Achieving an excellent bass fishery

Aim

Get a science report on pros and cons of different targets for the bass fishery. Use this to ask the government to target a large bass stock

Bass Angling Conservation's vision is an excellent bass fishery:

• for sea anglers - fewer blanks, more hook-ups, more trophy bass landed
• for spearfishers - more bass and more big bass
• for small-scale commercial fishers – higher catch per unit of effort, more big fish with a higher price per kilo, less cost, more profit.
• for recreational fishing businesses - more fish = a better fishing experience = more fishing = more sales = more profit
• for everyone - a restored bass stock that improves the marine ecosystem
  
  
  

We can only get an excellent bass fishery if we target a large stock size.  But Defra targets killing the highest tonnage of bass over time and keeping the stock at a low level.  Recreational fishers are the biggest stakeholder in the bass fishery and commercial bass fishers are mostly small-scale vessels, so why do we still have a target that only suits high-volume commercial fishers and ignores the needs of recreational fishers and small-scale commercial fishers?

To help change Defra’s mind, we need a scientific review of the current target and possible alternative targets.  This review will cost £27,000 and take three months to complete.

The Marine Management Organisation has agreed to refund 75% of the cost. So Bass Angling Conservation needs Crowdfunding donations of £7,000 to pay the balance.

Time is short, the project must complete by 31 March 2026, and since the project will take three months, we need to raise the funds and start the project by the end of December 2025.

Bass Angling Conservation was formed to continue the work of Save Our Sea Bass and has been pushing for a better bass fishery since 2014.

This project successfully funded on 30th December 2025