Further measures proposed for bass

[JimC]

Council adopts measures to help sea bass to recover
(26/03/2015) The Council has adopted measures to help sea bass recover. For recreational fishing, which accounts for 25% of sea bass mortality, the decision will mean the introduction of a limit of three fish per day per angler. Learn more about sea bass with our infographic (available in English and in French).
Sea bass is a very valuable fish, on which many fishermen, especially small fishing enterprises, depend. With over 1.3m recreational anglers in France and another 800 000 in the UK, many thousands of jobs also depend on recreational fishing.
Recent scientific analyses have reinforced previous concerns about the state of the stock and advised urgently to reduce fishing by 80%. We are witnessing a rapid decline of sea bass that risks leading to a collapse if no action is taken.
The daily limit on recreational catches complements the emergency measures which the Commission adopted earlier this year, and which targeted pelagic fisheries.
The Commission has previously taken such emergency measures to protect vulnerable stocks, most recently with anchovy in the Bay of Biscay.

So there it is.... A three-fish per day limit brought into legal force by the EU.
I have a call in to IFI to confirm that our existing rules supersede the EU regs.
These Regs apply to Recreational Sea Angers (RSA) in IRl, UK, FR, BEL, NL.

It is my understanding that there are a range of measures being brought in to limit/control the inshore commercial fishing effort including a minimum size of 42cm.

2015-seabass-facts_en.pdf

[Tanglerat]

Good stuff. On a point of order Jim, its applicable to Recreational Fishers, not just RSA. Therefore it includes such like spearfishers and netsmen who don't sell their catch.

[JimC]

Good stuff. On a point of order Jim, its applicable to Recreational Fishers, not just RSA. Therefore it includes such like spearfishers and netsmen who don't sell their catch.

That is what it says....
I note the RSA element as this is an angling site

[JimC]

Our Two fish limit and closed season remain in force.

Friday, 10th April 2015
Inland Fisheries Ireland Confirms Two Bass Daily Bag Limit
Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has confirmed today (10.04.15) that the Bass Fishing Conservation S.I. No. 826 OF 2007 remains in force and imposes a bag limit of two bass in any one period of 24 hours. The Irish bye-law also places a ban on angling for bass during the spawning season, which runs from 15th May to the 15th June.

On 29th March 2015, the European Commission introduced a daily bag limit which allows for ‘not more than three’ bass to be retained by anglers. This limit complements and supports Ireland’s conservation measures, and those implemented by other countries, to assist in the recovery of bass stocks across Europe.

The limit is operational in the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) divisions: IVb, IVc, VIIa, VIId, VIIe, VIIf, VIIg, VIIh, VIIj and VIIk, and highlighted in the map below.

bass map.png

Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) has a confidential hotline number to enable members of the general public to report incidents - 1890 34 74 24 or 1890 FISH 24. This phone line is designed to encourage the reporting of incidents of illegal fishing, water pollution and invasive species.

For more information, visit http://www.fisheriesireland.ie.

[JimC]

Further measures being proposed including a total ban on taking bass by all boats off Irish waters.(Note: these are proposals not rules as yet)

Of course the question remains as to whether "Irish" bass were being targeted and caught by "foreign" boats. Still it must be seen as a positive development.
One cannot help bu think that this is a bit of a fig leaf....

Second amendment of the Fishing Opportunities Regulation fixing for 2015 the fishing opportunities in the North Sea and in the Atlantic
(20/05/2015) The European Commission has today announced a further proposal aimed at halting the decline of sea bass in the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea, Channel and North Sea.

The Commission’s proposal is the third of a series of proposals in relation to this stock this year. This proposal is addressed to the Council of Fisheries Ministers and will enable the ministers to decide about catch limits for particular fishing gears in order to protect sea bass. The Commission's proposal would also allow extending a prohibition, currently applied to Irish fishing vessels, to all Member State vessels in waters adjacent to Ireland.

Sea bass is a high value, iconic species for recreational and commercial fishermen; we need to act to address the declining state of the stock, to protect jobs and livelihoods. If the EU does not act decisively now, the risk for greater and long term losses to this valuable fish stock and to coastal communities will be increasing.

Scientific advice has clearly identified the need to drastically reduce catches of this species, following an increase in the fishing pressure and a reduction in reproduction.

Previously the Commission has implemented a short term ban on pelagic trawling until 30th April, preventing the targeting of this species during spawning aggregations. A previous amendment of the fishing opportunities regulation has already introduced a 3 fish bag limit for recreational fishermen.
This latest proposal envisages a maximum catch per month by gear type, limiting the targeting of the vulnerable stock but allowing for incidental catches.

Ireland in the 1990’s introduced a ban on commercial fishing for its flag vessels. This prohibition is proposed to be extended to other Member States in the Waters adjacent to Ireland outside of the UK 12 nm limit by the latest.

It is now up to the Council of Ministers to decide on the Commission's proposal.

[JimC]

The area:

bass measures map.jpg

[JimC]

http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Roo ... ELAND.html

Published on Wednesday 20th May 2015
Coveney welcomes proposed ban on fishing for seabass in waters around Ireland
The new regime will extend Ireland’s ban on seabass fishing to all EU vessels

Minister Simon Coveney TD, today strongly welcomed an EU Commission proposal for a comprehensive prohibition on commercial fishing for seabass in the Irish & Celtic Seas which underpins the conservation actions already taken by Ireland with regard to this vulnerable stock.

The Minister said “Ireland has had stringent measures in place for the protection of seabass, a very important angling species, for a long number of years. However, those measures only applied to Irish vessels. I have been very active over the past six months, lobbying the EU Commission and relevant Member States, on this issue. I am delighted that the EU finally recognises the lead taken by Ireland by extending our ban on commercial fishing to all EU vessels operating in the waters around Ireland.”

Minister Coveney added “The scientific advice for seabass is very worrying and we must all do our utmost to protect this stock. Ireland has been to the forefront in being the only EU Member State to afford maximum protection to this stock and today’s proposal will enhance that protection by making the Irish model obligatory for all EU vessels in the Irish & Celtic Seas.”


Once the measures are approved by the Council of Ministers, all commercial fishing for seabass will be prohibited in the waters around Ireland.
- See more at: http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-

[John D]

Hi all.

I know this is not the be all and end all when it comes to bass conservation but I think it's a very important step on the road to full protection.

We all lobby when bad stuff is happening but I think it's equally important to credit when something good happens.

Therefore can anyone with a twitter account favourite this tweet please?

https://twitter.com/agriculture_ie/stat ... 4512266241

If you could comment or praise the proposal too that would be good.

Yours hopefully,
John D.

[John D]

Here's the official publication:

http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Roo ... ELAND.html

John D.

[Bassy Tom]

That is indeed fantastic news, thanks for sharing John.

[JimC]

Merged.

[JimC]

It looks like the increase in minimum size is going to happen:

From the EAA Facebook page:

Bass - Minimum landing size increase (MLS) - 36 cm to 42 cm

The Commission earlier this year announced its intend to increase the minimum landing size from the present 36 cm to 42 cm. A draft for an Implementing Act has been submitted to the 'Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture' (22 May). Next week (5 June) the committee shall discuss the content.

From what we have heard there should also be a preparatory meeting today to deal with this proposal as well as another act, which seeks to reduce the total catches via monthly catch limits set for various gears and vessels. A copy of the draft is available here:
http://www.nwwac.org/_fileupload/Seabas ... 15-104.pdf

EAA and EFTTA (the tackle trade) strongly welcome the MLS increase. The Commission justifies the increase with facts and common sense like this:

- "The current minimum size for sea bass established in Annex XII to Regulation (EC) No 850/98 Regulation is 36 cm. However, female sea bass reach first sexual maturity at a size of 42 cm. Catch statistics confirm that fishing and landing sea bass below 42 cm removes juvenile female sea bass at a point in time where they have not yet contributed to the reproduction of the stock. Allowing catching and landing sea bass at a size of less than 42 cm therefore seriously harms the reproductive capacity, contributes significantly to the overall fishing mortality, and causes a serious threat to the conservation of the sea bass stock."

- "It is therefore urgent to take measures in order to prohibit the fishing and landing of sea bass below 42 cm as a protective measure for juvenile sea bass in Atlantic waters. Further delay in providing protection to juvenile sea bass would considerably increase the risk of serious harm to the sea bass stock, contribute significantly to its fishing mortality and accelerate the decline of its biomass."

As expected, some commercial fishers lobby against the increase already. A couple of examples in the public domain:

- Letter to the editor - Fishing News yesterday:
"Commercial fishermen’s historical stock species under threat from leisure sea anglers and environmental corps",
http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/7db ... 7dbd72e7/1

- Input from a commercial fisher to a technical panel (6 March):
"He had invested a lot of money in 90mm gear; any increase in MLS would make them obsolete and they would require compensation. He felt the stock was as healthy as they had ever seen it in the Estuary. The only feasible measures that could be put in place would be the introduction of quota or nursery areas. He did not agree with an increase in minimum landing size or track records."
http://www.kentandessex-ifca.gov.uk/wp- ... -to-B7.pdf

We urge our ministers to withstand the pressure from the commercial fishers and let facts and common sense prevail. The bass fishery is unsustainable, and the stock endangered.

As we understand it, the Commission can force the increase through against the ministers will - and that we would urge the Commission to do should the ministers not support this sensible MLS increase.

The recreational fishing mortality has been reduced by the 3 bass per day bag limit which took effect in March. The MLS increase will reduce the recreational fishing mortality further more. So now we would very much like to see the commercial sector follow suit!

We are very happy to see that the MLS increase shall concern all fishing for bass in all EU management areas in the Eastern Atlantic all the way down to mid-Africa (see map below, orange colour. NB! The map is produced in haste by us and only indicative! We hope the Commission will provide a more accurate illustration later on).

The Commission's justification for the extended area goes like this:

"the natural stock boundaries of sea bass are not yet fully identified, and sea bass as well as its fisheries are considered to mix to a certain level between the different ICES divisions. Fishermen may fish in more than one area during any fishing trip. For the measures to be effective, it is therefore necessary to provide the same level of protection to all stock distribution areas. This would also prevent misreporting between ICES areas. As there have been reported catches of sea bass in Skagerrak and Kattegat, the measures should apply in that area as well."

Let it happen, please!

[JimC]

There are meetings fixed for today and it looks like around June 15 is going to be d-day as regards the latest tranche of protection measures.
Apparently the proposal of 42cm minimum is meeting resistance and could be reduced and even phased in.
There is also discussion about the transfer of catch allowances... The proposal as it stands means if you don't catch your allowance on a give month then that is that. Commercials are looking to transfer the uncaught allowance to be transferred to the next month...
It remains to be seen what will be the ultimate decisions. The commercial lobby is very strong.

[shortcircuit]

The transfer of catch allowance from one month to the next would be a disaster- meaning that if the commercials have a bad time one month, they can absolutely hammer the bass the following month . . .

However, the total ban on taking fish from Irish waters can only be positive.

Could someone explain the difference between the yellow dotted areas and the blue dotted areas in the map above?

[JimC]

The yellow dotted areas is the complete ban area.
Blue is the "controlled" area.

[JimC]

Catch restriction measure have been accepted and in force as of June 24
Ban in the irish and EU area is in force.

Minimum size will be addressed early July. There will be lots of opposition and bargaining to be done on this one.

[JimC]

New minimum size in force.

Great to see that the 42cm size has been passed despite extensive lobbying by the commercial sector for phased introduction etc.


Press Release - European Commission:

The EU has today taken another step to protect sea bass stocks in Europe. The 28 EU member states agreed to the Commission's proposal to increase the minimum size for northern sea bass from 36 to 42 cm.
The new rule applies to both commercial and recreational fishermen. This will further improve the protection of this valuable stock and give it more chances to reproduce young fish before it is caught. The Commission will now proceed with the adoption of the agreed measures.
The Commission had also proposed to increase the minimum size for the two southern stocks of sea bass in Iberian waters and the Bay of Biscay. Member states however pointed to the less robust data available on these stocks.
The Commission will therefore ask for renewed scientific advice on the southern stocks, which will feed into new proposals on sea bass from 2016 onwards.
Sea bass is a high value, iconic species for recreational and commercial fishermen alike. But stocks in the EU are seriously under threat. Scientists agree that catches of this species must be drastically reduced, as a result of greater fishing pressure and lower reproduction.
Today's decision is the latest step in a package of measures the Commission has proposed for 2015 to halt the decline of this stock and prepare the way forward for further management measures in 2016.
Previous steps include a short-term ban on pelagic trawling, a 3-fish bag limit for recreational fishermen and, for the remainder of 2015, a monthly catch limit and an area closure around Ireland for commercial fishing.
http://www.ec.europa.eu/newsroom/mare/itemdetail.cfm…

[jast83]

I hope we will see more bass around in coming years

[John D]

Me too jast83, me too!