Bass fishing regulations (FOI)

​Request

On 5 December 2018 the Government of Jersey website announced a change in the commercial bass fishing regulations:

"A meeting between the Jersey Fishermen’s Association and Environment Ministers has resulted in a short term relaxation of the current local bass fishing restrictions as part of scientific research work".

This change in regulation was sought by the Jersey Fishermen's Association (JFA) at a Marine Resources Panel Meeting on 19 November 2018. There is no record in the Minutes of that meeting that the Environment Minister, Deputy Young was present. The Minutes also show that the Assistant Environment Minister, Deputy Guida was absent as was the Director of Natural Environment.

Therefore, sometime between 19 November 2018 and 5 December 2018, the JFA met with the Environment Minister/s. I would appreciate details of who was present, the minutes from that meeting (if any) or failing that, file notes or summary of the discussions which led to the decision.

Also, I refer to two previously published Freedom of Information responses at the following links:

Bass netting statistics (FOI)

Bass gill net fishing statistics (FOI)

I would like further details of the amount, in numbers and weight, of bass caught in nets by commercial fishermen during the months of December 2018 and January 2019. I request the same information for the months November and December 2019 and January 2020. I would also ask for details of the sizes of bass (length in cm) of the bass caught during the months stated.

Response

The following table provides the bass statistics requested.

Please note that due to way our systems are configured the bass weights may include those caught by hook and line, however, the size count is solely from netted bass.

The total weight for January is not currently available as the weight details are submitted quarterly.

Growth, Housing and Environment do not hold any documentation regarding any meetings between the Jersey Fishermen’s Association (JFA) and the Minister for the Environment (the ‘Minister’) between 19 November and 5 December 2018.

However, the Marine Resources section provided the Minister with the attached Discussion Paper for consideration in relation to the proposed amendments to the licence conditions. Please note that the information contained in Annex 1 was provided by the JFA.

Ministerial Discussion Paper Nov 2018