UTOPIA

[Ken Davison South Wales]

Hi Disillusioned,

 

I agree 100% that in certain areas you have to go for the main issues and attack from the front.

 

I also like the errosion approach which was deployed extreemly well by the freshwater boys and I have to say that Greenpeace also exploit that type of approach very well.

 

Picking on individual sectors that stir up public sympathy, the freshwater lads did this well by highlighting pollution.

 

No one wants a polluted river full of stinking fish on their back door step, no more than I want to eat bacon contaminated with fish oil ( this was bought the other day and I have to say it was news to me).

 

Here is an issue that the general public are not aware of. Tons of sandeels being netted, depriving fish and birds of their natural foods to add taste or texture to bacon. I honestly think that this is one to exploit. It is gross.

 

It also happens to be extreemly important to sea anglers, one of the bottom links for all species.

We could even stir up an issue between various factors of the trawling brigade quietly and weaken their strangle hold.

 

I know a lot of people would say that this is not British and I would agree, but if we are going to make an impact being British is the least of my worries. Faint heart and all that!!

[Ian Burrett]

sam-cox:

Bass are no way near in decline, in fact there are many more bass than there ever has been. This is no MAFF or DEFRA triamph, its because of lots of good spawning years, this in fact is geting better year after year. Globle warming has ment that conditions for bass spawning and a high fry servival rate are just geting better and better.

There is one problem most of these fish are small, as they are not allowed to mature before being fished at 36cm. If the mesh size was to increase to target fish of around 3 to 4lb, the fish would of spawned a few times before getting caught. Not only that but bigger fish are worth more due to small farmed fish flooding the market. So rasing the MLS would be good all round.We now have loads of bass lets look after them.

Has the Bass nursery areas had no effect then?

 

What age do Bass become sexually mature? I would be suprised if they would have spawned a couple of times, by the time they are 3 lb

[Leon Roskilly]

Disillusioned:

 

What age do Bass become sexually mature?

Age 3 3% 21.5cm

Age 4 23% 35.3cm

Age 5 43% 39.9cm

Age 6 57% 41.6cm

Age 7 90% 46.5cm

age 8 all 49.1cm

 

Tight Lines - leon

 

[ 19. January 2005, 11:13 PM: Message edited by: Leon Roskilly ]

[Leon Roskilly]

sam-cox:

Bass are no way near in decline, in fact there are many more bass than there ever has been.  

The advice from ICES is that the bass pair trawl fishery is sustainable and because of this you will get short shrift when writing to politicians claiming that this fishery isn't.

 

The problem is what do we mean by sustainable?

 

With bass, they lay so many eggs that relatively few fish need to spawn each year to produce the juveniles taken in their first year of spawning.

 

(What's termed a 'recruitment fishery')

 

Of course when you are a commercial netsmen, it's tonnage of fish landed that is important, not the size. In fact, plate sized bass are ideal.

 

The potential problem is that UK bass are traditionally at the northen end of their range, and in the past, more often than not, whole year groups were wiped out as juveniles in the estuaries where they spend the first few years of their lives.

 

When there were reasonably large numbers of the bigger fish around, (before the pair trawlers located the spawning shoals) that meant that there were plenty of mature adult fish to produce further spawnings, even when successive year classes of juveniles were wiped out by the cold.

 

Now we have a situation where the fishery might be 'sustainable', but that could change very quickly should we return to a succession of cold winters. We are fishing at the limits of ecological viability, gambling that wont happen.

 

If it does, then with the cod gone, we'll have to rely on pouting for our sport.

 

The case that we are trying to make, to the government and fishery managers is that bass, if managed primarily as a sports fish, with plenty of large fish available, would be worth far more to the economy than 8,000 tonee of poor quality pair-trawled fish competing with 60,000 tonne of farmed fish coming from southern Europe.

 

(Larger bass are worth more per kilo to inshore fishermen than smaller fish, so a 3lber is worth much more than 3 1lb fish, an 8lber even more so)

 

If the Bass Manaegement Plan is adopted (see http://www.anglers-net.co.uk/sacn/latest/i...ex.php?view=192 ) that would introduce a close season, protecting spawning bass within the UK 12 mile zone, so your support for the plan is vital.

 

Write!

 

 

See also: http://www.anglers-net.co.uk/sacn/latest/i...ex.php?view=228 (big fish are best spawners!)

 

 

Tight Lines - leon

 

(Can you imagine catching 5lb - 8lb bass most times you go fishing? That's what could be on the cards! - It happened in the States)

 

[ 19. January 2005, 11:20 PM: Message edited by: Leon Roskilly ]

[Leon Roskilly]

Disillusioned:

Has the Bass nursery areas had no effect then?

The honest answer is that nobody knows.

 

It may be a combination of global warming and the nursery areas, or it might all be down to global warming.

 

How can you tell?

 

But what is certain is that the bass nursery areas have not harmed the bass population, and may very well have been a very major factor in the success of bass.

 

It would be foolish to write them out of the equation, then find that they had indeed been vital.

 

 

Tight Lines - leon

[maximo]

sam how do you define an estuary for c and release.

as some of us have to fish them a lot.i agree at certain times of year they hold a lot of small fish but anyone with any gumption would avoid them anyway.

[Leon Roskilly]

Ken Davison South Wales:

 

I do have time to devote to anything they think I can help with or do.

Anyone whose wondering how best to get involved should have a look at:

 

http://www.anglersnet.co.uk/sacn/article22.htm

 

 

Tight Lines - leon

[sam-cox]

What bass nursury area, the only nursury area in the Blackwater is the Baffle and thats only 600 yards long..

Nursury areas would not be needed if we shut of the commercial fishing from 1 mile.

[Jaffa]

I read through that Bass Management Plan and found it very impressive. Its factual, clearly sets out the problems, and comes up with a rational and achievable plan of action. I have nothing but respect for all the hard work that must have gone into it and will be writing to my areas politicians and encouraging them to support it.

 

When it comes to Cod and other demersal species caught in mixed trawl fisheries, its hard to see that anything like this could be put forward atm . Perhaps the best hope for cod is not to attempt to seperate cod from the jigsaw and make cod specific laws, but to push for closed areas,rest periods, and the banning of certain methods; ie try and protect the grounds then hope the cod can take advantage.

[Ken Davison South Wales]

Hi Jaffa,

 

I have to say your last para. make excellent sense, much easier to control, covers all species. If that could be achieved plus some further inshore netting restrictions without putting full timers out of business, we could see some light.

 

Last time out I saw one under size bass and two flounders retained by one angler.

 

What are the current penalties for retaining under size fish?

 

If we are going to be licenced it would be a good idea for the licence to contain size limits then no one can claim they were not aware of the law.