Fisheries management: Bass
Fisheries Minister Jonathan Shaw has announced that the Minimum Landing Size (MLS) for bass is to be kept at 36cm.
Background
A consultation was held from November 2005 to February 2006 on proposals to increase the current minimum landing size (MLS) for bass of 36cm, with a corresponding increase to the minimum mesh size (MMS) for fixed gear.
In August 2006 the then Fisheries Minister Ben Bradshaw announced that the MLS for bass would be increased to 40cm, with a MMS of 100mm. This was due to come into force on 6 April 2007. A summary of responses 
(318 KB) and a Regulatory Impact Assessment (256 KB) which evaluates the costs and benefits of the proposals, were published at the time.
In March 2007, Mr Bradshaw met with representatives from the National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations (NFFO) to discuss their concerns about the introduction of the measures. Mr Bradshaw agreed to consider the points raised and any new evidence before considering the introduction of the Statutory Instrument (SI) to implement the increased MLS. The SI did not therefore come into force on 6 April as planned.
We considered further evidence from both anglers and commercial fisherment that had not already been assessed in the RIA. A Cefas paper reassessing the impact of an increase in MLS from 36 to 40cm to bass stocks, assuming that discarded bass will not survive, is available at www.cefas.co.uk/3939.aspx. This follows up a previous paper, published in March 2007, that examines the effects of an increase in the MLS from 36 to 40cm on discards of bass in the trawl fishery. This paper is available at http://www.cefas.co.uk/Publications/files/bass-trawl-discards.pdf
Jonathan Shaw, the new Fisheries Minister, met with both anglers and commercial fishermen on 1 October 2007 to discuss the key issues. Following his consideration of all the available evidence, he announced on 25 October that he had decided not to increase the MLS for bass. He also announced new measures that would benefit bass stocks and anglers. The full details of his announcement can be found in the Press Release, and in October's edition of Fishing Focus.
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Page last modified: 17 January 2008
Page published: 14 December 2007