Fishing in the Good Old Days

Was it really better?

Bob Kearney

• Publisher: Melbourne University Press Digital
• Year: 2022
• eBook ISBN:
  9780522878356
• Print ISBN:
  9780522878349

Bob Kearney has been addicted to recreational fishing and is a devout keeper of the legends and lore of the Australian angler.He is also a world authority on fisheries and marine ecosystem management. In Fishing in the Good Old Days, Kearney looks back on his six decades of experience as a fisherman in earnest pursuit of the iconic jewfish off the rocks and beaches of northern New South Wales. He recalls unforgettable adventures, colourful personalities, the thrill of the chase and, yes, the ones that got away. Along the way, he exposes the environmental consequences of poorly planned coastal activities.Kearney also addresses a serious question: Is the holistic experience of fishing for fun, now, truly not as good as it was in the 1960s?Of course, this question rests on many others about recreational and commercial fishing practice, fisheries management, coastal and marine conservation, and the impact of the terrestrial world, including through human population growth and climate change. With a grasp of the scientific research as acute as his ear for the anglers' voices of his youth, Kearney demonstrates that the answer to his question is far from straightforward.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• 1 Why?
• 2 By Jove!
• 3 A historical perspective of fishing at Kingscliff
• 4 Was fishing better? What are we comparing?
• 5 The biggest tailor
• 6 Social change and attitudes to fishing
• 7 Why jewfish?
• 8 The Kingscliff rocks
• 9 Jewfish in the daytime
• 10 They were simply too big!
• 11 The comparative power of jewfish
• 12 Mick and Sluggo
• 13 A few special bream
• 14 Fresh bait
• 15 Some Indigenous techniques
• 16 Len Thompson
• 17 Chookie and his boats
• 18 The prominence given to snapper
• 19 A few that got away
• 20 An enjoyable, but unusual, afternoon
• 21 Fisheries Management 101
• 22 Cudgen Creek: Extreme habitat modification and loss
• 23 Answering the question: Was fishing in the good old days really better?
• 24 Fishing in the future: Will it really be better?
• Appendix: List of species
• Acknowledgements
• Index