New BASS MLS ! At last!

[Moonyaker]

Looks like it is a graphic post rating system Hungry. The Bars seem to increase by approximately one with every 20 posts until you get 5 bars at around 100 posts. But, you may lose your Bars if you dont use capital 'I' instead of 'i' in your posts as it seems like there is a purge on grammar at the moment Oh, and for being a smart a-se and impersonating a moderator, you lose 2 Bars!

[Moonyaker]

I've just been reading the various debate on the 40cm MLS on the Sea Fishing section of this forum and as usual it is getting vociferous and heated. Clearly no one is particularly happy about things but the fundamental problem is that whilst there is a market for Bass that there will always be someone looking to take as much as they can for themselves until there is nothing left.

 

However, if that market were reduced, this would take pressure off Bass stocks and reduce the returns. The UK is probably not the only market for Bass caught around our shores I know but I guess it must be a signficant part of it and 2 million anglers are a significant market in themselves, not just for Bass but for other goods too.

 

I do not consider myself to be a radical in any direction but it strikes me that excercising discretion in where such a large body of people bought goods may go a long way to putting pressure on the powers that be to get off the fence and be decisive rather than placatory in their approaches.

 

If you were to use the 'Fur' analogy, there is an argument that says that 'fake fur' simply stimulates demand for the real thing and is therefore just as bad as the skin off the back of an animal that serves no other purpose than to be an adornment on the shoulders of some (in my opinion) thoughtless inconsiderate. You could apply this analogy to farmed bass too. This next bit is perhaps a little radical I do concede ...if we were mindful to exercise our economic muscle in places where Bass were sold in any way then this could make a difference and the same approach could be applied to other fish too.

 

Just a wild thought!

[Simon Everett]

Moonyaker, you are right on the mark.

BASS has been promoting an initiative in the south west already which helps to address the situation. It is one for line caught bass only - and it IS working. Restaurants that are embracing the initiative are able to charge a premium for the bass they sell, because they are wild, line caught bass. The inititative is well regulated - so no net caught fish are coming through because the fish are identified. Ths helps to protect the small, line fisherman from the price collapse that a big haul from the nets can create. It is also very much more sustainable, as a line fisherman will find it hard to catch in a year what a trawler can take in just one good haul.

 

The other way to attack the market is to educate the end user about the ecology of bass - nobody buys baby salmon, the convention is to buy portions from a big fish. THAT is what we should be promoting for bass - use steaks, cutlets and portion sized pieces from a big, mature fish, not using a whole, portion sized bass - for the consumer it is very much more economic too as there is more meat on a big fish than on a small one - where the ratio of flesh to bone is typically as low as 30% - on a mature fish this can rise to more than double at 65%.

 

For the commercial fisherman the profit of catching bigger fish, which fetch more than 5x the price per kilo - and they weigh more kilos, is immense. They earn more for doing less and I cannot understand why they can't see that. In the USA the commercials were the first to realise the benefits of a large MLS - and now they make an absolute fortune and will not allow the fishery to be decimated. You don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg unless you are a complete moron - oh dear, maybe that is why our fishermen can't see it!

[sandgrownen]

Moonyaker, you are right on the mark.

BASS has been promoting an initiative in the south west already which helps to address the situation. It is one for line caught bass only - and it IS working. Restaurants that are embracing the initiative are able to charge a premium for the bass they sell, because they are wild, line caught bass. The inititative is well regulated - so no net caught fish are coming through because the fish are identified. Ths helps to protect the small, line fisherman from the price collapse that a big haul from the nets can create. It is also very much more sustainable, as a line fisherman will find it hard to catch in a year what a trawler can take in just one good haul.

 

The other way to attack the market is to educate the end user about the ecology of bass - nobody buys baby salmon, the convention is to buy portions from a big fish. THAT is what we should be promoting for bass - use steaks, cutlets and portion sized pieces from a big, mature fish, not using a whole, portion sized bass - for the consumer it is very much more economic too as there is more meat on a big fish than on a small one - where the ratio of flesh to bone is typically as low as 30% - on a mature fish this can rise to more than double at 65%.

 

For the commercial fisherman the profit of catching bigger fish, which fetch more than 5x the price per kilo - and they weigh more kilos, is immense. They earn more for doing less and I cannot understand why they can't see that. In the USA the commercials were the first to realise the benefits of a large MLS - and now they make an absolute fortune and will not allow the fishery to be decimated. You don't kill the goose that lays the golden egg unless you are a complete moron - oh dear, maybe that is why our fishermen can't see it!

 

After reading this and other threads about Sea Bass there seems to be an single accepted view being formed along a single line of thought.

This piece of research by one of the local Boat fishing clubs into Bass conservation suggests that there is no correlation between Sea Bass size and there maturity in the Fylde Coast & Morcecambe Bay area.

http://www.fbac.co.uk/General%20Informatio...3%20summary.pdf

The boat guys take big fish yet the Bass stocks in the area would appear to be strengthening.

Also anecdotally the beach fishermen seem to be catching & taking more and more Bass from the beach I have seen it myself while walking the beach and talking to them.

One conclusion I have made from the general feel of the FBAC site is that the Bass fishing off our coasts has been improving with the warmer waters.

It a good site with interesting information.

I am thinking of buying Elite 4.5 and trying some fishing but the Lune Deeps between Fleetwood and the Bay seems to be a place to avoid as the boat guys find it a place to take extreme care.

 

Regards

Chris

[Somerset in Jersey]

Question

 

Did any one see the F word the other night when they went spear fishing for Bass? How do you regulate fish sizes if being spear fished? if we are saying that all undersized fish should be returned, this can only hapen if you have it hooked in your hand. I can not see any way that spear fishermen can accuratly judge the size of a fish through the water as the refractive index and light, size propotions through water make this judgement impossible.

 

Plus once speared its a bit to late to say Oh dear thats a small one. Personally recon Spear fishermen take far to much fish compared to anglers. Even if they say thier is a law forbiding sale of speared fish.

In my mind any fish that has a legal minimum size should be banned from being caught using this method.

[Martin Hurst]

just want to see how many bars I have