Letters to Politicians Regarding Bass Bye-Law

[Codswallop]

Alright folks. This is a copy of a letter John D and I sent to several politicians and ministers. Im sure there are alot more people who have sent this. There is an interesting reply from the Green Party below.

Hello ,



I am writing to you in hope that the Bass bye laws are going to be signed again soon. Bass angling has huge socioeconomic benefits for Ireland if it is nurtured and promoted effectively. This can only happen if the fish are present around our shores in good numbers. I share this view with thousands of other sea anglers around Ireland.



It would be a shame not to sign the bye law again this year and I hope you will give some considerable thought to signing it on a permanent basis.



I'm not sure how big of an impact you can have in the resigning of the bye laws but considering the points above I urge you please to try and contribute something towards it and if at all possible making it permanent.



Yours faithfully,
Steven Dunne

[Codswallop]

Below is a very interesting reply, and maybe worth looking into.


Dear Mr. Dunne,

I am writing to you in response to your email below regarding the re-signing of the bass bye-laws. Trevor Sargent passed me on your correspondence as I act as Green Party Spokesperson on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.

I am very much in agreement with the sentiments you express below and to this end I have tabled the following Parliamentary Question for Minister Dempsey:

To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources when he intends to re-sign the Bass bye laws and what restrictions he will including therein.

The question is scheduled for oral response in the Dail next Friday, 26th May. I look forward to challenging the Minister on this issue and I will forward you on a copy of the Dail transcript in due course.

Kindest Regards,

Eamon Ryan

[Codswallop]

Today is the day when Mr. Eamon Ryan will be challenging the minister on this topic. I know there is a program on RTE some nights, when questions to the Ministers are answered. This Question may possibly be answered later on this evening.

[teacher]

Today is the day when Mr. Eamon Ryan will be challenging the minister on this topic. I know there is a program on RTE some nights, when questions to the Ministers are answered. This Question may possibly be answered later on this evening.

Nice one.

Someone with broadband might try the following link:
http://www.heanet.ie/services/multimedi ... s/dail.asx

I shagged up my windows pc last night install Microsoft's latest "upgrade" so it'll be a couple of hours before I can look in.

Jonathan

[x]

In fairness Eamon Ryan seems to be the almost the only politician who gives a fiddlers and I've had dealings with him regarding other marine issues and he's got questions asked and answered in the Dail and is prompt and replys to every email. His party appear to be the only one out there with a marine agenda that is not devoted to exclusively supporting the commercial lobby. Maybe that is something to think about the next time you're voting. Or if you think voting's not worth while, reconsider.

[teacher]

Does the Dáil sit on Fridays? I don't see any agenda.

[John D]

I logged on to the above link today Friday 26th May but an image is displayed stating 'Dail Eireann - Adjourned until Tuesday 30th May 2006 14:30 hrs.

The point Sandman made re: votes for the Green party in his above post is worth considering guys and gals.

Tight lines
John D

[jd]

Does the Dáil sit on Fridays? I don't see any agenda.

No it doesn't. And it is now adjourned 'till September.

[teacher]

No it doesn't. And it is now adjourned 'till September.

:evil: :x :evil: :x :evil: :x :evil: :x :evil:

Now that the politicians have more time on their hands, we should be pestering them twice as much.

I wrote a (paper) letter to John Browne and got absolutely nothing by way of acknowledgement. I emailed Sean O'Neachtain about "inshore fishing and the problems encountered by inshore fishermen" and got nothing in return. I will be voting accordingly.

Our elected "representatives" have become complacent. If you write a letter and don't get a response, write two more. Use email. Use the post. Send a copy to shadow spokesmen and other constituency TDs and if you get a meaningful response from them, send a copy of the response to the Minister asking for comments. Make yourself a pain in the arse.

[teacher]

p.s. If you're sending an email, make sure you tick the box in your email program to get a read receipt. In thunderbird, its "Options"->"Return Receipt". There should be a similar option in Outlook, gmail etc. That will give you some indication whether the email was even read. I've noticed it can take a month or more for some TDs to acknowledge receipt of an email. So much for the so called information society. (There's no obligation for someone to return a read receipt, but a lot of people do.)

p.p.s. Don't request receipts in general or from friends, they are :twisted:

Jonathan

[teacher]

This was on the list of questions for the minister yesterday (30th May):

134. To ask the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources when
he intends to re-sign the Bass by-laws; and the restrictions he will be placing on them. —
Ciarán Cuffe. [20772/06]

I can't find any more about it. Perhaps someone familiar with navigating through Dáil business might find it.

Jonathan

[corbyeire]

fair play teacher - good research

[jd]

I think it was treated as a written question

[teacher]

Tell us something we don't know ...

134. Mr. Cuffe Information Zoom asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Information Zoom when he intends to re-sign the Bass by-laws; and the restrictions he will be placing on them. [20772/06]

Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (Mr. Browne): Information Zoom The Bass (Conservation of Stocks) Order, in place since 1990, prohibits the commercial fishing of sea bass by Irish sea fishing boats. The domestic conservation measures for sea bass are kept under review on an annual basis, in light of scientific assessments by the Central Fisheries Board and the Marine Institute of the state of sea bass stocks as well as assessments of the impact of commercial fishing effort on sea bass stocks by other Member States.

Last year, having reviewed the scientific assessments relating to sea bass, the Bass (Restriction on Sale) Order was renewed for a further year. The effect of this Order is to prohibit the sale or offer for sale of bass (other than bass which has been imported into the State) from 1st day of July, 2005 to 30th day of June, 2006. The Bass Fishing Conservation Bye Law which imposes a bag limit on anglers of two bass in any one period of twenty four hours and provides for a ban on angling for bass during the spawning season was also renewed last year.

I am awaiting updated scientific advice on the current state of the Bass stock and I will make a decision on the matter before the expiry of the current provisions.

I wonder what scientific advice our esteemed minister of state is waiting for. The marine institute Stock Book for 2005 already recommends maintaining the regulations and enforcing them.

http://www.marine.ie/industry+services/ ... sts'05.pdf

Jonathan

[teacher]

I think it was treated as a written question

Tell us something we don't know ...

Sorry, jd, that wasn't directed at you but at the minister. Should have read my post in context first :lol:

[jd]

I wonder what scientific advice our esteemed minister of state is waiting for. The marine institute Stock Book for 2005 already recommends maintaining the regulations and enforcing them.

http://www.marine.ie/industry+services/ ... sts'05.pdf

Jonathan

All politics is local. Eg One councillor,ex mayor of Wexford use fish for bass in the harbour, and afair has complained about the ban..
jd

[John D]

John Browne said "I am awaiting updated scientific advice on the current state of the Bass stock and I will make a decision on the matter before the expiry of the current provisions."

Thanks to teachers research skills I used the information that I learned about the Stock Book being published already to e-mail John Browne and Noel Dempsey.

John D

[Bradan]

Tell us something we don't know ...

134. Mr. Cuffe Information Zoom asked the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Information Zoom when he intends to re-sign the Bass by-laws; and the restrictions he will be placing on them. [20772/06]

Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (Mr. Browne): Information Zoom The Bass (Conservation of Stocks) Order, in place since 1990, prohibits the commercial fishing of sea bass by Irish sea fishing boats. The domestic conservation measures for sea bass are kept under review on an annual basis, in light of scientific assessments by the Central Fisheries Board and the Marine Institute of the state of sea bass stocks as well as assessments of the impact of commercial fishing effort on sea bass stocks by other Member States.

Last year, having reviewed the scientific assessments relating to sea bass, the Bass (Restriction on Sale) Order was renewed for a further year. The effect of this Order is to prohibit the sale or offer for sale of bass (other than bass which has been imported into the State) from 1st day of July, 2005 to 30th day of June, 2006. The Bass Fishing Conservation Bye Law which imposes a bag limit on anglers of two bass in any one period of twenty four hours and provides for a ban on angling for bass during the spawning season was also renewed last year.

I am awaiting updated scientific advice on the current state of the Bass stock and I will make a decision on the matter before the expiry of the current provisions.

I wonder what scientific advice our esteemed minister of state is waiting for. The marine institute Stock Book for 2005 already recommends maintaining the regulations and enforcing them.

http://www.marine.ie/industry+services/ ... sts'05.pdf

Jonathan

From what I heard at conference today, the commercial industry is constantly lobbying to have the restrictions on bass fishing lifted, hence the annual renewal of the ban based on scientific advice for that year. The info in the stock book is based on several datasets, some of which are related to angling catches. So the more bass we report caught - the healthier the stock appears, and the greater the chance of commercial fishing being allowed again :evil:
Not that I would advocate keeping good catches quiet of course.... :P :roll:

[John D]

What Bradan's post means is that we should all be consistently writing letters to Politicians asking for the ban to be re-signed. In the letters explain that the stocks aren't recovering quickly enough (this is the truth!) and also highlight the economic importance of bass angling and also how it enhances the quality of thousands of people's lives in Ireland.

Yours faithfully,
John D.

[shambobala]

Got a phone call from my mum last night to tell me she'd seen a few anglers on a local beach land a few 7lb + bass (knowing i'd be interested to hear about the mark producing some decent fish again). having caught, and released 2 decent fish from the same mark a week previously I was extremely annoyed to hear of them keeping these fish.

But then, many Irish anglers don't read the magazines or fishing websites and quite probably don't know about this ban (as the above anglers said when my mum told them this !!)

There should be some efforts made to publicise the ban at known bass marks around the country, and not just a BIG FINE sign, but also an explanation as to why there is a close season.

Also, it shouldn't be too difficult to "deputise" volunteers to work on behalf of the fisheries boards. I'm sure many of us with an interest in protecting our sport would be willing to act as occassional "officers" in order to try and stop such illegal practices as we often see. Might get the Gardai to react too if one had some sort of official accreditation.