Let's not get into the situston where in a few years time we're regretting not taking action now and having depleted fishing stocks. Preserve them while we can to the benefit of all.
A healthy stock is essential for the Channel Islands to attract angling tourism, and in the long run these anglers will spend more money in pursuit of catching bass (food, fuel, accommodation etc. etc.) than any commercial activity would. If there are no bass to catch, there will be no income through angling tourism, drastically damaging the local economy.
Nice to see a fair few signatures on this, will do my hardest to get some more to sign!!
Unless action is taken promptly, our sport for future generations will suffer irreparably. Lets not allow the bass to become a rare catch along our shores, why can't the Agencies with clout see whats happening? It's not rocket science is it?
Having spent close to 10 yrs as a commercial fisherman out of Brixham S Devon ive seen both sides of this coin and i have to agree that prompt action to protect this species breeding grounds is the way forward.
DEFRA should designate bass a 'sport species' as in Florida with some of their recreational species.
Presently the EA and Fisheries Protection cannot police the illicit angling and netting going on in designated bass 'nursery area'.
I run one of the visiting charter angling boats that regulary fish in the Bailiwick waters. I have calculated that my anglers and I spend in excess of £50,000 each year on B&B, food, drink, fuel and mooring fees, to the benifit of the local economy.
We enjoy the excelent bass fishing which has held up well during the 18 years that I have been running these trips.
To a great extent my anglers practice catch and release and we have been involved in tagging many bass in Guernsey waters for BASS/CEFAS. The results of the tagging seem to show that although some fish migrate over considerable distances many are resident. Hence our concern over spawning stock depletion. NO FISH - NO ANGLERS - NO INCOME
Healthy bass stocks are vital for increasing the allure of the Channel Islands as a viable destination for visiting anglers.
Anglers will pay money to travel and fish, but they will simply not go to the same place again if the fishing is bad.
Bass are one of the species that people will travel for, but there need to be fish to catch.
As a yearly visitor to boat fish your island I have noticed the decline over the years. Do something about it before you lose the visiting anglers that give so much to the economy.
I belong to Poole Bay Small Boat Angling Club. We have an annual trip to the Channel Islands to fish for amongst other things Bass. If the Bass stocks fell to a point where we couldn’t catch any on our trip we would be forced to consider whether it was worth our while, after all the reason for our trips is that the fishing is so good in the channel Islands. Our members are very conservation minded and return all but a few for the table in fact on our last trip a 12lb 11oz bass was caught, photographed and returned, so I feel we have a right to comment on what is after all a common resource. What I am trying to say is the quick easy killing and short term gain of a few could affect the long-term prosperity of many islanders and the pleasure of thousands of anglers throughout the uk
Martin Burt
Chairman Poole Bay Small Boat A/C
www.pbsbac.co.uk
It is a real tragedy that the bass faces extinction, and the world faces losing yet another species because of humans. There is a way to stop it, so take action now, before it's too late!
We need to be pro- active in our efforts to maintain bass stocks to prevent us finishing up with a situation parallel to the north sea cod stocks. When will fishermen ever learn? Perhaps not till it's too late!
lets hope this gets sorted, it is well documented how easily fish stocks crash when overexploited, some common sense from the authorities would be nice. i wont hold my breath.
I am a keen bass angler but what occurs on these spawning grounds is not fishing but mass slaughter. In 5 to 10 years when the bass have gone maybe the sea fisheries will realise what they should have done now.
The tourism recreational revenue from anglers is worth much more than the short term income from slaughtering spawning fish
You only have to look at the Florida Keys to see the way forward
I will refuse to continue bringing my family on holiday to a place where such cruelty and short sighted greed is allowed to thrive by the governing authorities. This MUST BE STOPPED!!
I believe that where it is clearly known that a species spawns in a certain area, then they should be allowed to do so unimpeded. It is very short sighted to grab everything while you can.
The bass population in Ireland in the 1970's was decimated by gill net fishing. Now they have a healthy bass population with no commercial bass fishing. Tourism directly related to bass fishing is worth something like £6 million per year and there is a 2 fish per day catch limit. They have got it right, why can't Guernsey ? I fully support an off season and a daily catch limited to 2 bass. Increase the minimum size to greater than 40cm too. This means more breeding fish in the seas. Sustainable fishing/spearfishing is the way forward. Commercial greed is driving this mass slaughter and must be stopped.
Closed season is the way to go/limit catches to 1 fish per day during spawning season.
Guernsey has the potential to be a highly attractive destination for the recreational bass angler and would therefore reap significant economic benefits if the fish stocks were well looked after as shown in Ireland.
Guernsey could be a highly attractive and lucrative (for locals) destination for recreational bass fishing and would benifit economicly if the fish stocks were well looked after.
