Bass Angling Conservation is proud to publish a review by SeaPlusPlus of the current bass harvest strategy and alternatives.

The report makes it crystal clear that the current bass harvest strategy will not deliver the excellent fishery recreational and small-scale commercial fishers want and deserve. A new harvest strategy is needed to maximise social and economic benefits from the bass fishery and to ensure ecosystem health and resilience.

The report sets out how we can transition to a new and better harvest strategy by:

• setting a lower level of fishing pressure, as an interim measure, to ensure a truly precautionary approach in the face of the many uncertainties in the bass fishery.
  
• developing a multi-goal harvest strategy that targets:
  
  • maximising social and economic benefits for coastal communities
    
  • a Large Fish Strategy (LFS) to maintain a robust age/size stock structure and improve resilience
    
  • ecosystem health
    
  • fairness for recreational fishers and small-scale commercial fishers

We are extremely grateful to:

• the 144 donors who together contributed £7,000 of match-funding in a matter of weeks; and
  
• the MMO for providing £20,250 of Fisheries and Seafood Scheme funding.

Without this funding, the report would not have been possible. A list of donors who provided their consent to be named is provided at page 62 of the report.