19 March 2007 – The following message has been sent by Defra
- Ben Bradshaw announced on 10 August 2006 his decision to increase
the Minimum Landing Size (MLS) for bass from 36 to 40cm and the Minimum Mesh
Size for enmeshing nets used to target bass from 90 to 100mm. - On 14 March the Minister met with representatives from the National
Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations to discuss their concerns about the
measures. - The outcome of this meeting was the Minister’s agreement to consider
the points raised by the NFFO and any new evidence before considering the
introduction of the Statutory Instrument (SI). We will be looking in
particular at the evidence and the extent to which discards will increase at
a MLS of 40cm. - The SI will therefore not come into force as planned on 6 April.
- We realise this move will create some uncertainty for both the
commercial and the recreational sector. However, we need to ensure that all
the available evidence is considered carefully before legislation is
introduced. - Defra will confirm in due course whether and on what date
legislation will come into force once the evidence has been evaluated.
If you would like to make a comment on this article, please contact BASS and we’ll add your comment below.
19 March 2007 – From H.A.:
Words fail me. I’m bombarding Defra ‘names’ with my own protests!
20 March 2007 – From Danz:
I feel sick, this is just ridiculous. Gives you that horrid sinking feeling in your stomach… I can’t believe this.