Angling and conservation groups are gearing up for a parliamentary debate (Dec 3rd) on the management of sea bass stocks ahead of a crucial meeting of the EU Fisheries Council in Brussels.

The debate has been called by Conservative MP George Hollingbery, Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Angling, following the outcry over attempts by the European Commission to respond to the decline in bass numbers by limiting anglers to just one fish a day whilst proposing only minimal restrictions on the commercial fleet, who are responsible for more than three quarters of all bass mortalities.

The latest scientific advice issued by the International Council for the Exploitation of the Seas (ICES) in June 2014 recommends a staggering 80 per cent cut in landings of bass across the EU for 2015. This follows advice for a 36 per cent cut in 2013 which was not acted upon. The decline is the result of intensive overfishing, increasing fishing effort targeting the bass spawning aggregations and successive years of recruitment failure.

MPs will point out that Fisheries Ministers of both governments have been well aware of the parlous state of bass numbers around the inshore waters of England and Wales and the long overdue need to introduce measures to prevent a catastrophic stock collapse. The results from October’s Solent bass survey confirm five poor year classes in a row (2008 – 2012) and offers a bleak prospect for the future unless serious conservation measures are introduced.

The value to the economy of a European bass caught by sea anglers using rod and line is more than three times that of a fish caught and landed commercially, according to a study for the Blue Marine Foundation published today. The report also found that bass fishing by anglers also creates three times the number of jobs as commercial fishing, with a lower environmental impact than any commercial fishing method other than hook and line.

Research conducted by respected fisheries consultancy, MRAG, showed that anglers bass fishing in Sussex contributed to a total overall spend of  £31.3 million through tackle, charter boats and hotels to catch bass in 2012 and created 353 full time jobs.  In comparison, commercial sea bass landings in Sussex generated only £9.25 million and 111 full time jobs.

The conclusion drawn by the Blue Marine Foundation, which funded the study, and supported by the Angling Trust, is that it would be better both economically and environmentally if the commercial fleet converted to charter angling and rod and line fishing, making bass a recreational species as it is in Ireland.

http://www.bluemarinefoundation.com/a-new-report-commissioned-by-blue-suggests-fish-should-only-be-caught-with-hooks/

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