so let me tell you my back story here,.dont worry ill be quick, yesterday i went with my girlfriend to meet her grandparents for the first time. while we were there
her 80 year oldgrandfather gave us his33` commercial prawn boat, free.
The catch is is he wants us to buy his 85 traps at ten dollars apiece,.

so now u have my back story lol[told u it was short]
so my questions are as follows,
1. what do i do next
2. where and when can i fish?

i really have no knowledge of this industry, other than i lived on a boat before,
[sank her ina storm] so i know its a hole inthe water u throw money in,
i am currently unemployed so i see a great opportunity here and im gonna take it but i dont know what to do next. pls help.

Cheers lord b,

To answer your questions in depth will take more time than this short reply.

If you are fishing sports - you may use up to 4 traps on one line with a buoy on either end or two traps on one float. You may keep 200 prawns / day / license.

If you are fishing commercial you will have to ensure your boat has a commercial license. Check with grandfather to see if he has a valid commercial licences. If he does you will have to register it and, if not then you have a 33' sports boat. If you have a commercial license then you have only a window in which to fish. Usually starts in late May and lasts until the spawn index reaches a certain level at which time your season is over until next May. This year the prawn season off Nanaimo lasted appoximately 4 weeks.

The traps may or may not be useable depending on the shape and the care given to them. However, even if in questionable shape you should be able to get $20 - $25 / trap simply selling them. And, if they need work, I can have them redone through a commercial prawn trap supplier.

Hope this helps.

if Forest Gump can figure it out...I'm sure you can

lol that just happens to be exactly how im looking at this

thanks fishing guide, for the great info.

another question tho,..Is the sport-prawn season the same as the commercial
season? or can i catch them year round?

as for the traps i believe they are all 3 or 4 door traps. they looked to be in mint condition , or close to it.
i think what we will be doing is selling enough of the traps at $20 apiece,
to pay for our traps free.
the grandfather does have a commercial license, but its up for renewal

also u say i can have 2 or 4 traps on a line , but how many lines can i put out?


anyways thanx again and any further info is much appreciated

Cheers Again,

Except for some specific area closures, sports prawning lasts all year long. Best to check your area with DFO notices or if you let me know where you are prawning I could help you check.

Most commercial traps (suspect you have the round stacking type) are three openings and, if in good shape you will have no problem selling them for $25.00 each.

Each person fishing prawns must have a fishing license and, with that license you may fish 4 prawn traps/day in any combination: 4 traps on 4 seperate lines,
2 traps per line and two lines or 4 traps on one line with two buoys (front and back). Only the person whose name appears on the float is permitted by law to pull that trap.

Hope this helps...

My wife's been bugging me to take up prawn fishing...if you decide to sell a few let me know.
Thanks

Hey Gratz on the Boat!. I as well would be interested in 4 traps if your selling. Got my last 8 from a retired commercial guy at $10 a peice but 20-25 is fair for newer ones. please let me know.









"Linus I'll stay here all night if I have to just to catch a glimpse of the great pumpkin"

Yeah, I'd take a couple traps too. Lemme know.

Scott

I'll take 8 traps when you ready to sell.


codfathers@hotmail.com
Mike