Bass - Minimum size increase...

"NFSA PRESS RELEASE



New rules still spell overfishing danger for sea bass -
The Defra Minimum landing size for Bass will be increased to 40 cm from April 2007.

New government rules meant to improve and develop stocks of sea bass in English coastal waters will fail to restore them and only slightly lessen the danger they will instead be destroyed by overfishing, sea anglers said today.
Raising the size for landing bass from next April though by only 4 cm to 40 cm, was a welcome move in the right direction, said Richard Ferré, chairman of the National Federation of Sea Anglers (NFSA).
"But it will not stop the depletion of one of the country’s finest natural renewable marine resources and is unlikely to achieve the government’s renewable marine resources and is unlikely to achieve the government’s renewable marine resources and is unlikely to achieve the government’s objective to increase the number and size of bass.
"Bass of 40 cm are small immature fish which should not be caught and sold."
Female bass do not spawn until they are 42 cm (weighing about 750 grams) and anglers say the legal landing size should be 45 cm (about 950 grams) by when most will have spawned.
Mr Ferré said: "This small increase in size though a step in the right direction, still permits large numbers of immature fish to be caught and shoals depleted on an industrial scale. "It only slightly lessens the danger that, like other species which supported fishing for centuries bass could disappear through overfishing.
"Bass have historically been an angling sportfish of virtually no interest to commercial fishing until the mid 1990s. Anglers want the government to help develop the fishery and with it the growth of recreational sea angling, already worth £1 billion a year supporting 19,000 jobs in England and Wales.
They believe commercial fishing would benefit, too, from the higher prices larger fish would bring.
Mr. Ferré said a bold move to a size of 45 cm would have substantially increased the breeding stock essential to sustain the shoals for the long term benefit of all sea fishing.
"With global warming increasing water temperatures there should be more and bigger spawnings. The reverse is happening, possibly an early indication that bass stocks are entering the first stages of collapse."
He acknowledged that Ben Bradshaw, the fisheries minister, made a difficult decision to increase the landing size, trying to balance the needs of recreational and commercial fishing.
"We are disappointed he did not go further and will continue to press for a minimum size of 45 cm as soon as possible."
Ends:-"

just remember,,,

""no problem can withstand the assault of sustained thought""" 8)

Wont make any difference, there are people who keep bass and there are those who put them back. A couple of centimeters wont stop bass bashers filling up a bag and heading off home with them.

Wont make any difference, there are people who keep bass and there are those who put them back. A couple of centimeters wont stop bass bashers filling up a bag and heading off home with them.

This is true, but as I've said before (elsewhere) as anglers we should campaign for a larger minimum landing size, not because we think it will be fully enforced (which it can't be) but because it makes the statement that Bass in Ireland is a sportfish, not a commercial fish, and that Ireland is serious about developing the recreational Bass fishery in the medium and long term.

It's not the specific regulation that we really want (although it would help) it's a broader change in government policy. A large MLS is just a building block. As cortaz said (I think :D) it's about keeping the pressure on in any way we can.

Very true. Better to increase than decrease