AAT General Meeting June 2019

MINUTES OF THE GENERAL MEETING

10.00 am Sunday 2 July 2019

The Grange, Campbell Town

Present

Gary France Chair, Terry Byard Vice Chair, Malcolm Crosse Exec Committee,  Howard Jones Exec Committee, John Broomby Northern Clubs, Alan Gordon BOD Sports Anglers, Christopher Cohen Corralin FF and Casting Assoc, Charles Thompson NWFA,  Keith Symons Indep South, Mark Rockliff Devonport Anglers, Adrian Hope Tas FF Association, Denis Edwards Exec Officer, John Diggle IFS

Apologies

Wayne Bellette,  Michael Caminada, Brett Smith 

Minutes of the previous meeting Motion: “to accept the minutes of the previous meeting held 10 am Sun 31 March at The  Grange, Campbell Town “ 

Moved: M Crosse    Seconded: J Broomby

Matters arising

Eels . G France to invite Shaun Findlayson to address the AAT.

·      C Thompson requested IFS to ask the commercial eel fishers not to fish Four Springs while the World Fly Fishing Championships are on.

·      Supply of Fish for Junior Angling and other periodic club events - the meeting resolved that Junior Angling within the State is a key priority area for AAT to promote and support.  A such, the supply of fish for those groups running Junior Angling Days including the annual Junior Angling Day in October, will continue to be provided by AAT from its annual budget.  For clubs which run periodic events which promote angling, ie novice days, ladies day, club days and may require fish to be supplied, AAT may be able to assist either through direct financial support and/or sponsorship opportunities.  Groups seeking such assistance will need to forecast their fish requirements along with event dates etc at the commencement of each year.

·      C Thompson opened a discussion on the use of outboards on shallow lakes which highlighted the difficulty of regulation changes.

Inland Fisheries Service Report 

John Diggle tabled the much appreciated IFS Report to Anglers for March to May 2019 which is now available on the IFS website.

The compliance section highlighted the fact that boating safety - not wearing life jackets and failing to carry the minimum safety equipment is still a concern.

Financials

The current balances of the four bank accounts and profit and loss statement for the nine months ending 31 March was tabled.

T Byard suggested that future webcam maintenance requirements should be reviewed

M Rockliff moved that the Financial Report be accepted , seconded T Byard 

Rural Water Use Strategy

The dpipwe are developing a Rural Water Use Strategy “ A key objective of the Strategy is to facilitate agricultural productivity through the sustainable development of the State’s water resources “

AAT as a stakeholder have been asked for input into a position paper that will be circulated for comment before the final strategy is prepared.

Howard Jones and Terry Byard reported that the meeting was open and positive and the   shortcomings of the current water management settings were discussed which included lack of monitoring and compliance checks, lack of testing for herbicides and pesticides, and the need for increased monitoring by the EPA to give a credible measure of river health. 

North Esk River Catchment Water Management Plan

Howard Jones will represent AAT on the reference group for this review. Howard reported that the first meeting, held last week, similar concerns to those raised on the Rural Water Strategy were discussed. The dpipwe were open to further input from anglers that are well acquainted with the waters covered by the Overview. 

TWWHA Tourism Master Plan Workshop

Terry Byard and Denis Edwards represented the AAT at the workshop, held to develop the plan, at Bothwell on Mon 6 May and was run by ERA Consultants.

The TWWHA Tourism Master Plan, which is required by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, will not override the TWWHA Management Plan, which has allowed private development in the TWWHA, and therefor the final outcome , while fulfilling UNESCO requirements , could be a blunt instrument. 

Trout Weekend

Discussion was had on the need to improve the AAT stand at Trout Weekend and the ideas generated will be looked at in planning the upgrade.

Sport and Recreation Grants

A disappointing  outcome with one submission by AAT ,on behalf of clubs that run Junior Angling  progams, not achieving the amount of equipment requested because only equipment directly related to fishing could be allowed. The outcome was 50 rod combos which will be distributed between five clubs.

The other submission done in conjunction with the Devonport Anglers for repairs to Taylors Dam access road did not get up, presumably because it is on private property  

Toilets

Good progress being made by Chris Wisnieski IFS with all precast panels done for the ten toilets, ready for delivery and erection in the coming week

Website upgrade

The AAT website has been upgraded to a new format that is cleaner and easier to navigate

Willows

J Broomby tabled photos of the work on the second stage of the River Leven willow removal project . John requested that AAT provide an extra $500 for the supply of riparian planting.

T Byard moved that the proposal was worthwhile and this was agreed.

The Tyenna River willow removal being done by the Derwent River NRM is holding another working bee on Sat 8 June and all willow warriors welcome. Phone Magali  0424 277 226 for details

St Patricks Plains Wind Farm

Epuron has a proposal to build 80 wind turbines (300MW) over a large area of Patricks Plains with the western edge within 3 km of Penstock Lagoon and the north west edge within 3 km of Arthurs Lake at Flintstone and Wilburville . The proposed area also crosses the Highland Lakes Road over a distance of some 15kms.

There appears to be no detail available at present and AAT will email the Senior Project Manager, Donna Bolton, requesting  :

            Location of turbines

            Number of turbines

            Height of turbines

            Sound levels and distance of auditory influence

When we have such information, then invite Donna Bolton to address an AAT meeting. 

World Fly Fishing Championships

Malcolm Crosse gave an update  --   

            Volunteers and controller positions have been oversubscribed

            18 boats due to arrive shortly and will be fitted out with Tasmanian timber seats

            Remainder of organising going to plan

General Business

·      Keith Symons queried the current situation with access to Dago Point and Silver Plains and suggested that a meeting with Land Conservancy may be worthwhile. 

·      Charles Thomson reported that the Penguin Angling is to have a special meeting  to discuss the future of the club. 

·      Terry Byard suggested that given the complex regulatory controls on lake boating and the reluctance in some quarters not to change regulations , AAT should educate anglers on the issues of the effects of outboards on lakes , especially shallow lakes. Need a list of vunerable lakes, worldwide examples of outboard control, research on effects of hydrocarbons etc etc  A talk with Parks may also be beneficial.

·      Adrian Hope asked if was possible to easily move webcams/ MC’s answer--NO’

            Adrian also asked if it was possible to develop a hatchery for estuary perch/ JD’s                                                        answer -- possible but extremely expensive. 

Action List

·      Contact clubs to ascertain fish numbers for extra events

·      Write to St Patricks Plains windfarm project manager to request detail on windfarm and invite her to attend an AAT meeting

·       Open a file on information/research on effects of outboard motors in freshwater impoundments