Now is a good time to remind you of the need to continue to work on your catch quality. We tend to experience few quali­ty problems over the winter months, and this can lead everyone into a false sense of security.

Now is the time you should be reviewing your on-board holding equipment:

Do you have aeration in all tanks? Do you need additional storage capacity or extra water flow?

Do you have hessian so that you can drape wet hessian over your baskets while on deck, or can you empty your tanks and leave your baskets below deck while they are draining?

Do you have a system for washing the salt build up from gloves and your cacka-box in-between pots? GFC fishermen will have become used to very low second grade results over the last few months, but this will be very hard to maintain in dry, windy, forty-degree heat.