Australian Politics Forum

This is an in-principle proposal of mine to reintroduce limited commercial and recreational catch of crocodiles in QLD, with the aim of providing a sustainable catch from convenient locations, as well as maintaining existing swimming areas, particularly in more southern areas. It would involve keeping the current protections for most of the QLD coast, but within certain zones saltwater (estuarine) crocodiles may be taken by both commercial and recreational fishermen, with no size or gender restrictions, but probably catch/possession limits if needed. Management could include licences for both commercial and recreational fishermen that require GPS tracking of boats and mandatory reporting of all catches.

These zones are (including any catchments that empty into these areas):
Anywhere south of 1770 (24.1 latitude).
Yeppoon: Bangalea to Keppel Sands.
Mackay: Shoal point to Bakers Creek, including Pioneer River
Airlie Beach: Hideaway Bay to Chute Harbour
Townsville: Toolakea to Cungulla, including Ross River
Cairns: Cooya Beach to Bulburra Beach
Cooktown: Endeavour River to Annan River
Stewart River
Weipa: Duyfken Point to Triluck Creek
Mitchell River catchment upstream of Maramie
Normanton: Karumba River
Burketown: Albert River

freediver wrote on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 10:33am:

Are you proposing only fishermen can take crocs?

With Gators in the US they shoot them after catching how are these fishermen going to finish them in a humane way?

If it's going to be legal to catch crocs why limit it to fishing surely licensed hunters could grab a few as well.

I think we should allow trophy hunting with crocs it would be a sustainable industry providing employment for our natives.

Airlie beach area didn't have crocs in the 1980s now it's driving away tourists in yachts.

Baronvonrort wrote on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 5:12pm:

freediver wrote on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 10:33am:

The people catching them would be free to self identify as hunters or fishermen. They could put a checkbox on the application form, and include an 'other' category.

In Qld hunters can only shoot on private property zoned rural.

Most waterfront properties are only private up to high tide mark.

In NSW we allow hunting on public land with R class license. You have to book in carry a GPS wear orange clothes etc.

Should bow hunting be allowed with crocs?

I'm guessing you wear a pair of crocodile skin boots FD?

I don't think 'Trophies for Sport' is the best way to tackle the Crocs. You have every bozo yobbo on beer for 'recreational' fun firing off in all directions.

There should be support for a viable Commercial aspect that is regulated, watched and 'professionalised'. Hunters can join/be employed through such Companies.

Gee. Long time ago swimming around Airlie Beach. Not a word about Crocs around there.

Quote:

Should bow hunting be allowed with crocs?

That sounds kind of pointless. Harpoon perhaps. But I expect trapping works best. The Americans have all sorts of interesting techniques for alligators that may also work for crocs.

I wouldn't consider Crocodile a 'food' resource.
One of the 'foulest' meats I've ever experienced.
Imagine, something dead and rotting - inside of the croc, rotting away even more via slow metabolisms... as its diet.
Yuk!

Jasin wrote on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 9:30pm:

That's what mud crabs and prawns eat.

I've eaten croc before. It was good. Maybe a bit bland.

Jasin wrote on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 9:30pm:

Eating croc is like swallowing an Election in your PA Forum run by 'your' Aussie. ;)

You secretly love it?

Boot Aussie & Monk out of Ozpol (void their Modships for better members) now that they have 'their' PA's, and I'll openly admit to loving it like it was the only food left in the world. Yum Yum.

Looks like I'm having croc soup tonight. :o

freediver wrote on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 8:52pm:

Quote:

Should bow hunting be allowed with crocs?

That sounds kind of pointless. Harpoon perhaps. But I expect trapping works best. The Americans have all sorts of interesting techniques for alligators that may also work for crocs.

Bow hunting is legal for feral species here if it's ok to hunt crocs does method need regulating? Not a fan of bow hunting some can hit ping pong ball size target at 20m.

When they trap them or catch on a line with hook they usually shoot them at close range if they aren't relocating them.

There was a guy on US TV who would swim out after gators with a rope on a pole to catch them.

How would you kill a croc you caught on a fishing boat?
I reckon shooting before you haul it aboard would be the go, i wouldn't shoot it in the boat if you missed it might spring a leak.

Jasin wrote on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 12:55pm:

Yah Poon

Coorooman Creek... where the real action takes place.

freediver wrote on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 10:33am:

What is this supposed to achieve? And I'd doubt if many rec fishermen would be equipped or have the inclination to hunt crocs.

I love eating croc. Croc is the best meat in the world. Dynamite 🧨 inside a Henny Penny Chicken 🍗 is the best method and most fun... Recreationally.

I love eating croc. 🤢

Jasin wrote on Nov 8^th, 2024 at 8:22pm:

I love eating croc. Croc is the best meat in the world. Dynamite 🧨 inside a Henny Penny Chicken 🍗 is the best method and most fun... Recreationally.

I love eating croc. 🤢

If it were not for the fact that crocodiles are a protected species, the Qld regional meat industries could make a fortune.

I used to walk on water across the waterways of South West Rocks by stepping from one huge 50m long Croc of shyte to the other like Frogga, until I got to the other side. Damn those Crocs around SWRocks.

That is such bullshit.

What?
The Crocodiles at South West Rocks
Or
Me walking on water?

Jasin wrote on Nov 8^th, 2024 at 8:22pm:

I love eating croc. Croc is the best meat in the world. Dynamite 🧨 inside a Henny Penny Chicken 🍗 is the best method and most fun... Recreationally.
I love eating croc. 🤢

I don't but may be I cook it wrong.
What is your recipe?

I understand that you think you are Jesus. But, here in Australia, people trying to cross rivers are subjected to crocodile attacks.

Crocodiles must be very tame in South West Rocks. We hear of crocodiles in the region of Central and Northern Qld that can grow up to 7 metres. One such crocodile we had was called "Goliath". I don't know if it is dead yet. But it was born around the same time, estimately, as I.

Quote:

Crocodiles must be very tame in South West Rocks

He probably mistook giant flatheads for crocks.

I'm having fun.
There are NO Crocs in SWRocks ;D

tallowood wrote on Nov 10^th, 2024 at 12:39pm:

Jasin wrote on Nov 8^th, 2024 at 8:22pm:

I love eating croc. Croc is the best meat in the world. Dynamite 🧨 inside a Henny Penny Chicken 🍗 is the best method and most fun... Recreationally.
I love eating croc. 🤢

I don't but may be I cook it wrong.
What is your recipe?

It's a pun on an original remark I made to FD concerning his PA forum a page back on this topic

Ceremonial shield I used when working in PNG mangroves, keeps crocs asleep. 8-)

Actually it was local tribe totem and my helpers knew when it was safe to walk in crocodiles swamp.

Jasin wrote on Nov 10^th, 2024 at 2:42pm:

I'm having fun.
There are NO Crocs in SWRocks ;D

Shid-ey?

Jasin wrote on Nov 13^th, 2024 at 7:05pm:

SNAP!
(I win)

You don't.

Rangers search for crocodile spotted near Sunshine Coast campsites

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-02-05/search-for-crocodile-spotted-at-inskip-point-sunshine-coast/104899490

A crocodile that unexpectedly surfaced at a popular Queensland camping destination this week may have been pushed hundreds of kilometres out of its normal habitat by wild weather.

Rainbow Beach resident Anthony Simpson was fishing when he spotted something that looked a bit out of place.

"I thought, 'Oh, it's a stick,' with all this brackish water — then [it came] up, just snout first, then tail," he said.

"I thought, 'Yeah, that's not a stick. That's a croc.'

"He was just minding his own business, trying to catch a feed, probably."

"I kept on fishing, just was a bit more on my toes, got my stuff a bit back from the water."

There have now been multiple sightings, with another camper capturing footage on his mobile phone.

Rangers are patrolling and using drones to survey the area, intending to remove the crocodile from the wild as soon as they find it.

In the meantime, the state Department of Environment and Science has installed warning signs at campsites along the Inskip Peninsula, near Rainbow Beach.

Rangers have not been able confirm whether it is male or female, but believe it is likely to be the same crocodile recently filmed on Coonarr Beach, near Bundaberg.

Campers at Sarawak West said rangers had visited them several times to provide updates after the first crocodile sighting in the area was reported on Monday.

Liliana Lees of Bundaberg said she and her husband felt comfortable enough to stay put at the campground for another 10 days.

"That's what we planned," Ms Lees said.

"We didn't plan on a crocodile, but we can still enjoy.

"We can't go in the water, that's definitely no-no, but we can still be around and do some fishing."

Garry Banks and Helena Murphy of Beaudesert had a similar reaction.

"We were pretty surprised, because we knew [crocodiles] were down about as far as Rockhampton, but we didn't know they were this far down," Mr Banks said.

"I'm not frightened, but I'll be pretty wary," he said.

"And yeah, I don't think we'll be going in [the water] again."

'Just floating around'
Chris Kelly of Mooloolah Valley was walking his dog on the beach near Sarawak West when he saw the crocodile near the water's edge.

"I didn't have the camera, so I came back to the caravan and got my camera, my phone, and went back and waited … and eventually [it] came up again, but further out this time," he said.

"The first time I saw it, you could really tell it was a crocodile because of the shape of the tail and everything.

"It was just floating around in the water."

It is not the first time Mr Kelly has seen a suspected crocodile in the area.

"I was surprised to see it now, but many years ago, my dad and I were out fishing further into the bay, and we thought we saw one up on the beach," he said.

"It was massive, too big to be a goanna, but that was many years ago."

Wild ocean currents likely cause
Rainbow Beach is hundreds of kilometres outside of Queensland's normal crocodile habitat.

But senior wildlife officer Joshua Morris said the recent sightings did not mean the crocodile population was extending south.

"There's no evidence of a southern expansion of the crocodile population," Mr Morris said.

"The studies we've done and models we've run just don't support that population moving that way."

One resident captured a video of the crocodile entering the water after seeing it lying in the middle of the beach.

Mr Morris said the Inskip crocodile's movements may have been influenced by the extreme weather affecting northern Queensland.

"After big weather events, crocodiles and all animals can end up in many unusual places and be pushed into areas that they may not normally be found," he said.

"The prevailing weather conditions might mean that ocean currents have pushed it [the crocodile] out [of its habitat].

"It may have moved to different areas and just gotten a little bit lost and travelled a little bit further than it wanted to."

Mr Morris said at the moment, the reptile was "pulling up on beaches".

"And what we know about crocodiles that are pulling up on beaches … they're normally transiting through and trying to get out of rough surf … so having a bit of a rest and just trying to find an area that it's happy with," he said.

"We believe the crocodile might head back north to its habitat when weather conditions improve, but if it stays in the south-east Queensland region, it will be removed from the wild."

Mr Morris said wildlife officers would conduct further land and water-based searches today, including an intensive spotlight search by boat tonight.

Camp ground still open
Queensland Parks and Wildlife ranger Erin Atkinson said the Inskip Peninsula Recreation Area remained open for camping.

"We're reminding campers to stay vigilant around the water, especially, and keep an eye out for any crocs, and if there are any croc sightings to let the rangers know," she said.

The Department of Environment and Science advises campers to walk at least 5m from the water's edge, clean up all fishing and food scraps, and avoid using small watercraft such as kayaks in locations where crocodiles have been reported.

Sightings should be reported via the QWildlife app or by phoning 1300 130 372.

Australian Politics Forum
http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl Member Run Boards >> Hunting and Fishing >> Crocodile catch management for QLD http://www.ozpolitic.com/forum/YaBB.pl?num=1710203601 Message started by freediver on Mar 12^th, 2024 at 10:33am