Changes to Bass Regulations.
The European Council has published the Official Journal, bringing the proposals made in the December Council into law.
There have been some changes to the regulation of fishing for bass below is a summary of Article 10 “Measures on European seabass” relevant to the Cornwall IFCA district. Please see the link at the end for the full text.
Recreational Fishing
Fishing with rod or hand line (at sea or from the shore).
- 1 January - 29 February 2020: Catch and release only
- 1 March to 30 November 2020: Two fish bag limit. No more than two specimens of sea bass per person per day (00:00 to 23:59 hours)
- 1 December - 31 December 2020: Catch and release only
- Bass minimum size is 42 cm
No bass may be fished for or retained from a fixed net used for recreational fishing in 2020.
Commercial Fisheries
- No fishing for or retaining bass in February and March
- Commercial fisheries may require a fishing vessel licence entitlement to catch and retain bass, please contact the MMO [link to MMO contact] for more information.
- Bass minimum size is 42 cm
The legislation prohibits Union fishing vessels, as well as commercial fishers from the shore, from fishing for, retaining, transhipping, relocating and landing bass caught in the Cornwall IFCA district unless it is exempted as follows:
Demersal Trawls:
Unavoidable by-catches of bass not exceeding 520kg per two months and 5% of the weight of the total catch per fishing trip.
Seine Nets:
Unavoidable by-catches of bass not exceeding 520kg per two months and 5% of the weight of the total catch per fishing trip.
Hooks and Lines:
Amounts of bass not exceeding 5.7 tonnes per vessel per year.
Fixed Gillnets:
Unavoidable by-catches of bass not exceeding 1.4 tonnes per vessel per year.
Where more than one gear type is used in a single calendar month, the lowest catch limit applies.
The above is a general summary of the legislation. If you wish to see the full legislation click here to view the appropriate section of the Official Journal of the European Union.