Julian Fox

C&R has its place - just like C&K. Millions of freshwater fish and fishermen can't be wrong - go and tell the carp fishermen about your C&K advocacy! You have to get back to why there are arguments about C&R - probably because there aren't as many fish in the sea as there once were. Once people have C&R fish they get something out of it - something 'else'. You either 'get' that or you don't. People that do get it, want to do it more and should be able to. Those that C&K can carry on - within the management objectives of the fishery (when we have some for the sea). Trout fisherman can't kill everything they catch for that same reason. Each to his own.

done

classic angling biggest problem is us anglers unite or get trampled on-simple as that we all prefer to get trampled on-obviously

Good grief 5 ton a week - how depressing. Makes you sick to think that these'll mostly be immature fish yet to spawn. They deserve better.

oddly - the forecast ain't good, typical.

Just goes to show the difference in focus from Gov't and the authorities. Enforcement is the issue. the amount of SW prosecutions are a joke - quite obviously.

Novice You need to work hard and practice - don't think this is going to be easy: inwardly digest (and join) www.ukbass.com

I think the expectation of most sea anglers is very low - conditioned behavior. Look at some of the posts on the sea fishing forum- guys happy to go out and catch a couple of doggies and few flatties for a good few hours on the coast. Which is of course absolutely fine. The whole point is that it could be so much better - it should be so much better.

SACN is surely all about raising awareness and trying to compete on equal terms with the commercials in policy and political terms. A long term goal, but all they can do is keep trying until the penny finally drops. The Golden mile is a brilliant way of getting to this end. An attack on LR is not the way to do it. If you don't like him then fine, but at the end of the day all of the issues LR is involved in are open to you as well. If you've got the motivation that is.

Possibly he'll be able to look at issues objectively with fact based decision making- something woefully missing in all marine politics at the moment.

Can imagine the %age in the UK? Perhaps it doesn't bear thinking about. Aus does it better than us - and takes some account of RSA.

It was nice to see a few bass about so early in the year - lets hope they stay about and don't all get knocked on the head by the crowd that keep the hotels going!

but looks loads better for this weekend - although the tides ain't much good. Swell down and the water will have cleared too

Wurzel We'll be waiting for your follow up report no doubt containing your detailed rebuffing of the science with interest then.......

I don't blame the scientists - I blame the politicians - who work for us - so perhaps we should blame ourselves anyway if you don't like the science, the answer is to get better science, not ignore it

just wondering for how long the scientists have to keep saying things before politicians and CFs take notice- then again as ICES know to their cost its 5 years and counting on the cod issue. see here http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/6191828.stm the slow change in climate is altering marine life - but it isn't siginificant when considering the impact that CF has. more food for thought

Charles - not caught the series yet but your book was a really good one - as someone who's fished the top end of Aus your chapter on the barra hit the mark really well. Actually I've got the bug- I'm back in March to get more big trevally!

Good Luck Paul - get bassin asap read all you can fish all you can listen all you can and then join BASS

mmm ... the scientists have been telling them zero catch for five years, I wonder what the chances are they'll listen this time?

he sea fishes reasonably often- just doesn't write about it much

MPAs should work well where they have very specific well researched scientific objectives. Protecting sedentary populations (scallops spring to mind, spawning aggregations etc ) should be easily done and understandable. The problem arises where they are put in place with little justification and no objectives. MPAs should not be 'no take', unless that matches up with the objectives. One reason is that you have to measure success, if there isn't an objective then it won't work.

Australian's catch dolphins?

the MSc principles http://www.msc.org/assets/docs/fishery_cer...mp;Criteria.doc outline that the fishery must maintain a healthy population of targetted species. Healthy is not a term I would use for the bass population as the current determination of 'healthy' (presumably by ICES) takes no account of the use of that population by RSA, or the general public.

I would suggest lots of complaints on the basis that the current MLS of 36, soon to be 40cm, does not allow the speices to breed once, and therefore it cannot be 'sustainable'. http://www.msc.org/assets/docs/Accreditati...oc_v1_Jan06.pdf

this is the RIA with references to CEFAS papers http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/...ls/full-ria.pdf and some mention in here http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/...-cefaspaper.pdf