charlieannear

Went down the river this afternoon with Sam, Dom & Rob, and Sam pulled out this... 21 1/4 lb!

Steve, you are exactly where I was when I joined the club. You've made an excellent decision!

You better be tougher than you look Bart!

Thanks Paul- my flippin' laptop has been playing up- managed to get online with it tonight and found that The Word is being spread

It gets lonely at sea...

Well, tomorrow (Weds 3rd December) Bass is being debated in Parliament. The Politicians will be considering some very important information which suggests that Bass should ONLY be caught by rod and line. A month ago it looked like RSA's might be getting a single Bass bag limit while commercials carried on doing their worst- what a difference a month can make. Perhaps we'll get both, a bag limit and a ban on all other methods of Bass fishing... http://www.ukbass.com/the-timing-is-right/

Euro MP's attempting to dilute the steps that will be taken: http://www.mcsuk.org/what_we_do/Fishing+for+our+future/Fisheries+-+what+we+do/Discard+ban+%E2%80%93+dead+in+the+water+before+it+has+even+started

Perhaps it's not a coincidence that we have both Seagrass and Cod locally: http://www.awesomeocean.com/2014/11/05/oh-cod-disappearing-seagrass/

Navitus Bay, New Forest: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/11346641.New_Forest_National_Park_Authority_weighs_in_on_Navitus_Bay_plans/ RNLI & Angling: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/11443253.Keen_angler__Come_along_to_Fish_Hack_and_help_design_safety_app/ Navitus Bay: http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/11466999.Navitus_Bay__planning_process_starts_today/

Here's a few items from the BBC News website- perfect reading for when those weather windows never arrive... August Deep diving Devil Rays: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28087489 Caribbean Coral Collapse: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28113331 Fish memory: http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/28111346 Navitus Bay: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28197117 Carbon capture to fish food: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-28300875 Warmer waters, species change: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28333305 Navitus Bay, New Forest: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28338555 Mackerel shoals: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28983591 Whitebait: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-dorset-28894739 Bass protection: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-28995033 September Who knows what else is down there: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-29054889 Nov Cornish surfing charity wants smoking ban on beaches: http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/29643552 The Dutch boy mopping up a sea of plastic: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-29631332

Brilliant, well done Paul.

"There's just a few weeks left until Fisheries Minister George Eustice decides how fishing quota will be distributed in 2015. He has a unique opportunity to redistribute it to local, low-impact fishermen, instead of continuing to give it to huge foreign fishing vessels. I've written to every Greenpeace supporter who lives in or near a coastal community, and so far over 1,700 people have sent letters to ask Mr Eustice to protect our seas, revive local fishing jobs, and support coastal communities." -Victoria Henry, Greenpeace To add your voice, click here: https://secure.greenpeace.org.uk/fair-fishing1 You can edit the text before it is sent, so feel free to add in some text about Recreational Sea Angling

There is so much Marine Conservation information being posted on Social Media these days that (along with having a new job) I'm struggling to do my reports in the 'massive-long-report-of-links format... So instead, I'm going to put up individual links of interest throughout the month, with a round-up at each meeting. Here's the first! http://www.dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk/t/BA2TY-V88581432877467138-351859911449224-WENMP

Hi All I'm looking to get a piece of stainless sheet, the size of a piece of A5 paper, 2-3mm thick, with a hole drilled in each corner... and my house number laser-cut out of the middle. Can anyone recommend someone local and fairly priced who could do such a thing, please? Ta!

Makes me want to refit mine! Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

The latest scientific advice on bass stocks is very worrying but has served to put the vulnerability of bass stocks and our sport into the spotlight. A succession of poor spawning years and increased fishing pressure has led to a steep decline in the bass spawning stock. The seriousness of the situation has at last been recognised by EU Fisheries and plans are being made to reduce fishing effort, protect the fish during spawning and allow more juvenile fish to reach spawning size. But Europe is dragging its heels and arguing over quotas while the fishing pressure continues unabated. In the UK, DEFRA is currently deferring decisions until the EU has reached agreement, whilst locally the Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authorities (IFCAs) are giving increased consideration to their own role on bass management inside the 6 mile limit. Inevitably, something is going to happen over the coming months - arguably too little too late - but there has never been a better time for the Sea Angling Community and especially those who pursue bass to express their concerns and to establish in the minds of the decision makers: a) the validity and value of Recreational Sea Angling (RSA) and the crucial importance of bass for RSA. We want future management of bass to fully take account of the needs of Sea Anglers and that means altering the 'management machine' that has historically only been geared to consider fisheries management from a commercial perspective, to one where the unique requirements of RSA are better understood, appreciated and incorporated into future management objectives for bass. With these IMPORTANT opportunities in mind, BASS is running a one day workshop to better equip members to make representation WHERE IT WILL COUNT. So - If you are hesitant or confused but want to contact your MP, MEP, IFCA or other anglers or clubs for support but not sure how to go about it this workshop will give you the knowledge and confidence you need and help steer you in the right direction. We hope that as many of you a possible will be able to attend. DATE The workshop will be held on Sunday 19th October AGENDA Click here to see the provisional agenda VENUE The workshop will be held at the Almondsbury Interchange Hotel near Bristol. There is ample free parking at the Hotel. Refreshments and light lunch will be provided courtesy of BASS. Overnight accomodation at the Hotel is available at a cost of £59 for double room with breakfast or £49 for single room with breakfast.The Hotel does not provide an evening meal but there are several very good eating options nearby. For anyone wishing to bring partners/wives/family there is plenty to do in the Bristol area. If you would like to attend please contact Steve Pitts by email steve@pitts18.freeserve.co.uk as soon as possible and include your full name and address and telephone number(s).

Also, this: http://www.pescaricreativa.org/notizie/item/341-campagna-nazionale-per-la-gestione-della-spigola.html Sea Bass management - Italian campaign Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) is one of the most valuable and important fish in Mediterranean coastal waters for recreational fishing and its related economy. The evident decline of the wild stock, which could be naturally abundant in our seas, highlights the urgency of stock and fisheries assessment. Lack of these data makes implementation of proper management difficult. The critical situation of sea bass stock in the Mediterranean adversely affects the recreational fishing economy with loss of income and jobs. Italian coastal areas have a huge potential to be exploited which could benefit the recreational fishing sector. More and bigger bass would attract more anglers from Italy and abroad. More recreational anglers means more economy and more jobs to coastal communities and the Italian economy. With the lack of a national management plan for sea bass, a precautionary approach should be adopted. Technical restrictions to both commercial and recreational fishing are required in order to protect essential fish habitats and to reduce the fishing effort but they are inadequate for the purpose without a proper control policy and enforcement on illegal fishing. What we want in the Mediterranean Fishery A research program to assess the wild sea bass stock and the related recreational and commercial fisheries. A national sea bass management plan. The minimun landing size set at 40 cm to give most fish the chance to spawn at least once. A recreational daily bag limit set in number of fish. The prohibition of nets, longlines and passive fishing gear within 500 metres from the shore whatever the water depth. The inland brackish waters and sea waters regulation to be harmonized. A control scheme on seafood supply chain, enforced at local level, to fight illegal fishing and illegal sales of catches.

At the last PBSBAC meeting, Nigel H briefly covered the subject of digging Razors (or other clams) for bait or personal consumption in Poole harbour. Below is info about the intended new byelaw which is designed to allow "recreational" collecting. There would be closed seasons and closed areas (eg bird protection) from next summer. There is a possibility of bag limits. If they are like the collection limits for worms then I would personally say they are more than fair. Please can you let the SIFCA know how you feel about this. Communications of support for recreational/person collection are as valuable, if not more valuable than objections. Ta, Charlie -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dear All The following information relating to the Poole Harbour Dredge Permit byelaw is available on the Southern IFCA website under the news section: Southern IFCA is in the process of developing a new dredge permit byelaw for Poole Harbour. The byelaw will be accompanied by a permit with flexible conditions including temporal and spatial restrictions, restrictions on catch and gear restrictions. An Access Policy describes how Poole Harbour Dredge Permits will be issued under this byelaw. Southern IFCA has carried out an extensive period of informal consultation to inform the development of the byelaw, including an Impact Assessment. Following the informal stage of consultation and feedback there will be a formal stage of consultation. For a period of 28 days from 10th October 2014 we invite comments, support and objections to our byelaw before applying to the Secretary of State to sign the byelaw so as it may come into force in July 2015. The byelaw will be advertised locally and nationally. The relevant files are linked to the news item on the website or, for SIFCA officers, copies can be found on the y-drive under byelaws – Poole Harbour Dredge Permit – Information for Officers. The Access Policy describes how the permits will be issued so have a look at this and other documents and let stakeholders know about them. Please encourage stakeholders to engage through the formal consultation process which starts this Friday and lasts for 28 days. It is important that stakeholders reply to the consultation with both negative and positive comments so that the Authority and the Secretary of State can appreciate the full picture behind why this byelaw is being introduced. If you have any questions whatsoever regarding this byelaw please ask myself or Neil. Thanks Simon Pengelly Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Officer Email: Simon.Pengelly@southern-ifca.gov.uk Tel: 01202 721373 Mob:07834030309 Southern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority 64 Ashley Road, Parkstone, Poole. BH14 9BN Web: www.southern-ifca.gov.uk

Hi All No apologies for flagging this as URGENT. Italy is also worried about the decline of Sea Bass and are considering what to do about it. The Med is not covered by the same discussions that we have heard about recently, but it looks like they are having exactly the same problem. One thing which is being proposed by some sectors (you'll know who when you read the next bit) is the introduction of Bag Limits and a Sea Angling Licence. We know the pros and cons of these, and have our own views on whether we would be happy to pay or not, with some of the main resistance to such proposals being 'How would it be policed' and 'What would happen to the money'. Well in Italy the suggestion is that 70% of the income from licences would go to the Commercials. Now who do you think is proposing that? Unfortunately we are all in the EU, so we must stand up and let our views ben known about this, both to support our Italian counterparts and to make it clear how we feel about such a proposal here. If we don't say anything, and it gets implemented in Italy, and we end up with the same thing here... we will only have ourselves to blame. "There is an amendment in Italian Financial law, to be approved in 20 days which asks for RSA license. 20 euros from shore, 200 euros from boat. Money from it to Commercial fisheries associations." https://www.facebook.com/leon.roskilly https://twitter.com/LeonRosk EAA’s Italian member APR has this brief on their website: www.pescaricreativa.org/notizie/news/item/346-licenza-mare-gi%C3%A0-decisi-anche-i-costi.html I ran some of the legal text through Google translate (copied in below). Take note that the suggested boating fee 200 euro has been reduced to 100 euro in this latest draft for a bill. 70% of the revenue shall be allocated the support of commercial fishing and aquaculture; 30% to recreational/sport fishing Jan K 5.0.5 (..) 5. A portion of the resources referred to in paragraph 4, at 70 percent, is allocated to the state budget of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry to strengthen the initiatives of thenational three-year program of fishery and aquaculture products referred to in 'Article 2, paragraph 5-decies of the Decree-law of 29 December 2010, no. 225, converted with amendments by Law 26 February 2011, n. 10, through the financing of the development of competition and the competitiveness of the national fishing cooperatives and companies, as well as supporting employment in the sector, in accordance with Article 117 of the Constitution and in accordance with Community law and the funding to support initiatives in the field of sport and recreational fishing; an additional amount equal to 30 percent of those resources, is intended to increase the authorization of expenditure referred to in that article 2, paragraph 98, of the Law of 24 December 2007, n. 244. 5.0.6 (..) 3 At the time of the communication and any subsequent renewal, the person referred to in paragraph 1 shall be required to pay an annual contribution of € 100 if you intend to engage in sport fishing from motor boats and amounted to € 20 in other cases, be paid according to the terms and procedures established by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Forestry, in consultation with the Minister of Economy and Finance and the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport, to be issued within 30 days of the entry into force of this Act. Full text here: http://www.senato.it/japp/bgt/showdoc/frame.jsp?tipodoc=SommComm&leg=17&id=803936 In this email thread, this also came up: A few years ago, Greek commercial fishermen made representation to the Mediterranean Regional Advisory Council to have recreational sea angling prohibited throughout the Med from 6.00 pm Fridays to 6.00 am Mondays. Their rationale was that the recreational sea anglers were responsible for overfishing and since in Greece, commercials chose not to fish over weekends - they considered it unfair for recreationals to go fishing on Saturdays & Sundays. The proposal did not get the support of other members of the Med RAC and was dropped. LUCKY. And: I do not know whether licenses were issued by the authorities in other Member States in the same way as they were handed out in UK. Member states were required to implement a licensing system in 1992 so that a data of fishing effort was established. Prior to that no one really knew how many boats were fishing! MAFF decided to issue them without charge. Providing owners were able to provide some documentary evidence to show fish were being sold – irrespective of amounts – a licence was issued. The categories of licences gets quite complex but for our purposes we can stick to the principles. Licences consist of Vessel Capacity Units and the size and power of a vessel determine the VCUs required. For example: a boat 6 metres in length with a beam of 2.5 metres powered by a 30 HP engine requires 25 units. 6 X 2.5 + [kilowatt x 0.45] Kilowatt calculated by dividing HP by 1.341. Some licenses also have shell fish entitlement which means they can access lobsters and crabs without restrictions whilst those boats without shellfish entitlement are restricted. Units are available from brokers and I recently saw 60 units available for £20K and 37 units for sale at £8K. Don’t get too bogged down in the detail. The critical thing to remember is that these licenses, until fresh water fishing licenses, or car tax license, or TV license, shotgun licenses, etc. were handed out FOC and commercial fishing boat operators DO NOT PAY [and never have paid] any money to Government for access to public fishery resources for personal profit . Any monies paid for licenses are the result of trading licenses between fishermen. Some fishermen who happened to own large boats, were handed FOC licenses that they eventually sold for substantial sums exceeding £250K. UNREAL. We need a greater volume of emails landing on MEPs, MPs, EU fisheries committee member’s desks if we are to make a serious impact with the decision makers. This needs to come from the RSA sector who have the numerical potential to make a difference. We could end up paying a licence, the monies from which would pay the Beam Trawlers to keep smashing up Poole Bay, long after it has become economically unviable, and to our increasing detriment.

Stick with it Craig, I can sympathise in more ways than one. I'm hoping that the light at the end of the tunnel isn't the light of the oncoming train... See you soon I hope!

Me too Jim, got to keep the country running for all these old buggers and part-timers...

As in many other countries which have subsequently recovered their sports fisheries, ensuring that Recreational Anglers have something to catch...

Dear Mr xxxxxxxxx Thank you for your letter of 1 September about bass stocks. I have been asked to reply. We are very aware of the importance of bass stocks both to recreational and commercial fishermen. There is no doubt that the latest ICES advice brings the need to achieve an effective management approach into sharp focus. Defra has been instrumental in continuing to push for effective EU-wide conservation measures to set us on the path to ensuring the stock recovers and becomes sustainable. We are pleased to report that the need for urgent management measures has now been agreed by all interested Member States, with the aim of reducing fishing mortality from the recent high levels by both commercial and recreational sectors, and bearing in mind recent poor annual recruitment contributing heavily to the stock decline. This consensus for management action relates to the main bass stock in the Celtic sea, Channel, Irish Sea and North Sea. The interested Member States (i.e. France, UK, Netherlands, Ireland, Belgium, Spain and Portugal) agreed on the following key factors: · acceptance of the assessment of the state of the stock; · a total allowable catch (TAC) not being the best option; · the need for immediate action to reduce fishing mortality significantly, with specific limits on targeted fisheries, both commercial and recreational; · the need to protect spawning aggregation areas; · the need to take into account socio-economic factors; and, · beyond immediate action the need in the medium term for a management plan. This consensus is important as it now paves the way for action to be taken forward by the Commission, with the intention of including proposals in the Fishing Opportunities Regulation for 2015 for agreement at December Council. There is still further discussion expected with the Commission on whether the restrictions on commercial vessels will include entry and effort limits or catch limits for vessels, the latter being preferred by the UK. In addition, the Commission indicated that it would want to provide for closed fishing seasons for the commercial sector, and will be exploring the best legislative means to do so promptly for 2015. This should mean closing the main spawning aggregation areas in South West waters to directed fisheries, consequently ending the pair trawl fishery during the spring months, targeted fishing which alone accounts for 25% of the EU catch. The Commission is also likely to propose catch limits for recreational fisheries (e.g. bag limits). Most of the interested Member States already have some sort of bag limit. An EU standard would, we think, be a new approach and an appropriate level would need to be set, for example, we have an estimate that a two fish bag limit per fisherman a day would reduce the UK recreational take by a third. We believe bag limits as well as catch and release is in line with good conservation practice advocated by the recreational sea angling community, so options available to Member States on how to implement this for bass as an EU standard will be important. We fully understand that the natural corollary of setting an EU bag limit is that you would expect to see clear action taken to significantly reduce the commercial catch, and we believe the measures discussed above will achieve this. The Commission will gather information on the social and economic implications of different management scenarios for commercial small scale and large scale fisheries and recreational fisheries. Member States were asked to support this by supplying information, and a data call will be sent out for this purpose. The Commission will have presented the outcome of this meeting in their scheduled presentation at the North Western Waters/North Sea Advisory Councils’ sea bass workshop in Dublin on 18 September, in order to begin to obtain a range of views from interested parties as the necessary measures are developed. While the immediate priority is to reduce the current high levels of fishing mortality at EU level, this will need to be followed up with the development of a multi-annual management plan that includes high level targets and provides for improved selectivity in mixed fisheries. Our scientific experts have highlighted the need for the plan to be dynamic, enabling measures to be adapted in light of changes in the state of the stock. In the context of EU level discussions, minimum landing sizes were generally considered potentially useful for commercial and recreational line fisheries where undersized fish can be released alive in good condition, but a more difficult proposition for mixed fisheries where few fish could be returned with high survival and where discarding of dead fish would therefore increase. Development of measures under an EU management plan could therefore consider appropriate changes to gear or spatio-temporal fishing patterns to reduce capture of undersized bass. An EU management structure and approach, established in the way we anticipate, will provide the context to review our domestic management arrangements. George Eustice’s confirmation of the previous Ministerial undertaking to review the domestic minimum landing size for bass still stands in this regard. Against the background of EU developments our domestic management role remains particularly important in consideration of the site fidelity characteristics of bass, meaning local management will make a key contribution. The Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authorities, in their role in managing our inshore fisheries, will be key contributors of local knowledge, as well as the recreational sea angling and commercial sectors in contributing to any update of domestic rules. Meanwhile, this new Member State consensus on a way forward to agree an EU approach is a key step towards tackling the decline in bass stocks, and one that sees a degree of fruition for Defra’s efforts to provide and advocate a model of what that approach should look like. Yours sincerely, Justin Thornhill Defra - Customer Contact Unit

If any of you chaps who don't have to report for duty daily can attend this, that would be great! It's : MEETING OF THE JOINT IFCA COMMITTEE – 18 SEPTEMBER 2014 A meeting of the Joint IFCA Committee will be held in Elizabeth II Court, Winchester on Thursday 18 September at 1400. Unfortunately I am still a full-time wage-slave and worse have just started a new job so can't get time off yet...