Special Protection Areas

Hi,

The Irish Government put a ban on the sale of commercially caught Bass in 1990 and today our inshore Bass stocks are recovering. But check out what is happening to Bass off the coast of Cornwall, England, and we could easily be back where we were 18 years ago.

Here are two links to a local success story off Scotland which set a trend, and will benefit all. http://www.arrancoast.co.uk/. This is the link to the website of the '' Community Of Arran Seabed Trust.

Here is a link to a piece in the Telegraph written by Charles Clover.http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.j ... ine121.xml.

Angling in this modern age will only be protected by the community as a whole. Angling associations and clubs have to link in with the general publics concerns for the environment (non anglers). This is the only way for the sport to be fully protected.

informative post as before - have you an article on the situation with the bass off cornwall?

PMed you, Ashley.

In answer to what is happening off Cornwall. The first chapter in Charles Clovers book, ''The End Of The Line'' spells it out. This book was published in 2005. believe that the practices that he describes are still occurring. The Bass Anglers Sport fishing Society web site unfortunately backs this up. Link,
http://www.ukbass.com/.

It is my understanding that the size limit for Bass in UK waters, ''I could be wrong'', is 36 cm, which is too low. The Bass are not mature at this size. Also there appears to be no limit, except for the anglers conscience as to how many Bass are kept at any one time.