THE tragic loss of a sea turtle tangled in a crab trap at Lake Macquarie has residents urging recreational fishers to 'do better' to avoid preventable deaths.
Fishing Point's Lindsay and Lynne Harding made the devastating discovery just before the weekend, after they spotted a turtle shell covered in netting a few metres offshore.
"I could see rope or netting that appeared to be over the shell, so I raced down to the water as quickly as I could because I thought I'd be able to help, but sadly I was too late," Mr Harding said.
"I felt terrible and I'm finding it hard to talk about it now, the only reason I am talking about it and the reason I photographed it and spoke to NSW Fisheries is because I didn't want the creature's life to be lost in vain."
The float, which should be labelled with the crabbers' name, year of birth and postcode, was no longer attached to the pot.
In 2021, NSW DPI Fisheries began a two-year trial allowing the use of crab traps in Lake Macquarie which has now been extended a further three years.
Historically, the use of crab traps hasn't been allowed.
As part of the trial, entrances to crab traps aren't allowed to exceed 32cm, to protect turtles and other air breathing animals from getting stuck.
Fishers are allowed to use a maximum of two crab traps, in addition to four hoop or lift nets in Lake Macquarie, and those with wider entrances should be reduced using cable ties or cords.
Sadly, the incident with the sea turtle isn't the first Mr Harding has reported to NSW DPI Fisheries.
"I think there have been a lot of changes to regulations and the design of crab pots have been changed to try and minimise this loss of life, but to date, from what we've seen on Friday, it's not effective," he said.
"We've spoken to fisheries before because we had one lot of crab pots that had been in the water so long that the lines and the float had started to grow weeds off them, so they're just left in the water."
He said that while NSW DPI Fisheries staff were really responsive to complaints, he felt there needed to be stronger penalties for rule-breakers.
"If in our little 25-metre patch we find all this junk in the lake and a turtle caught in a crab pot, the probabilities are that this is happening more than just in our little 25-metre foreshore patch," he said.
Since the closure of Pasminco and a ban on commercial fishing, Mr Harding said he's seen marine life like dolphins, fish, sharks, seals and turtles thrive.
"We've done all this great work, but what a tragedy then to have them entangled in some non-compliant piece of garbage that someone's thrown out there without even taking the time to look at the rules or thinking about what sort damage that can do," he said.
"So we've invited all these marine creatures back into their own environment and here we are stuffing it up."
NSW Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) safety officer Malcolm Poole said a number of changes had been made in the past to improve crabbing, including modifying witches hats in Port Stephens to try to limit the number of turtles getting caught.
"It's always a challenge to try and seek the balance, but it's just a sad thing when something like this happens," he said.
"The RFA and Fisheries work with rescue groups along the coastline to try and improve things, we are cognisant of the side effects of our activities in terms of fishing, using lawful nets and traps and we're always building on and reviewing our activities to make them more friendly to other marine life."
The Newcastle Herald contacted NSW DPI Fisheries for comment but did not receive a response before this article went to press.
