The Map shows the Pet Reservoir at Ridgley in North West Tasmania. The yellow square is 1 square kilometre.
At one buried 1080-bait per 200 metres or about 25 per square kilometres, there isn’t much dry land on the Pet Reservoir reserve to bait. According to [i]Cradle Mountain Water[/i]’s website Alert ‘only four fox baits’ were buried on the reserve [1].
[b]Pet Dam – Fox Baiting[/b]
[i]The Pet Dam is located within an area identified as potential fox habitat and as such, the Fox Eradication Taskforce have laid bait in the vicinity of this area. The bait is laid in accordance with national legislation which defines the required distances from water catchment areas. In the case of the Pet Dam, [b]four baits[/b] were buried as close to the property boundary which exceeds the 20 metre minimum boundary requirement. The baiting program will not impact the quality or the safety of the water supply from the Pet Dam.[/i]
That number of baits has yet to be confirmed by the Invasive Species Branch [formerly the Fox Eradication Branch].
Bounded by the Emu Bay railway line and residential landholders to the west and a narrow shoreline and the Cradle Mountain Water treatment plant to the west, the available land for baiting is about half a square kilometre or less than 50 hectares.
From the [i]Fox Eradication Program Fact Sheet 1[/i] – dated August 2010, DPIPWE [available on their website].
[i]Fox baits are not laid within:
• 20 metres from flowing or standing water
• 5 metres from neighbouring boundaries without written consent of the neighbour
• 5 metres from all formed road where public access to that road is denied
• 20 metres from any trail or pathway frequented by the general public.
• 30 metres from farm gateways.
• 150 metres from a dwelling (a house, residence or abode) without the occupants consent in writing.
• 500 metres [half a kilometre] from any constructed picnic or recreational sites.
•
All properties being baited are clearly signposted.[/i]
These are their ‘exclusion zones’.
According to the Inland Fisheries Service [i]‘…the Pet Reservoir is a domestic water supply impoundment situated in the township of Ridgley on the North West Coast and is open to the public for fishing.’
‘Access to some of the shoreline is restricted due to public safety issues and these areas are clearly defined. It is surrounded by gently sloping grassland allowing easy walking access. It is a very popular family orientated fishery and is open to all legal freshwater fishing methods.’[/i] [2]
References:
[1] http://www.cmwater.com.au/Alerts/default.aspx
[2] http://www.ifs.tas.gov.au/archive/IFSDatabaseManager/WatersDatabase/pet-reservoir
