Personal letter also sent to Robert Syms
Dear Robert Syms,
I am writing to you as one of your constituents about serious concerns centring on the recent Bass Ban for Recreational Sea Anglers.
I am a member of several local Angling Clubs, the largest of which is the Poole and District Small Boat Angling Club. We have 150 boats, used mainly for Recreational Angling and Leisure use.
In this club alone, the boats represent a conservative value of £2,000,000 plus - virtually all have been purchased and many manufactured in the UK. Numerous local businesses benefit from the annual expenditure on the angling activity, marine fees (generally at least several thousand per year), boat storage, maintenance, servicing, upgrades to boats, repairs, tackle and bait sales, transportation, harbour fees and
Marine Trades. All of these add significantly to the local economy and contribute greatly to the local skill base on which many jobs depend.
This pales into insignificance when you look at the Angling/Charter Fleets in Poole, Swanage, Weymouth, Lymington etc. where individual boats can cost over £200,000 each. Much of the income of these fleets is based on Recreational Angling Activities and this forms a significant part of local tourism, especially in the Summer months with angling groups coming from all over the country spending locally and often needing accommodation.
The recent ban on the taking of any Sea Bass for 6 months represents a significant inroad into these activities. It seems very unfair that the Recreational Sea Angling Sector had a total six month ban on taking a single Bass while the Commercial Sector, for at least part of the year, seems to have had its catch allowances increased.
From my personal experience all recreational Angling Clubs and, to the best of my knowledge, all local Angling Charter Boats are very conservation minded and happy to play their part in conserving Bass and other fish stocks to help sustainability. Indeed Angling Charter Boats often have a catch limit of 2 or 3 for most kinds of fish as part of their booking conditions. On my own boat we operate a catch and release policy with only a minimum number of fish per trip being taken specifically for our own consumption.
The Bass Ban for recreational Sea Anglers is seen by many as the thin end of the wedge, the recent 2012 Report on Recreational Sea Angling clearly demonstrated the activities economic value to the UK far outweighed that of the entire Commercial Sector. All we ask is to be listened to and treated equitably. I would also suggest that commercial Gill Netting for Bass be banned and replaced by traditional rod and line methods. This would go a long way to restoring Bass stocks and make them a sustainable catch. So too, would an increase in size limit to 45cms. from the current 42cms. as this would increase the breeding stock.
Could I please urge you to attend the Commons Debate on Thursday, February 11th at 2.15pm. to support the Motion on Bass Fishing being proposed by the R.H.M. for Cornwall, Scott Mann.
Yours sincerely,
Allan Green
