Angling Trust - on request to lift the bass drift net ban

[Steve S]

Lifting the bass drift net ban would be a disaster     A recent call to bring back drift nets for commercial bass fishing risks undoing a decade of hard-won progress for UK sea angling and marine conservation.   Back in 2015, the Government banned drift nets in the bass fishery as the stock collapsed. Banning these nets helped to protect seabirds, dolphins, porpoises and other sensitive species from indiscriminate bycatch, too. That ban has worked. Bass stocks, once on the brink of collapse, are recovering according to the latest scientific advice.   Now, proposals are surfacing to lift the ban. We believe this would be an ecological and economic disaster.   The facts:   Drift nets are indiscriminate. They entangle dolphins, porpoises, seabirds, salmonids, sharks and more. Bass remain vulnerable. They are slow-growing, late-maturing fish. A fragile recovery is no excuse to return to unsustainable practices. Angling delivers more value. Bass are worth far more alive - supporting a £1.5 billion recreational sea angling sector and over 15,000 UK jobs. The law is clear. The Fisheries Act (2020) commits the UK to reducing and eliminating bycatch of sensitive species. Reintroducing drift nets would break that promise.   Our position:   Bass must remain a hook-and-line only fishery. Bringing back drift nets would risk another bass stock crash, kill thousands of protected species, and put at risk the future of both commercial and recreational fisheries.   We are calling on Defra and MPs to hold the line – keep the drift net ban in place, support small-scale fishers with sustainable alternatives, and protect our seas for generations to come.   This position is supported by: Angling Trust Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society (BASS) Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) Bass Anglers Conservation (BAC)       SOCIAL MEDIA   Keep up-to-date with the latest sea fishing news - join our Sea Angling Facebook Group     Stay up-to-date with all the latest sea angling news and join the conversation - become a member of the Angling Trust Sea Angling Facebook Group today!