MarkTheSpark
Senior Member
The Bass Anglers Sportfishing society has launched a campaign to increase the lower size limit from 36cm - a size at which they are unlikely to have bred - to 48cm. Now they have enlisted the help of the Chairman of the Southern IFCA to press for change.
All anglers should support this campaign because regardless of whether you have caught one, the bass is one of those fish we'd all love to catch. The problem is that the bass fishery is going backwards and raising the size limit may be a great help.
Make sending the IFCA a letter or email of support your Christmas present to bass angling, please. After all the massive effort made by BASS, I feel it's the least we can do.
Below I have drafted a short letter of suggested ideas; cut and paste or write your own, it doesn't matter. What matters is the angling postbag. If you've got a spare stamp and print your letter, so much the better.
Dear Dr Jensen,
May I open this letter by thanking you for supporting BASS's campaign to raise the minimum size limit for bass from the current 36cm to 48cm. The inshore bass fishery is a very valuable resource to both sport fishermen and commercial fishermen.
The history of this important fishery is one of over-exploitation, as has been the case with striped bass in the USA. In the '70s and '80s, many impressive bass fisheries existed, such as the Eddystone fishery. Most are now a shadow of what they were.
We already have bass nurseries, which have afforded the species a better chance of recovery. But female bass do not reach breeding condition until they are 42cm or more in size (Bass in the Eastern English Channel (ICES Division VIId) – 2007) and so can be legally landed before they contribute to the population.
I believe the aim of a 48cm limit, once explained, is not only achievable but would probably have significant support from inshore commercial fishermen, whose livelihoods depend on this species.
I also believe that continued study and nurture of bass fisheries is simply the right thing to do and, if it delivers its aims, will have wider implications for management of other inshore species and fisheries.
May I close by urging you to convey the strength of feeling among all anglers – both sea fishermen and freshwater – that the value bass goes far beyond its price on a plate. It is a remarkable and intriguing fish to hunt for and to catch, and generates significant tourism income..
Yours Sincerely
Send your letter to Antony Jensen, Chairman of the IFCA, at : enquiries@southern-ifca.gov.uk, or by post to Dr A.C. Jensen, Chairman Southern IFCA, 64 Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset BH14 9BN
All anglers should support this campaign because regardless of whether you have caught one, the bass is one of those fish we'd all love to catch. The problem is that the bass fishery is going backwards and raising the size limit may be a great help.
Make sending the IFCA a letter or email of support your Christmas present to bass angling, please. After all the massive effort made by BASS, I feel it's the least we can do.
Below I have drafted a short letter of suggested ideas; cut and paste or write your own, it doesn't matter. What matters is the angling postbag. If you've got a spare stamp and print your letter, so much the better.
Dear Dr Jensen,
May I open this letter by thanking you for supporting BASS's campaign to raise the minimum size limit for bass from the current 36cm to 48cm. The inshore bass fishery is a very valuable resource to both sport fishermen and commercial fishermen.
The history of this important fishery is one of over-exploitation, as has been the case with striped bass in the USA. In the '70s and '80s, many impressive bass fisheries existed, such as the Eddystone fishery. Most are now a shadow of what they were.
We already have bass nurseries, which have afforded the species a better chance of recovery. But female bass do not reach breeding condition until they are 42cm or more in size (Bass in the Eastern English Channel (ICES Division VIId) – 2007) and so can be legally landed before they contribute to the population.
I believe the aim of a 48cm limit, once explained, is not only achievable but would probably have significant support from inshore commercial fishermen, whose livelihoods depend on this species.
I also believe that continued study and nurture of bass fisheries is simply the right thing to do and, if it delivers its aims, will have wider implications for management of other inshore species and fisheries.
May I close by urging you to convey the strength of feeling among all anglers – both sea fishermen and freshwater – that the value bass goes far beyond its price on a plate. It is a remarkable and intriguing fish to hunt for and to catch, and generates significant tourism income..
Yours Sincerely
Send your letter to Antony Jensen, Chairman of the IFCA, at : enquiries@southern-ifca.gov.uk, or by post to Dr A.C. Jensen, Chairman Southern IFCA, 64 Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset BH14 9BN
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