Sally and Ann's Excellent Adventure 23: Fishing at Avalon

Gone fishin'

I love this about Sydney Harbour. ccessible, democratic and relaxed. You don't have to be a squillionaire to access lots of places along the foreshore, which are public access reserves - it's what also makes New Years Eve so good : plenty of public reserves to sit yourself (with many others!) for free.

This is from East Balmain looking across Darling Harbour.

Fishing boats, Sydney fish markets

Fish cleaning facility, Port Botany

This is a great idea for a public fish cleaning facility, at the new public boatramp area at Port Botany. Located inside the "cage", it prevents seagulls and animals populating the area.

Public boat ramp, Port Botany

New public boat ramp facility as part of the massive development of Port Botany.

Fishing near Spit Bridge

The Spit Bridge is a bascule bridge (Wikipedia: a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic. Bascule is a French term for seesaw and balance, and bascule bridges operate along the same principle. They are the most common type of movable bridge in existence because they open quickly and require relatively little energy to operate.)

It is a major traffic congester on Sydney's north side.

Fishing at Gymea Baths

Gymea Bay forms part of Port Hacking, to the south of the city centre of Sydney. Part of the Sutherland Shire, it was mainly developed after WW2 with modest fibro and weatherboard cottages and public housing, but nowadays, like anywhere with a water view, it's a much more up-market proposition.

Rock fishing, Maroubra

Rosedale mornings: the fishing trip

A fishing trip which included my son (second from left), a friend, John, and his two sons, set out at 7:15 am from Moruya.

Washing the catch, Mossy Point

For more shots from here, including ravenous seagulls, click here.

I'm really not sure what the couple from yesterday were pointing at, but it may have been this fisherman, who stayed poised on this narrow concrete groyne for the hour or so I was there, or even the 16 foot skiffs out on the water from the nearby sailing club.

Bin unwanted fishing line

This is the first time I have noticed these receptacles along the beaches of Botany Bay. Great idea. Discarded fishing line has a nasty habit of endangering sea life. Read more about the TAngler Bins here. Hope the guys below do the right thing!

Fishing near Tom Ugly's

Fishing in the Georges River. Photo taken from Tom Ugly's Bridge looking toward Captain Cook Bridge. Have a great weekend, whether you go fishing or not!

Sunday morning fishing, Tom Ugly's Point

Everyone lost in their own thoughts (or telephone).

Carp Catching at Birrong

Sometimes serendipity leads you to be in the right place at the right time!

Yesterday I was working at Birrong, a south-western Sydney suburb. I decided to check out a green patch on the street map called Maluga Passive Park. As I neared the duck pond, I saw a boat on the other side. One of the fellows waved at me, and I waved back. They headed over to where I was standing. I asked them what they were doing, and they told me to lift the lid on one of the bins by the side (Picture 2), and it turned out they are contracted to clear the pond of the noxious fish, European and Koi carp (Cyprinus carpio), and goldfish (Carassius auratus). Koi carp, which are an ornamental strain, revert to their natural colour in the wild.

They then demonstrated their technique, and held up the "victim" for me (Picture 1). Then they headed out again (Pics 3 & 4)

Home to Google, and I found out from the council website that introduced noxious fish can severely impact the health of aquatic ecosystems by increasing water turbidity and nutrient concentrations, destroying aquatic plants, and potentially causing the recurrence of toxic blue-green algae blooms. They also breed rapidly, eliminating native fish, tadpoles and other small lifeforms. They use electrofishing, which involves passing a small electric current through the water to stun fish. Native fish are released unharmed and exotic fish are euthanased. Electrofishing took place in in 2003 and 2005. In November 2003, native Australian Bass (Macquaria novemaculeata) fry - they are native to the local area - were introduced to re-establish a healthy breeding population that are predators of introduced fish - they eat nuisance algae and carp eggs.

European Carp are mainly bottom feeders and tend to stir up sediments, increasing turbidity and releasing nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus into the water. In this way, carp contribute to toxic blue-green algal blooms in freshwater.

Bankstown Council continues to monitor and remove carp to ensure that the Bass survive and water quality is not further degraded. And that's what these blokes were doing!

Sunrise over Jimmy's Island, Rosedale

Up early again today, so I wandered down to the beach before sunrise. I wasn't the only one there! There's a whole sequence of this sunrise here.