recommended minimum fish sizes

[gfkelly1969]

as a lot of people catch and eat fish I would like to make up a list of recommended minimum size for some of the fish caught on our shores

only doing this so that anglers will have a idea about fish conservation and they might release some of the smaller fish
the list will be a recommendation to anglers on sizes
for example do you think the minimum size of a cod should be 1lb or 2 lb or 3lb or how long?how many cm?
i know this could go off topic very quick and I don't want a big debate about catch and release so I will get the mods to delete anything out side the list

if you don't want you views up on the site you can pm me what you think,all pm s will be kept private

the first 5 fish on the list will give you a idea of how it will look
if there any fish that i missed let me know

Bass Irish law over 40cm,a bag limit on anglers of two Bass in any one period of 24 hours recommended only fish between 45cm and 65cm be kept
Sea Trout Irish law catch and release only State licence required
Salmon Irish law over 40cm State licence required and fish tagged
Common Skate Irish law all fish must be returned alive,catch and release only
Common Eel Irish law,do not target but if caught fish must be released alive
Cod recommended
Haddock recommended
Whiting recommended
Coalfish recommended
Pollack recommended
Pouting
Poor Cod
Hake
Ling
Garfish
John Dory
Shore Rockling
3-Bearded Rockling
4-Bearded Rockling
5-Bearded Rockling
Grey Gurnard
Tub Gurnard
Red Gurnard
Triggerfish
Turbot
Brill
Plaice
Dab
Flounder
Lemon Sole
Halibut
Sole
Thornback Ray
Undulate Ray
Cuckoo Ray
Spotted Ray
Blonde Ray catch and release only
Sting Raycatch and release only
Conger Eel
Ballan Wrasse
Cuckoo Wrasse
Rock Cook
Goldsinny
Corkwing Wrasse
Blue Shark catch and release only
Tope catch and release only
Common Smooth Hound
Starry Smooth Hound
Spurdog
Monkfish
Allis Shad
Twaite Shad
Sprat
Atlantic Herring
Lesser Weever
Greater Weever
Mackerel
Thick-Lipped Grey Mullet
Thin-Lipped Grey Mullet
Golden Grey Mullet
Greater Spotted Dogfish
Lesser Spotted Dogfish
Blackmouth Dogfish

Last edited by gfkelly1969 on Tue Mar 16, 2010 9:58 pm, edited 5 times in total.

if your going to eat it and your happy enough its big enough to keep, do so


thats what i would put for all

these are the ones they recommend you shouldnt be buying over the counter

maybe give you an idea that if it isint on the list min sizes dont really matter

http://www.fishonline.org/advice/avoid/

if your going to eat it and your happy enough its big enough to keep, do so


thats what i would put for all

some people might be happy enough to keep a 1/4 lb cod where as others might say not to keep anything less then 2lbs,just trying to get a idea if people are going to keep fish what size do they think should be kept

these are the ones they recommend you shouldnt be buying over the counter

maybe give you an idea that if it isint on the list min sizes dont really matter

http://www.fishonline.org/advice/avoid/

thanks for the link brian

Interesting thread, hopefully you get the reply your after.

for the moment.

Bass 45cm

I'll get back to you on some of the other fish in a bit.

IMO every fish should have a Min / Max size limit and bag limit attached to it as a matter of law. Most important of all we need to start policing the paltry laws we do have.

Even if that's nil / nil / nil at least people who are catching fish are used to looking for the regulations and know where they stand. At the moment there are too many gaps.


Kev

Interesting thread, hopefully you get the reply your after.

for the moment.

Bass 45cm

I'll get back to you on some of the other fish in a bit.

IMO every fish should have a Min / Max size limit and bag limit attached to it as a matter of law. Most important of all we need to start policing the paltry laws we do have.

Even if that's nil / nil / nil at least people who are catching fish are used to looking for the regulations and know where they stand. At the moment there are too many gaps.


Kev

thanks Kev for putting me right on the bass size,see i have learned from this thread already what size bass would be right for the bag,changed from 40 cm to 45 now

there were a lot of posts last year about lads keeping under size fish even if one or two of them learned from this thread that would help fish stocks a bit

i agree every fish should have a Min / Max size limit and bag limit attached but at the moment as there is no laws on most fish the list above would be a guide that anglers could use to enforce on themselves

i also reckon the size for Bass should be a little bigger, how much bigger i dont know. i got plenty around the 40ish mark last year and couldnt contemplate keeping one that size. IMO there should also be a max limit on what you can keep. even if you are fishing for the table i cant see the point in keeping a 7/8+ pounder. these fish WILL help keep the stocks up by breeding year after year but a 2/3/4 pounder has a lot of growing to do before it spawns(so im told anyway).

if a fella is gonna keep his catch i'd much rather see him/her keep 2 fish around the 4lb mark than one around 7/8lb. just my opinion tho, but i also think that if someone catches a Bass that is over the 40 and decides to keep it then its their decision as he/she isnt doing anything illegal.


i can see this turning into a Bass thread, these kind of threads usually do

Bass over 45cm a bag limit on anglers of two Bass in any one period of 24 hours
Sea Trout catch and release only State licence required
Salmon over 40cm State licence required and fish tagged
Common Skate catch and release only
Common Eel catch and release only

Good idea

A few things here - are we talking about recommended or legal minimum?

Legal minimum for bass is 40 cm.

Fishing for eels is NOT catch and release- they should not be targeted at all.

Fishing for eels is NOT catch and release- they should not be targeted at all.

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/NR/rdonlyres/7F ... 032009.doc

Fishing for eels is NOT catch and release- they should not be targeted at all.

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/NR/rdonlyres/7F ... 032009.doc

Also Read this Letter you must not target eels but if taken you can award points unhook and return

http://www.rinnasharksac.net/conservati ... 8-t938.htm

Fishing for eels is NOT catch and release- they should not be targeted at all.

http://www.dcenr.gov.ie/NR/rdonlyres/7F ... 032009.doc

Also Read this Letter you must not target eels but if taken you can award points unhook and return

http://www.rinnasharksac.net/conservati ... 8-t938.htm

I might split this topic but all the minister did was forward on correspondence from one fisheries board.

This is the advice from the CFB

We had a similar query in regarding bass caught in a competition during the closed season.
The answer is that no points should be awarded for eels in your competition.
While we are sure that they will all be returned and we commend your catch & release policy,
we can’t allow a competition where catching of eels is rewarded in any way, even if just to get points for a kids
competition. This may seem harsh, but it is the only way to enforce the law across the board.


Regards,

Shane

----------------------------

Shane O’Reilly
Angling Adviser

Central Fisheries Board,
Swords Business Campus,
Swords,
Co. Dublin

Interesting thread, hopefully you get the reply your after.

for the moment.

Bass 45cm

I'll get back to you on some of the other fish in a bit.

IMO every fish should have a Min / Max size limit and bag limit attached to it as a matter of law. Most important of all we need to start policing the paltry laws we do have.

Even if that's nil / nil / nil at least people who are catching fish are used to looking for the regulations and know where they stand. At the moment there are too many gaps.


Kev

thanks Kev for putting me right on the Bass size,see i have learned from this thread already what size Bass would be right for the bag,changed from 40 cm to 45 now

there were a lot of posts last year about lads keeping under size fish even if one or two of them learned from this thread that would help fish stocks a bit

i agree every fish should have a Min / Max size limit and bag limit attached but at the moment as there is no laws on most fish the list above would be a guide that anglers could use to enforce on themselves

Legally it's 40cm, but I would like to see that moved to 45cm with a max size of 65cm or 40cm - 60cm.... (slot size)

we can thank the vice chairman for all his his hard work campaining to get us to be allowed count eels, we did in our last competition and the fisherys board turned up for a look an all to make sure everything was above board.we will be counting them this year as will most of the clubs hosting the munsters who attended a meeting a few months back.
fair play to gfkelly good post if nothing else it might educate a few people on fish sizes,i agree with min and max on the bass,the rest of the fish i think should have min sizes and a max on what can be kept in any 24 hours.
i too often see lads with bags of 10+codling when they are running i have even seen lads with 5 or 6 cod in the 2-lb range and loads of tiny one pilled on the bank beside them??
i dont eat fish so put back 99% of all my fish ,not that im against it i would keep the cod for the wife and maybe one for the father but 2 cod around 2-4lb would feed 6 to 8 people so cant see point in bringing home fish for the sake of it ,to often hear people saying they went to the cat or the bin.

Bass over 45cm a bag limit on anglers of two Bass in any one period of 24 hours
Sea Trout catch and release only State licence required
Salmon over 40cm State licence required and fish tagged
Common Skate catch and release only
Common Eel catch and release only

Good idea

A few things here - are we talking about recommended or legal minimum?

Legal minimum for Bass is 40 cm.

Fishing for eels is NOT catch and release- they should not be targeted at all.

thanks for info on the eels,i have changed it now to do not target but if caught fish must be released alive because some anglers will catch them while trying for other species
i am talking about a recommended minimum on most of the fish that might be kept for the pot and any other fish that are not for the pot will put catch and release,and any fish that has a law on them i will put that on it as well

i don't want the topic to have anything to do with ministers or the government as we all can see how they manage fish stocks already,the idea of the topic is that myself and other anglers will have a idea of what to do with the size and species of fish we catch,it will be up to the angler to police themselves when they catch a fish,even if only a few anglers follow the list it will mean a few more fish will survive to grow bigger

i can see this turning into a Bass thread, these kind of threads usually do

not on my watch,bass are done on the list now it time to move to the other fish

may be catch and release for all rays and smooth hounds and spur dog?

we can thank the vice chairman for all his his hard work campaining to get us to be allowed count eels, we did in our last competition and the fisherys board turned up for a look an all to make sure everything was above board.we will be counting them this year as will most of the clubs hosting the munsters who attended a meeting a few months back.
fair play to gfkelly good post if nothing else it might educate a few people on fish sizes,i agree with min and max on the Bass,the rest of the fish i think should have min sizes and a max on what can be kept in any 24 hours.
i too often see lads with bags of 10+codling when they are running i have even seen lads with 5 or 6 cod in the 2-lb range and loads of tiny one pilled on the bank beside them??
i dont eat fish so put back 99% of all my fish ,not that im against it i would keep the cod for the wife and maybe one for the father but 2 cod around 2-4lb would feed 6 to 8 people so cant see point in bringing home fish for the sake of it ,to often hear people saying they went to the cat or the bin.

i am trying to educate myself from the post and maybe a few others,i have searched a lot on the web but can not find any size or weights for most of the species on the list
i too have seen the small fish piled up as well and was asked by a local if i caught a dogfish would i give it to him for his cat,never seem to catch a dogfish now

i not against taking a fish for the pot as i love eating fish but i would like to know what people think the minimum size of the fish should be
i only catch and release dogfish but i am not going to put dogfish down as catch and release as i know there are some anglers that like to eat them,i need a lot of information from other anglers on what they recommend on sizes so that the list can be a good guide to people

i would also like to know from the boat anglers if there are any other rare fish that they have caught that should be on the list,shore anglers as well

may be catch and release for all rays and smooth hounds and spur dog?

i thought about catch and release for all rays but i know there are people who like ray wings,i would think most of the ray eaten that would be thornbacks i will put down a recommended weight or cms across the wing,maybe all other ray will be catch and release

Undulate Ray,Cuckoo Ray,Spotted Ray smooth hounds and spur dog i would like to know if anyone eats them

Maybe only eat the male rays and not females.
Other fish should be 300mm min with pollack, coalie, cod 380mm.Ling 450mm
.Bass 400mm. Turbot,Brill and Plaice 350mm.
In my opinion if commercial fishermens size limits were increased to minimum breeding size we would have plenty of fish.This would result in fewer fish being killed ie(less fish numbers per tonne) and a more marketable catch being presented for sale.