Bass back on the menu!
The UK angling public is
fi nally able to keep sea
bass caught recreationally
until the end of 2018 after a
European Commission ban
was overturned
One bass per day will be
able to be legally retained
by anglers and other
recreational anglers after
a proposal was made by
the European Commission
which was adopted by the
EU Council.
The UK’s governing body
for recreational fi shing, The
Angling Trust, has been
campaigning heavily for a
bag limit for recreational
catches to be reinstated
after a ban was introduced
in January, following fl awed
scientifi c advice which
dramatically overestimated
the impact recreational
catches were having on the
stock.
The EU Council agreed at
the time of the ban that the
scientifi c evidence needed
reviewing after which the
ban on recreational landings
might be lifted.
Angling representatives
attended an ICES
(International Council for
the Exploration of the Sea)
benchmarking session in
February where the scientifi c
evidence from around
Europe was reviewed.
It took until June for
the new evidence to be
published and recreational
anglers have been waiting
patiently since then
for a bag limit to be reestablished
after the impact
of recreational fi shing in
2016 was reduced by 87 per
cent from 1,600 tonnes to
NEWS | NOVEMBER 2018
approximately 200 tonnes.
The Angling Trust head
of marine, David Mitchell,
said, “Members of the
public fi shing for sea bass
sustainably for their own
consumption have suffered a
terrible injustice in 2018 due
to a massive overestimate
in the impact they were
having on the stock. We are
very pleased that the right of
those members of the public
who wish to catch and eat a
publicly-owned sea bass has
been re-established for the
remainder of the year.”
One bass per day per angler.