23 replies to this topic

[ruffaz]

i few years ago i had a idea that the industrie could push for people to have licences to keep fish

especial with some species needing specialised care and treatment just wondering the clubs thoughts ?


say have five diffrent catergorys cat one was goldfish and the like then the harder to keep fish would go up and you would need to apply for the other catergory licences and say cat 1 any one could get and you would have to show your understanding of each cat to get the next one just a thought it might eliminate unessary dumping and acidental killings of fish ?

flame suit on

[lawdog]

Love the idea personally, run something similar to the reptile scheme. However I would expect a trade off that opens the importation of species based upon the classification of the license held.

[Cawdor]

If a license means being able to keep and breed declared noxious species as well then I'd be for it. There has to be a positive for the individual otherwise people are not going to bother.

[alex101]

i think it sounds like a great idea

[Peckoltia]

Love the idea personally, run something similar to the reptile scheme. However I would expect a rade off that opens the importation of species based upon the classification of the license held.

Be careful what you wish for. If the fish hobby had licensing comparable to that of reptiles in WA, the fish keeping hobby would soon be crippled (more so than it already is).

[lawdog]

IMO licensing would have to open access rather than reduce, however in the case of reptiles I was of the understanding we went from not being able to keep to at least being able to keep a limited number of species.

[smellsfishy]

i already said this on another post.
it would strain out those who would loose interest and leave them ion a muddy pool.

[Peckoltia]

IMO licensing would have to open access rather than reduce, however in the case of reptiles I was of the understanding we went from not being able to keep to at least being able to keep a limited number of species.

So I'm guessing you are not a reptile keeper yourself?

Reptile keeping licensing in WA is pathetic. Yes we can now finally keep reptiles. However the system is flawed in so many ways, to the point that it takes out a lot of the fun for me. I have often contemplated selling my collection as at times it is more drama than it is worth.

Personally I think fish stores would suffer from licensing. As less people would keep fish. Only people that are really into fish would keep them. It is apparent by the classifieds on this site that many people who are 'into fish' buy most of their stuff online and privately. The only losers here would be the stores and possibly fish keepers (depending on the licensing).

I think more licensing and rules is not what we need. We live in enough of an over policed over regulated state/country no need to ask for more.

[ruffaz]

agree to both arguments here but in saying that some thing has to be done in my view there is to many stoopid things happing to fish.

also was thinking that cat 1 and cat 2 could be had straight away they could include easy to keep fishes ? just a thought maybee also food for thought


also i dont think reptiles are that overly policed al least we can keep them peck whats your thoughts on the reptile licences anyway reguarding to over policing them i think the cats need to be sorted though but i for one think it is ok what they are doing

[alex101]

So I'm guessing you are not a reptile keeper yourself?

Reptile keeping licensing in WA is pathetic. Yes we can now finally keep reptiles. However the system is flawed in so many ways, to the point that it takes out a lot of the fun for me. I have often contemplated selling my collection as at times it is more drama than it is worth.

Personally I think fish stores would suffer from licensing. As less people would keep fish. Only people that are really into fish would keep them. It is apparent by the classifieds on this site that many people who are 'into fish' buy most of their stuff online and privately. The only losers here would be the stores and possibly fish keepers (depending on the licensing).

I think more licensing and rules is not what we need. We live in enough of an over policed over regulated state/country no need to ask for more.

you hold a good point because if the licence cost, people wouldnt keep fish because when you see a five year old picking out his favourite goldfish he shouldnt have to have a licence

[Peckoltia]

agree to both arguments here but in saying that some thing has to be done in my view there is to many stoopid things happing to fish.

also was thinking that cat 1 and cat 2 could be had straight away they could include easy to keep fishes ? just a thought maybee also food for thought


also i dont think reptiles are that overly policed al least we can keep them peck whats your thoughts on the reptile licences anyway reguarding to over policing them i think the cats need to be sorted though but i for one think it is ok what they are doing

My problems with reptile licensing in WA.

1. Too many returns. How would you all feel about filling in forms every 3 months with every fish you have spawned, bought, sold, traded and died? Pain in the bum.
2. Returns must be done through manually filling out forms and sending them in. Online returns would save a lot of time, for both DEC and reptile keepers. It would also save trees!
3. DEC reserve the right to come into your home and check your collection as they see fit. These checks are executed more like a drug raid then a friendly check on a reptile keeper.
4. Reptile keepers are treated like criminals. Anyone who doesn't keep reptiles will not appreciate what I mean by this. People who do may, especially people with large collections.
5. Expense. My licensing costs me about $100 a year, what does this money get me?
6. The system is not set up to promote breeding of reptiles. As you need to buy a 'farming license' if you want to sell more than one clutch a year. This license costs $1000 a year!
7. In my experience the animals allocated to the licensing category have almost been selected at random. V. caudolineatus are cat3 requiring no prior experience, a species that is one of the harder Varanids to keep. While ridge tailed monitors are cat4, which is a perfect beginners monitor.
8. DEC try squeeze every dollar they can out of collectors.

The list goes on. The idea of licensing for fish seems like a good idea in theory. Lets all just remember who will be making the rules when it comes to fish licensing, the government. Not fish keepers like you and me! If licensing comes into place in Oz it will be one of the darkest days in fish keeping in Oz. Licensing will be set up to limit what we can keep and how we keep it. It wont be all roses and candy like people like to think. It wont be the dream of keeping what you like if you have a license, get real people!

Alex

[gibbs]

If it meant being able to keep any species you want that are currently noxious then sure, great idea.

Otherwise it will bring the hobby and the industry to it's knees, actually it probably will bring the industry to its knees either way. So NO!

[bobby dazzla]

Fully agree with Peckoltia, I looked into keeping reptiles before getting into fish but the Cat system (even though being there for a good reason) put me off. None of the snakes i was interested in were available to a cat 1 license, so i was up for a 2 year wait until i got the kind of snake i was keen on.

In saying that it would be awesome if you could prove to a panel that you met a certain requirement that allowed you to keep currently banned fish. If i could keep something really specky (i'm thinking monsters ) i wouldn't mind sending in some paper work every 3 months.

[werdna]

You can go up to cat 3 without experience with no wait, which would get you a stimsons python...

A licence shouldnt cover all fish, it should only cover those which are an environmental threat if released.

[Ivan Sng]

IMO, licensing is not going to stop stupid people from doing stupid things... take driving license for example, does it stop the silly things that people do??? NO...
Introducing a license for anything is just going to make the authorities richer and give them more control. And of coz there are always those that would try to do it without a license, giving rise to more "cowboys" and because it is licensed, these "cowboys" even with all good intentions would be reluctant to seek help for the fear of being dob in...

The industry should instead spend the money and resources to provide proper free education... provides training grants to lfs to train their staffs, etc...

The only way to solve a problem is to fix the problem, not add more smoke and mirrors...

My two cents..

[gibbs]

Fully agree with Peckoltia, I looked into keeping reptiles before getting into fish but the Cat system (even though being there for a good reason) put me off. None of the snakes i was interested in were available to a cat 1 license, so i was up for a 2 year wait until i got the kind of snake i was keen on.

In saying that it would be awesome if you could prove to a panel that you met a certain requirement that allowed you to keep currently banned fish. If i could keep something really specky (i'm thinking monsters ) i wouldn't mind sending in some paper work every 3 months.

You didn't look into reptiles very well, your info is way off. Try again

[lawdog]

For the record, I am a keeper of reptile.

[bobby dazzla]

You didn't look into reptiles very well, your info is way off. Try again

Ouch flame. Yeah righto it was a while ago could have been cat 3 - cat 4 ... Just remember there was nothing that interested me on the starting license. Just my 2 cents on the subject next time i will cross check my info before posting.

[Peckoltia]

Ouch flame. Yeah righto it was a while ago could have been cat 3 - cat 4 ... Just remember there was nothing that interested me on the starting license. Just my 2 cents on the subject next time i will cross check my info before posting.

There are a lot of great animals on cat 3 and cat 4. Although you need prior experience for cat 4. I personally think that cat 2, 3, 4 should all be combined as the animals in each are quite similar, with a few exceptions. I do agree with many of the animals on cat 5, olives, all the vens and large monitors.

For the record, I am a keeper of reptile.

Have you ever copped a visit from DEC for an 'inspection'?

[terboz123]

i dont agree with license regardless...

i have no experience or understanding in reptile licenses , so my point of view is comming from fish.....


licenses dont stop people doing the wrong thing, EDUCATION DOES
money made from licenses wont always be put back into the industry.
with the new fishing licences, there is always something that doesnt sound right.....(you can fish from shore without license, but you cant fish from a boat with out licenses. You can still catch certain species from the shore that you can from boats (the demercal ban eg snapper from the moles,dhuies up north)

in my opinino license arnt needed, money into the industry would be great, but i highly doubt the government would allow that.