Anglers represented at inaugural Bass Fisheries Management Group meeting in London.

On Friday 8th November the Angling Trust joined other bass fishery stakeholders for the first Bass Fisheries Management Group meeting in London. The group focuses on implementing the Bass Fisheries Management Plan in England and is complimented by the Wales Sea Bass Advisory Group. It is the first meeting of the Bass Management Group since the publication of the Bass Fisheries Management Plan in December 2023.

The Angling Trust represent recreational fishing on the group alongside representatives from Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society (BASS), Bass Angling Conservation and the Professional Boatman’s Association. Other stakeholders represented in the group include commercial fishing organisations, environmental non-governmental organisations, the IFCAs, the Marine Management Organisation, Cefas and Natural England.

The minutes from the meeting and a list of representatives will be publicly available and published by Defra. We will provide a link as soon as they are available.

The Angling Trust believe that the first meeting was a positive step forward in bringing together all interested stakeholders around the same table to implement the Bass Fisheries Management Plan to achieve a sustainable bass fishery that benefits coastal communities.

We thank all anglers who engaged in the Bass Fishery Management Plan from its inception. Your contributions are vital to ensuring that recreational anglers voices are heard and that we can collectively deliver a bass fishery that sustains angling now and in the future.

As the Bass Management Group progresses, we will provide updates and further opportunities to share your views on topics related to implementing the Bass Fisheries Management Plan. Our understanding is that Defra seek to make this process as open and transparent as possible, and we share that view. Part of each representatives responsibility on the group is to canvass views from their sector to input into meetings and that is a responsibility we take seriously.

It is clear that this will be a marathon rather than a sprint. The Angling Trust believes that this is a pursuit worth making to achieve a bright future for our sport and that we are in a stronger position as a community than we have ever been in fighting for fish, fishing and the environment in saltwater. We thank you for your continued support and extend our gratitude to our friends and supporters at Bass Anglers’ Sportfishing Society (BASS), Professional Boatman’s Association (PBA) and Bass Angling Conservation.

You can contact the Angling Trust with your views on bass at admin@anglingtrust.net

Alternatively, you can contact Defra directly with questions you have related to the Bass Fisheries Management Plan and its implementation bassfmp@defra.gov.uk 

Meeting Documents

• Meeting Minutes (soon to be published)
• Bass FMP Evidence Presentation
• Bass FMP Update Presentation
• Authorisations Task & Finish Group (preliminary)
• Closed Season Task & Finish Group (preliminary)
• Evidence Task & Finish Group (preliminary)
• Gear and Developments to Minimise Bycatch Task & Finish Group (preliminary)
• Netting Review Task & Finish Group (preliminary)

Please note that as the Bass Management Group discusses further prioritisation at the next meeting(s) the Task and Finish Group briefings may be subject to change and their scope above are not confirmed.

The 2nd Bass Management Group meeting will take place in February 2025.

Bass Fisheries Management Plan Goals 

Bass Fisheries Management Plan Measures

This article was updated on Thursday 12th December to upload the associated documents from the meeting.