TAC (Total Allowable Catch) regulations are expected to be published in January 2019.
Following the December Council of Fisheries Minister of the European Union it is expected:
- For recreational fisheries, including from shore, in ICES divisions 4b, 4c, 6a, 7a to 7k: a bag limit of one fish per day from 1 April to 31 October 2019
- For any commercial fisheries in ICES divisions 4b, 4c, 7d, 7e, 7f and 7h and in waters within 12 nautical miles from baselines under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom in ICES divisions 7a and 7g:
Only fishing vessels with a bass authorisation issued by the MMO based on a track record of bass landings in the reference period 1 July 2015 to 30 September 2016 or a bass authorisation obtained via transfer onto a replacement vessel with no increase in tonnage or engine power will be able to land bass
Bass will continue not to be subject to the landings obligation. Any bass caught above the quantity a vessel is authorised to land must be discarded.
A total closure period for months of February and March 2019 will apply to all methods of fishing.
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