New protection means anglers limited to three bass per trip

Friday 22 January 2016

Anglers will only be allowed to catch three sea bass a day in a bid to help tackle stock shortages.

The three-fish limit is one of a number of new rules, that if approved by the States later this year, will affect everyone catching bass and are designed to protect the species from over-fishing.

They also include a ban on winter pelagic trawling - that's a type of trawling for fish that swim in the middle of the sea like bass, mackerel, tuna and shrimps, as well as  monthly limits on commercial vessels, an increase in minimum size to 42cm, a maximum limit of 50 hooks, a maximum of 100m of net set on the beach per person and an increase to 110mm minimum mesh size for nets set on the beach.

The proposals to increase the beach set nets and only allow people to catch bigger fish means the bass will have reached sexual maturity and are more likely to have bred and increased stocks.

Measures to try and stop people driving onto the beaches with trailers to move fishing gear could also be scrapped so that you just need to get a permit instead.

Further measures won't be considered here until the EU publishes its new regulations to protect sea bass.