„population“

The European sea bass is not endangered…

According to the European Union the European sea bass is not considered endangered. Judging from the amount of fish and the yearly fishing quota they seem to have a point- if there just weren’t certain specialists on European sea bass and biologists sounding alarm. The average size of fish caught is decreasing. This shouldn’t be of great surprise considering retention limit, per regulation, is 36cm, with the exception of Ireland with 40cm (see bottom right-hand graphic) 

Now it’s up to the anglers…

European sea bass are slow growing fish. 

(average size - atlantic ozean)

Since there are still no mandatory minimums on size and pubertal development, every fisherman should give the European sea bass a fair chance for reproduction. Personally, I put back about 90% of the fish I catch and only keep fish of around 50cm for my own needs.

Ireland as a great example

 The Irish are not only pioneers in the field of retention limits for European sea bass: May 15^th to June 15^th is closed season, the possession limit is two fish per angler per day. By now, commercial fishing, i.e. selling, is prohibited on the island. Unfortunately, Ireland is still the only country with their regulations protecting the European sea bass population. 

But some European sea bass specialists in England and France are also fighting for the rights of the maritime predators. The organizations B.A.S.S. , SOSbar or Irish Bass have been fighting for their fish for a couple of years now, with increasing success.

wolfsbarsch.com
member of UK B.A.S.S.