Rsa versus Commercial

[wurzel]

And herein lies a significant part of the problem.

 

ICES, STECF, ACFM, the EU, DEFRA and CEFAS all claim that bass stocks are at sustainable levels, and the commercial sector use this to support their own position, thats fine, I would probably agree. The problem is how you define sustainable and to what reference are you applying the statement. We hear an increasing rhetoric with regard to the importance of considering the social and economic value of commercial fishing, which again is difficult to argue against. However, if you consider the sustainable utilisation of a stock in terms of commercial exploitation only then it is that sector for which the maximum benefits will accrue. Alternatively if you were to consider sustainable in reference to include recreational exploitation, then the picture would be significantly different.

 

There is no doubt that bass stocks are on the increase in the North Sea, we hear more frequently about how anglers are catching them in comparision to 7 or 8 years ago, although as a result of the increased distribution, sea angling effort has also increased proportionately. However, if I look through local club match records (8 clubs), it is clear that there has been no increase in the numbers of bass weighed in during a season, if anything the picture is significantly more variable, and the bass fishery appears to have been more stable back in 2002/03 when it first began to take off. I know for a fact that the number of bass caught last week by one vessel is greater than all the sea angling clubs recorded bass landings over the last 10 years. Is it any coincidence that sea angling catches stabilised or slightly declined once commercial interest and consequently, pressure increased, despite the obvious increase in bass numbers.

 

The whole point is that currently managers and scientists assess the sustainability of our marine resources in the context of commercial harvesting, that does not account for the requirements of sea angling, i.e. if the SSB is 100K ton, then the TAC can be 50k ton. For anglers to benefit from the hypothetical model, the SSB would need to be 130k ton, that would give the commercial sector access to an acceptable level whilst allowing anglers a realistic opportunity to catch fish. The problem is, is that the latter hypothetical model will never occur all the while that science considers resources as a valuable commercial commodity.

 

Doc.

 

Hello Doc

 

Is there a TAC for bass? no doubt if you (rsa) employed a scientist he could come up with a hypothetical model to suit your needs.

 

The way I would explain what you describe with the club matches is just a fluctuation in the stock, perhaps just local to your area but I suspect much the same has happened all over. The bass caught in the matches back in 2003 were of a better year class from probably 6 or 7 years previous the catches from that year will slowly decrease they gat caught by anglers and commercials they also move, get bigger stay further off or populate wrecks, anglers are always complaining that all the bass are small , that’s not true, but it is true that 99% of what they catch are small, they are the result of a huge year class from 2002 they are still only 5 years old when they are 6 7 and 8 years old then you will see a rise in the numbers of bass being weighed in your matches again, as there is some consecutive good year classes coming on, something that has not happen before in our life time, the catches should be good for several years, but with bass you have to wait unlike cod where you see the benefit of a good year class with in 2 years.

Anglers are complaining that the greedy commercials will hammer them and they won't get a look in, again I can't see why, I remember the 76 year class it kept commercials and anglers going for several years during the 80s, this 2002 year class is supposed to be 3 times bigger the ones following are of a similar size to 76, there is probably less than half the boats targeting them so why should you not get your share as you did during the 80s?

[stavey]

And herein lies a significant part of the problem.

 

ICES, STECF, ACFM, the EU, DEFRA and CEFAS all claim that bass stocks are at sustainable levels, and the commercial sector use this to support their own position, thats fine, I would probably agree. The problem is how you define sustainable and to what reference are you applying the statement. We hear an increasing rhetoric with regard to the importance of considering the social and economic value of commercial fishing, which again is difficult to argue against. However, if you consider the sustainable utilisation of a stock in terms of commercial exploitation only then it is that sector for which the maximum benefits will accrue. Alternatively if you were to consider sustainable in reference to include recreational exploitation, then the picture would be significantly different.

 

There is no doubt that bass stocks are on the increase in the North Sea, we hear more frequently about how anglers are catching them in comparision to 7 or 8 years ago, although as a result of the increased distribution, sea angling effort has also increased proportionately. However, if I look through local club match records (8 clubs), it is clear that there has been no increase in the numbers of bass weighed in during a season, if anything the picture is significantly more variable, and the bass fishery appears to have been more stable back in 2002/03 when it first began to take off. I know for a fact that the number of bass caught last week by one vessel is greater than all the sea angling clubs recorded bass landings over the last 10 years. Is it any coincidence that sea angling catches stabilised or slightly declined once commercial interest and consequently, pressure increased, despite the obvious increase in bass numbers.

 

The whole point is that currently managers and scientists assess the sustainability of our marine resources in the context of commercial harvesting, that does not account for the requirements of sea angling, i.e. if the SSB is 100K ton, then the TAC can be 50k ton. For anglers to benefit from the hypothetical model, the SSB would need to be 130k ton, that would give the commercial sector access to an acceptable level whilst allowing anglers a realistic opportunity to catch fish. The problem is, is that the latter hypothetical model will never occur all the while that science considers resources as a valuable commercial commodity.

 

Doc.

 

Hi doc

 

This is the point i am trying to get at i dont realy care that much what the commercial considers is a healthy stock for them, its what is a healthy stock for the rsa, at the moment i think every species that is important to the rsa is clearly not in a healthy state ie, cod/bass/mullet/smoothound etc, (not in a decent size) were i live things have not changed in three decades apart from in a downward spirral to almost non existent as far as quality caught fish from the shore is concerned.

 

Maybe its time for the rsa to draw up there own models on the state of how healthy stocks of fish that are important to them are! rather than rely on what cefas etc do for the commercials, this could be achieved without the scientists like records of catch reports from the hundreds of clubs, and sales linked in the tackle trade to the good years and bad, at the moment there are some classic signs that have repeated itself for the last three decades, these last few weeks has seen the biggest influx of baby codling caught off the beach down here since the years 1996/7 and 1986/7, apart from the obvious ten year gaps, my belief is that the solar sunspot cycle is linked to all of these events as these dates occur bang on with the exact minimums of these cycles including this present one which is now!! anyway i have checked with the local tackle dealer and he found that these years and the year after saw his sales rocket through the roof for beach tackle etc, he is rubbing his hands in anticipation, but he also knows that after the winter of 2008 they will all be gone for another 8/9 years until the next cycle minimum, due to them all being taken by the commercials nets, these sort of records are not cooked up by scientists and the like, they are pure facts from real people and maybe they can be collected and put forward to help with the arguement for more and bigger fish etc, cheers............

 

ps. remember you heard it hear first!! about the sunspot cycle and the minimum period of these connections to cod cycles.

 

pps. there could also be a bass cycle connected to all this as well i wonder if you can guess what part of the sunspot cycle occurs at these times? that is if you are not lost with this analogy, wurzel may have a clue as he is along the right lines with his global warming but it aint quite that simple as the the worlds scientists are finding out by just dealing with green house gases, all life on earth is connected to the sun, especially its cycles ciao.............

Edited March 20, 2007 by stavey

[The doctor]

Hi Stavey,

 

yes I'm aware of the effect the solar storms have on the planet, I'm also aware of the trends in terms of temperature rise these solar events have, and the opposing effect of low solar outbursts. Like Wurzel, and probably a number of people, I have never been convinced wrt to the effect of carbon emissions and the alledged contribution to the 'greenhouse effect'. I am more inclined to believe that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a greater influence on fish stocks, recruitment etc. than the 'global warming influence wrt sea temperature rise. The sun is what drives our planet and the vast majority of life on it, I don't see why the shallow seas are any different, in fact without the effects of the sun on the oceans surface waters a large percentage of the deep abyssal fauna would not be able to survive either IMO.

 

Simply put; the solar winds eminating from the sun strike the earth, they modify the earths climate, which in turn switches the NAO between the negative and positive phases and visa versa, these episodes can build up over a number of years to a major climax, and then dissipate in both frequency and intensity over a similar but not identical period. As you suggest there is a good correlation between the peak recruitment years for cod and these solar driven events.

 

Is there a TAC for bass? no doubt if you (rsa) employed a scientist he could come up with a hypothetical model to suit your needs.

 

No there isn't a TAC for Bass, it was after all a hypothetical example. I suppose we could employ a scientist to produce a hypothetical model to suit the needs of RSA, although I'm more concerned with stocks in general rather than concentrating on a single species like bass. But until such time that we have the available funds and support to do so, we will have to rely on the out put from your guys (CEFAS), and hope that your sponsors (DEFRA) are able to see the bigger picture.

 

The way I would explain what you describe with the club matches is just a fluctuation in the stock, perhaps just local to your area but I suspect much the same has happened all over. The bass caught in the matches back in 2003 were of a better year class from probably 6 or 7 years previous.

 

I see where you are coming from, but the CEFAS data for the North Sea just doesn't support that to any great extent. 97 was nothing special, 98 was poor, 99 none existant, it was only after 2000 that recruitment showed any real signs of promise. 2002 was quite good, but half of 92's potential, since then there has been a noticeable decline and poor recruitment. The SSB has risen by approx. 1/4 over the same period, although F has increased from about 0.1 to just over 0.3 again for the same period, and I expect F to be approaching 0.4 by the end of this year. According to CEFAS there were 626 UK vessels targeting bass in the Central and Southern North Sea in 2005.

 

the catches from that year will slowly decrease they gat caught by anglers and commercials they also move, get bigger stay further off or populate wrecks, anglers are always complaining that all the bass are small , that’s not true, but it is true that 99% of what they catch are small, they are the result of a huge year class from 2002 they are still only 5 years old when they are 6 7 and 8 years old then you will see a rise in the numbers of bass being weighed in your matches again, as there is some consecutive good year classes coming on, something that has not happen before in our life time, the catches should be good for several years, but with bass you have to wait unlike cod where you see the benefit of a good year class with in 2 years.

 

The fish we are seeing now are the 2002 year class (40+cm), it will be intersting to see how the anglers and commercial guys get on this year. As stated above, CEFASS data indicates relatively poor and declining recruitment since 2003, so not the year class strengths coming through that we would like to see. Still when its gone its gone, no point crying over spilt milk.

 

Anglers are complaining that the greedy commercials will hammer them and they won't get a look in, again I can't see why, I remember the 76 year class it kept commercials and anglers going for several years during the 80s, this 2002 year class is supposed to be 3 times bigger the ones following are of a similar size to 76, there is probably less than half the boats targeting them so why should you not get your share as you did during the 80s?

 

Again according to the most recent CEFAS data (Bass in the North Sea - 2006) "vessels fishing for bass peaked at 451 in 1994,....... then rose again to 626 in 2005. Indications are that the number of boats fishing for bass in the North Sea has in actual fact doubled since the mid 80's, certainly if the number peaked in 1994 at 451, and there are now 626 boats (2005), so your contention that there are half the number of boats fishing for bass is unfounded I'm afraid. Unless someone is telling porkie pies!!!!!! As above, I have no figures for 1976, but bass recruitment in 2002 was half of that recorded during 1992, a year which you don't seem to think as of noteworthy. I couldn't comment on the 1992 yr class as we very rarely saw anything other than a few schoolies. Subsequent recruitment in 2003 and 2004 was lower than 2002 (2004 looks to be about 1/5th of 2002), still too early yet but I suspect that 2006 was a total blow out. CEFAS also state that landings by English vessels in the central and southern North Sea (2004/2005) were around 400 tons, a 300% increase since 1993.

 

I only report the facts as they are published so please don't shoot the messenger

Edited March 21, 2007 by The doctor

[steve good]

Hi Stavey,

 

yes I'm aware of the effect the solar storms have on the planet, I'm also aware of the trends in terms of temperature rise these solar events have, and the opposing effect of low solar outbursts. Like Wurzel, and probably a number of people, I have never been convinced wrt to the effect of carbon emissions and the alledged contribution to the 'greenhouse effect'. I am more inclined to believe that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a greater influence on fish stocks, recruitment etc. than the 'global warming influence wrt sea temperature rise. The sun is what drives our planet and the vast majority of life on it, I don't see why the shallow seas are any different, in fact without the effects of the sun on the oceans surface waters a large percentage of the deep abyssal fauna would not be able to survive either IMO.

 

Simply put; the solar winds eminating from the sun strike the earth, they modify the earths climate, which in turn switches the NAO between the negative and positive phases and visa versa, these episodes can build up over a number of years to a major climax, and then dissipate in both frequency and intensity over a similar but not identical period. As you suggest there is a good correlation between the peak recruitment years for cod and these solar driven events.

No there isn't a TAC for Bass, it was after all a hypothetical example. I suppose we could employ a scientist to produce a hypothetical model to suit the needs of RSA, although I'm more concerned with stocks in general rather than concentrating on a single species like bass. But until such time that we have the available funds and support to do so, we will have to rely on the out put from your guys (CEFAS), and hope that your sponsors (DEFRA) are able to see the bigger picture.

I see where you are coming from, but the CEFAS data for the North Sea just doesn't support that to any great extent. 97 was nothing special, 98 was poor, 99 none existant, it was only after 2000 that recruitment showed any real signs of promise. 2002 was quite good, but half of 92's potential, since then there has been a noticeable decline and poor recruitment. The SSB has risen by approx. 1/4 over the same period, although F has increased from about 0.1 to just over 0.3 again for the same period, and I expect F to be approaching 0.4 by the end of this year. According to CEFAS there were 626 UK vessels targeting bass in the Central and Southern North Sea in 2005.

The fish we are seeing now are the 2002 year class (40+cm), it will be intersting to see how the anglers and commercial guys get on this year. As stated above, CEFASS data indicates relatively poor and declining recruitment since 2003, so not the year class strengths coming through that we would like to see. Still when its gone its gone, no point crying over spilt milk.

Again according to the most recent CEFAS data (Bass in the North Sea - 2006) "vessels fishing for bass peaked at 451 in 1994,....... then rose again to 626 in 2005. Indications are that the number of boats fishing for bass in the North Sea has in actual fact doubled since the mid 80's, certainly if the number peaked in 1994 at 451, and there are now 626 boats (2005), so your contention that there are half the number of boats fishing for bass is unfounded I'm afraid. Unless someone is telling porkie pies!!!!!! As above, I have no figures for 1976, but bass recruitment in 2002 was half of that recorded during 1992, a year which you don't seem to think as of noteworthy. I couldn't comment on the 1992 yr class as we very rarely saw anything other than a few schoolies. Subsequent recruitment in 2003 and 2004 was lower than 2002 (2004 looks to be about 1/5th of 2002), still too early yet but I suspect that 2006 was a total blow out. CEFAS also state that landings by English vessels in the central and southern North Sea (2004/2005) were around 400 tons, a 300% increase since 1993.

 

I only report the facts as they are published so please don't shoot the messenger

 

Hi Doc

 

QUOTE/ Indications are that the number of boats fishing for bass in the North Sea has in actual fact doubled since the mid 80's, certainly if the number peaked in 1994 at 451, and there are now 626 boats (2005

 

I do not think they have doubled,

 

Boats have been FORCED by management policy (ie lack of quota ect) to fish for bass.

 

The skate bycatch will force more boats to persue bass this summer

 

steve

[barry luxton]

Hi Doc

 

QUOTE/ Indications are that the number of boats fishing for bass in the North Sea has in actual fact doubled since the mid 80's, certainly if the number peaked in 1994 at 451, and there are now 626 boats (2005

 

I do not think they have doubled,

 

Boats have been FORCED by management policy (ie lack of quota ect) to fish for bass.

 

The skate bycatch will force more boats to persue bass this summer

 

steve

Hi Steve,

 

Then defra needs to do something about the bass before that goes down the pan. Once its gone its gone.

Edited March 21, 2007 by barry luxton

[glennk]

Hi Doc

 

QUOTE/ Indications are that the number of boats fishing for bass in the North Sea has in actual fact doubled since the mid 80's, certainly if the number peaked in 1994 at 451, and there are now 626 boats (2005

 

I do not think they have doubled,

 

Boats have been FORCED by management policy (ie lack of quota ect) to fish for bass.

 

The skate bycatch will force more boats to persue bass this summer

 

steve

 

Whether forced or by choice Does that not amount to the same thing ?

[steve good]

Hi doc

 

This is the point i am trying to get at i dont realy care that much what the commercial considers is a healthy stock for them, its what is a healthy stock for the rsa, at the moment i think every species that is important to the rsa is clearly not in a healthy state ie, cod/bass/mullet/smoothound etc, (not in a decent size) were i live things have not changed in three decades apart from in a downward spirral to almost non existent as far as quality caught fish from the shore is concerned.

 

Maybe its time for the rsa to draw up there own models on the state of how healthy stocks of fish that are important to them are! rather than rely on what cefas etc do for the commercials, this could be achieved without the scientists like records of catch reports from the hundreds of clubs, and sales linked in the tackle trade to the good years and bad, at the moment there are some classic signs that have repeated itself for the last three decades, these last few weeks has seen the biggest influx of baby codling caught off the beach down here since the years 1996/7 and 1986/7, apart from the obvious ten year gaps, my belief is that the solar sunspot cycle is linked to all of these events as these dates occur bang on with the exact minimums of these cycles including this present one which is now!! anyway i have checked with the local tackle dealer and he found that these years and the year after saw his sales rocket through the roof for beach tackle etc, he is rubbing his hands in anticipation, but he also knows that after the winter of 2008 they will all be gone for another 8/9 years until the next cycle minimum, due to them all being taken by the commercials nets, these sort of records are not cooked up by scientists and the like, they are pure facts from real people and maybe they can be collected and put forward to help with the arguement for more and bigger fish etc, cheers............

 

ps. remember you heard it hear first!! about the sunspot cycle and the minimum period of these connections to cod cycles.

 

pps. there could also be a bass cycle connected to all this as well i wonder if you can guess what part of the sunspot cycle occurs at these times? that is if you are not lost with this analogy, wurzel may have a clue as he is along the right lines with his global warming but it aint quite that simple as the the worlds scientists are finding out by just dealing with green house gases, all life on earth is connected to the sun, especially its cycles ciao.............

 

Hi stavey

 

Another factor may be the tides

 

30 years ago the top of spring tides (in summer) was about midday, the first downtide was about 1 oclock.

 

Now the first downtide is about 4 oclock so as time goes by the tides have moved around.

 

Whether fish have change there habits because of this I do not really know some people just blame gobal warming.

 

One thing for sure is fish are effected by the tides

 

steve

[wurzel]

Hi Stavey,

 

yes I'm aware of the effect the solar storms have on the planet, I'm also aware of the trends in terms of temperature rise these solar events have, and the opposing effect of low solar outbursts. Like Wurzel, and probably a number of people, I have never been convinced wrt to the effect of carbon emissions and the alledged contribution to the 'greenhouse effect'. I am more inclined to believe that the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a greater influence on fish stocks, recruitment etc. than the 'global warming influence wrt sea temperature rise. The sun is what drives our planet and the vast majority of life on it, I don't see why the shallow seas are any different, in fact without the effects of the sun on the oceans surface waters a large percentage of the deep abyssal fauna would not be able to survive either IMO.

 

Simply put; the solar winds eminating from the sun strike the earth, they modify the earths climate, which in turn switches the NAO between the negative and positive phases and visa versa, these episodes can build up over a number of years to a major climax, and then dissipate in both frequency and intensity over a similar but not identical period. As you suggest there is a good correlation between the peak recruitment years for cod and these solar driven events.

No there isn't a TAC for Bass, it was after all a hypothetical example. I suppose we could employ a scientist to produce a hypothetical model to suit the needs of RSA, although I'm more concerned with stocks in general rather than concentrating on a single species like bass. But until such time that we have the available funds and support to do so, we will have to rely on the out put from your guys (CEFAS), and hope that your sponsors (DEFRA) are able to see the bigger picture.

I see where you are coming from, but the CEFAS data for the North Sea just doesn't support that to any great extent. 97 was nothing special, 98 was poor, 99 none existant, it was only after 2000 that recruitment showed any real signs of promise. 2002 was quite good, but half of 92's potential, since then there has been a noticeable decline and poor recruitment. The SSB has risen by approx. 1/4 over the same period, although F has increased from about 0.1 to just over 0.3 again for the same period, and I expect F to be approaching 0.4 by the end of this year. According to CEFAS there were 626 UK vessels targeting bass in the Central and Southern North Sea in 2005.

The fish we are seeing now are the 2002 year class (40+cm), it will be intersting to see how the anglers and commercial guys get on this year. As stated above, CEFASS data indicates relatively poor and declining recruitment since 2003, so not the year class strengths coming through that we would like to see. Still when its gone its gone, no point crying over spilt milk.

Again according to the most recent CEFAS data (Bass in the North Sea - 2006) "vessels fishing for bass peaked at 451 in 1994,....... then rose again to 626 in 2005. Indications are that the number of boats fishing for bass in the North Sea has in actual fact doubled since the mid 80's, certainly if the number peaked in 1994 at 451, and there are now 626 boats (2005), so your contention that there are half the number of boats fishing for bass is unfounded I'm afraid. Unless someone is telling porkie pies!!!!!! As above, I have no figures for 1976, but bass recruitment in 2002 was half of that recorded during 1992, a year which you don't seem to think as of noteworthy. I couldn't comment on the 1992 yr class as we very rarely saw anything other than a few schoolies. Subsequent recruitment in 2003 and 2004 was lower than 2002 (2004 looks to be about 1/5th of 2002), still too early yet but I suspect that 2006 was a total blow out. CEFAS also state that landings by English vessels in the central and southern North Sea (2004/2005) were around 400 tons, a 300% increase since 1993.

 

I only report the facts as they are published so please don't shoot the messenger

 

Some body needs shooting doc,

 

Your quoted figures just don't add up to what we experience, the problem with scientists they don't know much, a boat is a boat to them it could be used to catch bass so it goes on the list, including Cromer Crabbers.

Plus the figures are for the whole North sea, I know that the a Dutch inshore fleet has sprung up targeting bass and if you include all the boats from Dunkirk and Calais who have mostly expanded with the sole fishery I suppose you could come up with that amount of boats . It would be handy if they broke it down country by country then port by port. I can also except that as the bass expand their range more boats will turn to fishing for them as you are experiencing around the Humber, I just took a minuet to remember 14 boats that have packed up that I used to encounter fishing for bass in the last 10 years , there really is a lot less boats fishing the South East UK bass. We just formed a Southern North Sea Association for all the boats from Folkestone to Yarmouth, with all the different local representatives we added up all the boats that they represented, it worked out at around 150 boats of which a lot are potters , I worked out that it amounted to less than one boat (99% under 10 meters) per hundred square mile. I don't think the bass have much to fear from the southern North sea fleet as it is to day. Mind you if you really want to distort the figures as Stavey does just look at the local SFC list of boats for their area, I think there are according to them about 50 boats work out of Harwich, in reality there is only 6 or 7.

Your figures for the recruitment are for the Humber, a few years a go we were considered the Northerly point of the bass range.

When I was at school they warned me of an approaching ice age.

STATISTICS, STATISTICS, STATISTICS AND DHAM LIES .

 

 

I always thought Stavey was effected more by the moon than the sun unlike most life on this planet.

[barry luxton]

I always thought Stavey was effected more by the moon than the sun unlike most life on this planet.

 

 

Must be my turn next, i can feel a Wurzel coming on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Duck

[The doctor]

Some body needs shooting doc,

 

Your quoted figures just don't add up to what we experience, the problem with scientists they don't know much, a boat is a boat to them it could be used to catch bass so it goes on the list, including Cromer Crabbers.

Plus the figures are for the whole North sea, I know that the a Dutch inshore fleet has sprung up targeting bass and if you include all the boats from Dunkirk and Calais who have mostly expanded with the sole fishery I suppose you could come up with that amount of boats . It would be handy if they broke it down country by country then port by port. I can also except that as the bass expand their range more boats will turn to fishing for them as you are experiencing around the Humber, I just took a minuet to remember 14 boats that have packed up that I used to encounter fishing for bass in the last 10 years , there really is a lot less boats fishing the South East UK bass. We just formed a Southern North Sea Association for all the boats from Folkestone to Yarmouth, with all the different local representatives we added up all the boats that they represented, it worked out at around 150 boats of which a lot are potters , I worked out that it amounted to less than one boat (99% under 10 meters) per hundred square mile. I don't think the bass have much to fear from the southern North sea fleet as it is to day. Mind you if you really want to distort the figures as Stavey does just look at the local SFC list of boats for their area, I think there are according to them about 50 boats work out of Harwich, in reality there is only 6 or 7.

Your figures for the recruitment are for the Humber, a few years a go we were considered the Northerly point of the bass range.

When I was at school they warned me of an approaching ice age.

STATISTICS, STATISTICS, STATISTICS AND DHAM LIES .

I always thought Stavey was effected more by the moon than the sun unlike most life on this planet.

 

 

Hi Peter,

 

the figures quoted relate solely to the central and southern North Sea, as they consider that there is no significant English bass fishery north of Yorkshire.

 

Wrt number of vessels, I quote; "The numbers of UK vessels involved in fishing for bass are estimated from a fleet census, which has been carried out bi-annually since 1985. In Divisions IVb, c, vessels fishing for bass peaked in 1994 (at 451), fell in 1995 and 1996, then rose again to 626 by 2005". It doesn't mention anything about Dutch, french or Belgian vessels, it simply says UK vessels.

 

Recruitment figures are for the southern and central North Sea, as is the fishing mortality, not the Humber only.

 

Generally the recruitment in the eastern and western channel (post 2002) looks worse than the North Sea. The only bright spot, in terms of recruitment, appears to be in the Irish Sea, although 2003 was the poorest year for a decade, however, 1998 - 2002 was strong in comparison.

 

As you say, you can manipulate statistical output to look which ever way you want, I'm sure your not averse to such action yourself. What I don't understand is why would your mates at CEFAS purposefully try to paint a blacker picture, when they are doing their utmost to help you get the MLS reduced to 36cm and take control of the bass fishery, it just doesn't make any sense.

 

I'm sure you are aware that the Yorkshire fishery is dominated by the under 10m potting fleets, these vessels fish all year round for lobster, edibles and velvets and have done for many years. A lot of them used to shoot nets during the winter for cod but when that died they concentrated on shellfish, quite a few are moving back to netting now, predominantly targeting the bass, but also include soles, becks and cod (if they still have their cod entitlement). Whilst they may only actively fish for bass for a couple of months of the year, they are still fishing for bass, therefore I assume that these vessels are included in the fleet census figures.

 

 

Doc.