‘More needs to be done to protect bass in the Bailiwick’
SEA BASS around the Bailiwick could disappear if changes are not made to fishing regulations in Guernsey, a sportfishing society president has said.
Bryn Le Poidevin of Guernsey Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society, GBASS, said more needed to be done to protect bass in Bailiwick waters.
‘Sea bass are a public resource managed by the government, they don’t belong to any specific sector.
‘There is huge disparity between commercial and recreational fishing, essentially the privatisation of a public sea resource,’ he said.
Bass control in Guernsey currently follows EU legislation.
It means no sea bass fishing is permitted during February and March.
From April to October recreational fisherman are allowed to keep one bass caught per day and from January to March and from November to December recreational bass fishing is on a catch-and-release basis only. Commercial fishing, although not permitted to target sea bass, has by-catch allowances.
Trawlers are allowed to keep unavoidable sea bass by-catch up to 1% of the total weight of fish caught – for 1,000kg of fish this would be 10kg of bass.
Under certain circumstances other vessels such as hook and line or net fishers are permitted several tonnes of sea bass by-catch.
Mr Le Poidevin said recreational and commercial fishing regulations should be more equal and he was concerned that Guernsey does not regulate these terms either.
‘Guernsey is the only jurisdiction to my knowledge where legislation can’t be applied.’
Mr Le Poidevin said he would like to see Guernsey take charge and do more to manage bass fishing as well as regulate fishing from the shore.
GBASS fish on a catch-and-release basis but Mr Le Poidevin said he believed fishers should be able to keep some fish for the table and that both recreational and commercial fishing needed to be done sensibly.
He said Boue Blondel was an example of why this was important.
‘It was a huge spawning ground for bass and they’re all gone now – we’ve shown in our history that we can’t respect spawning grounds. Bass aggregate, the equipment boats have now, they all know where they are. Boue Blondel, everybody knew they were there, they are avoidable.’
Mr Le Poidevin said this also meant commercial vessels would know where sea bass were and should be able to avoid by-catch.
‘These big, big fish are getting fewer and further between.
‘People need to be conscious about what fish they’re choosing and whether it’s sustainable. You can’t just assume because it’s on the menu the numbers are there.
‘We appreciate people have got to make a living, it’s not about blame, we’re trying to be positive about what we’ve got and what we do in the future.’
Mr Le Poidevin said recreational fishing tourism, such as in Ireland, could replace the need for the current amount of commercial fishing.
‘Their tourism is through the roof, millions every year go to Ireland, it’s the Mecca of bass fishing.’
He said if there was open recreational bass fishing for just August where people could come to Guernsey fish, measure and then release the caught sea bass, this could bring in money for the island without taking sea bass out of the water.
He said he fears that if sea bass fishing in Guernsey waters continues as it is, the stock will be lost.
n Anyone wanting to get involved with GBASS can visit their website www.guernseybass.co.uk.
