Reminder, recreational bass fishing closed, a Possibility!

http://www.saveourseabass.org/en/catch- ... hreatened/

Part of the response received from Minister Coveney following a parliamentary question (8th Dec.) asked by Michael Healy-Rae on behalf of Irish Bass on the subject;

"I do not support a complete ban on angling for the first six months of the year. Irish anglers are not the reason that sea bass is continuing to decline and Ireland has been at the forefront of conservation measures for this stock for decades.It would be in my view, unfair to take such a severe approach to the recreational sector in Ireland given their ongoing efforts to protect the stock.Consequently, I will endeavor, at December council, to persuade the Commission that a catch and release recreational fishery be permitted to continue during the first six months of the year"

Lets hope he is succesfull!

In fairness, Michael Healy Rae is dead right here-us anglers are being penalised for :

Unfettered greed of commercial fishermen outside our jurisdiction

A complete and utter failure to stop illegal netting

A catch and release fishery is entirely sensible,in my opinion

The problems that arise from the closure of any fishery is the growth of the black market. If there is a buyer then there is a butcher. Salmon, tuna and bass are all still being sold in Ireland on the quiet to restaurants and cafes

Would it not make more sense to let the bass angling fishery open and implimemt a total catch and release for the next number of years ?

I think the proposed closed period is reflective of the current advantages that the commercial fishery takes during winter aggregations of the species. indicated below as March to May by Pawson. This of course is probably a moveable range and January to June could apply equally. This is an attempt to protect the species when it is in a very vulnerable state which is exploited by the UK and French fleet. BUT since we don't have a commercial fishery for bass the 'swatting a fly with a sledgehammer' approach applies in the application of the 'fix'

There are, I'm sure, any number of more sensible solutions that could be applied especially in reference to Ireland's existing current Bass bye laws. A note to Simon Coveney by bass anglers and other organisations might help to remind him of this.

It also begs the question as to the deterioration of the Irish population of fish - do we know enough about the movements of the Irish bass populations (i believe there are several) to determine that they might in fact be impacted upon by the current operating commercial bass fishery?

'Pawson (1992) identified critical seasonal temperature periods in the annual biological cycle of bass

November to the following March when the gonads develop
March to May when spawning occurs and
May to November when growth takes place

Temperature conditions on the Irish coast are critical to the performance of bass stocks and as Pawson demonstrated in his paper the seasonal inshore waters of the English Channel had undergone cycles of cooling and warming and cooling during the decade 1980-1990. Data collected at Malin head and expressed in similar fashion over the same period demonstrates similar patterns in temperature fluctuation as experienced in the English Channel.