I see this time it is a 10-year-old boy that died a terrifying death. A couple of weeks back it was a 7-year-old girl. When is the government going to permit croc harvest?

Out of sight,out of mind if this were happening on Bondi Beach things would be much different.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
I see this time it is a 10-year-old boy that died a terrifying death. A couple of weeks back it was a 7-year-old girl. When is the government going to permit croc harvest?

They do permit croc harvesting... just not by recreational hunters.

Matt, this harvest is limited to restricted, authorized "pest management" by the gov, right? Aren't your croc numbers on the rise?

Bill

And Aboriginies who shoot / take quite a few each year but no where near enough to keep numbers in check.

Taking out a large number of crocs across the whole top end isn't going to stop attacks if people still go swimming in the wrong places.

If you go swimming in waters where this occurred, highly likely you will get taken by a croc.

.

The black fellas have a very casual attitude when it comes to crocs. I was chatting to a fella who was neck deep in the katherine river once as I got my boat out at the ramp. He wasn't woried at all about being taken and they take a number of 4 meter salties out of that area every year.

Bakes, that's nuts. And 4 meter salties? Good lord, how big do they get?

4 meters is nothing, that's only 13.2 feet.

Plenty of 14 - 16 one's around a a few 16 - 18 feet.


I have always been told that anything over 3 metres is likely to "have a go" but I look at it another way, where a 3 metre croc lives,
their is likely to be a much bigger one !!!


Much easier not to swim !

I think if the Australian government ever does reopen salties to sport harvest, you are gonna have folks lined up to buy permits for a chance at an 18 footer.

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
I think if the Australian government ever does reopen salties to sport harvest, you are gonna have folks lined up to buy permits for a chance at an 18 footer.

True enough. The point I am making mate is that if they allowed us to take say 50 big salties a year in the NT it would mean diddly squat to the numbers and the number of big salties (15' plus). There would be fifty such crocodiles in one single big river system and there are I guess about a dozen of those, plus hundreds of smaller systems. I think there are about 800 max tags currently allowed for commercial catchers (private companies) to legally take wild crocs in the NT at the moment. You mentioned the depredation/pest but I heard just last week that they have also been allowing a few operators to take a commercial wild harvest for skins ... although that has not been publicised as such (and I cannot confirm that yet 100%).

50 salties on licence is a pipedream in any case, more like 20-25pa. Who knows?? We cant get any at the moment.

Matt

Jesus.

If they are taking 800 out a year, plus what Aboriginies kill (i doubt that many), they are going to have to take out a hell of a lot more to have even the slightest dent in numbers at the rate they are breeding.

quote:

Originally posted by 505G:
Matt

Jesus.

If they are taking 800 out a year, plus what Aboriginies kill (i doubt that many), they are going to have to take out a hell of a lot more to have even the slightest dent in numbers at the rate they are breeding.

No thats not what I said. There are 800 tags available, not necessarily issued or used. I cant remember the exact figure - it was between 700 and 900 though.