.Trout ExpoGary France reminded that the Cressy Trout Expo is on again on the weekend of 21-22 Sept 2013.Anglers Hall of Fame Charles Thompson inquired as to the progress of the Anglers Hall of Fame and was informed that the IFS is consulting with the committee.Treasury/IFS takeoverThe Financial Management Bill has not yet been tabled and no changes will not be possible until the 2015/16 financial year. It was suggested that AAT seek a briefing from government.NEXT GM MEETING will be on Sun 17 Nov 2013 and will be preceded by the AGM (same day, same place) ACTION LISTMS Request a briefing on the Financial Management BillTB Trout Weekend reviewAngler Access publicityCT Locate access point on Lake LeaIFS Lake Lea title searchPaper on effects of angling on shallow lakesBig Southern Fishery. Meet with Irrigation Tas.GP Big Southern Fishery. Meet with Irrigation Tas.DE Liawenee Ranger. Invite Minister and Neil Pinkard to next AAT meetingLetter to quarantine serviceTrout sesquicentenary, letter to Derwent Valley CouncilRiver flows, letter to dpiweLetter of support for Gordon River AnglersGowan Brae, letter on accessRiver monitors insurance