The Bass measures agreed at the December EU Council Meeting have been published in the EU Journal and therefore become law at midnight tonight (28th Jan).
The full text is here and bass is dealt with in article 10
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/ ... LL&from=ENArticle 10
Measures on Sea bass fisheries
1. It shall be prohibited for Union fishing vessels to fish for sea bass in ICES divisions VIIb, VIIc, VIIj and VIIk, as well as in the waters of ICES divisions VIIa and VIIg that are more than 12 nautical miles from the baseline under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom. It shall be prohibited for Union fishing vessels to retain on board, tranship, relocate or land sea bass caught in that area.
2. From 1 January to 30 June 2016, it shall be prohibited for Union fishing vessels to fish for sea bass and to retain on board, relocate, tranship or land sea bass caught in the following areas:
(a)
ICES divisions IVb, IVc, VIId, VIIe, VIIf and VIIh;
(b)
waters within 12 nautical miles from baseline under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom in ICES divisions VIIa and VIIg.
By derogation from the first subparagraph, the following measures shall apply in the areas referred to in that subparagraph:
(a)
a Union fishing vessel deploying demersal trawls and seines (31) may retain on board catches of sea bass that do not exceed 1 % of the weight of the total catches of marine organisms on board;
(b)
in January 2016 and from 1 April to 30 June 2016, Union fishing vessels using hooks and lines, and fixed gillnets (32) may fish for sea bass and retain on board, relocate, tranship or land sea bass caught in that area not exceeding 1 300 kilograms per any vessel per month.
3. From 1 July to 31 December 2016 it shall be prohibited for Union fishing vessels using hooks, lines and fixed gillnets to fish for sea bass in quantities exceeding 1 300 kilograms per any vessel per month and for Union fishing vessels using other gears to fish for sea bass in quantities exceeding 1 000 kilograms per any vessel per month in the following areas:
(a)
ICES divisions IVb, IVc, VIId, VIIe, VIIf and VIIh;
(b)
waters within 12 nautical miles from baseline under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom in ICES divisions VIIa and VIIg.
During that period, it shall also be prohibited for Union fishing vessels to retain on board, relocate, tranship or land quantities of sea bass exceeding the quantities set in the first subparagraph caught in those areas.
4. The catch limits set in paragraphs 2 and 3 shall not be transferable from one month to another or between vessels. Member States shall report to the Commission catches of sea bass per type of gear not later than 20 days after the end of each month.
For Union fishing vessels using more than one gear in a single calendar month, the lowest catch limit set in paragraph 3 for either gear shall apply.
5. From 1 January to 30 June 2016 in recreational fisheries in ICES divisions IVb, IVc, VIIa and from VIId to VIIh, only catch-and-release fishing for sea bass, including from shore, shall be allowed. During this period, it shall be prohibited to retain on board, relocate, tranship or land sea bass caught in that area.
6. In recreational fisheries, including from shore, not more than one specimen of sea bass may be retained per fisherman per day during the following periods and in the following areas:
(a)
from 1 July to 31 December 2016 in ICES divisions IVb, IVc, VIIa and from VIId to VIIh;
(b)
from 1 January to 31 December 2016 in ICES divisions VIIj and VIIk.
