Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

good work AM, i thought it went something like that. And they are quite strict on the "no selling" part

very much so! he said it a NUMBER of times!!

I read in the paper once, of a bloke from WA i thnk it was, that was CRUCIFIED by them. He didn't even "sell" the fish really.

He used to catch barra and swap a few at the local pub for a counter meal. Apparently bartering is also a no-no.

Bad person he was, by having no licence he was obviously harming the status quo some how. ( REV-EN-UE)

It would have been nice to barter some perch and silverbeet for a 20kg bad of feed

Hmmm...if you ate your own fish but sold your vegies/fruit etc out of an aquaponics system, then you'd be exempt from needing a commercial aquaculture license right?

Especially if you just happened to have a little hobby vegie garden as well...who except for you could really say what came from where?

True, i think!

I'm not aware of any licence needed to sell fruit and veg!

I'll have to start code naming my fish: lettuce, basil, tommy, LOL

Can I have a rant?

Bad day at school!

Pissed off with red tape!

Installing aquaculture on our school farm IS NEXT TO IMPOSSIBLE!

I had more success and freedom anda load less stress and politics optimising and controlling a full on $ 23 million project for Western Mining 10 years ago than I ever did trying to put together a tin pot low budget aquaculture project for our kids!

Many people who raise fish .. raise baby fish (such as feeder fish, goldfish - baby carp etc. etc... ) as feed for big ones! Accepted practice?

At schools in WA, cos of the ethics comittee.. we can't do that!

Not even close!

If you have a single fish in a tank in a classroom, and it gets sick .. U have to call a vet! By Law!



I have visions of me giving CPR to a goldie!

CLEAR ..



Did I mention the paperwork involved if a goldfish karks it?

Mindblowing!

What teacher in their right mind would try to set up an aquaculture / aquaponics program in schools in WA given these constraints?

Honestly .. U have no idea how difficult it is to try and do stuff in schools!

Who loses from all this crap! The kids!

I had big plans for my school regards aquaponics in 2007 , but to be frank, it is WAY too hard to do at school!

For me aquaponics is simple .. at home I can do as I please... and manage my fish ethically.

At school I find I have problems every step of the way!

Red tape at various levels. Little fingers buggering things up for a joke.. Lack of funding. No manpower.

I will do my thing at home..

and maybe .. just maybe ... if I manage to get a secure area.. maybe I can get the display tanks in classes ...


If I can get my hands on two ponds that are doing nothig at the moment ... ponds that just need some help regards digging a hole and plumbing them in ...

Who knows ... Maybe I am a sucker ...

For now ... I think I have had it regards doing any sort of aquaculture at school!

I could be teaching kids how to pass TEE exams in my "Duties other than teaching" time rather than trying to make aquaculture work.

... DOT is a small amount of time to do admin and time allocated to preparation of lessons and marking ....

I usually give this freely to get involved and then i catch up at home with admin and marking..



I always mark at the weekend.. and prep my lessons weekdays at home.. I use dot to help kids and do things at school that I couldn't do at home!

In my holidays I always find my self developing programs for some new course that the want me to teach...

If I can, on DOT ime I try teaching / reaching kids who can't read too well, how to cut and weld plastic, and get them to read instructions regards how to use power tools ... etc. etc..

OK ..

Rant over ...



Law is an ass!

Johhnie, man i feel for ya, i really do.

Its sad that the system drives people to their wits end. Youve mentioned such things before.

Don't get me started on this stuff! If one more teacher or principal comes up to me while i'm fixing their aircon and qestions me "do you have a ladder licence?" I'm going to smack them in the mouth

Apparently common sense in not that common, and the majority of those that are lacking it are the ones "legislating" ridiculous rules to further wrap in cotton wool the morons of the world.

Its just rally sad that its the kids that miss out in your case. call a vet for a sick fish indeed! I hope your school never has a rat problem, that would be a dilemma, wouldn't it. LOL

Laugh Johnnie, laugh, its the only way to keep sane!

Do I poison rats with warfarin, use a rat trap or catch it and take it to the vet for humane disposal?

Result might be the same .....

Sometimes I think they ( friiging pollies and civil servants on way over 60 thousand per year ... with nothing better to do than dream up some arty farty new age bulldust) take more consideration of animals than they do our kids. (and I am an animal lover).

Put the money into educating people ... they wouldn't need an animal ethics comitee...

Sorry, kind of bad day....

WOW BAD DAY!

I know there is a lot of red tape but I just kinda dont 'see' it (it does trip ya up from time to time though)...

We have similar rules here in QLD... but they "seem " to apply to fish in the classroom... so my system which is within the school pool fenced area, in an out of bounds area sems to 'slip through a loop hole there'... but I am not going to check the details TOOO closely because then I cant plead ignorance

I think tis is an excep[tion to thre rule AM, stick to the ignorance plan!

I don't know how to do that

If you get busted i'll "shred" all the posts that incriminate you LOL

It's always hard to be the original pioneer of something Johnnie, try and tark heart in the fact that your trying to do the right thing, and it will only get easier......

Yep guys .. sorry about the rant ... I feel better now!

Better out than in mate!