Bristol Channel sea bass
Last Updated: 15th December 2009
Number of fisheries: 1
Species
Sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)
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MSC assessment status
The certification body, Moody Marine Ltd., has announced its intention to use the MSC’s default Assessment Tree and to use the RBF in place of the default Assessment Tree to evaluate PIs 1.1.1 (stock status), 2.1.1 (retained species), 2.2.1 (bycatch (discard) species), 2.4.1 (habitats) and 2.5.1 (ecosystems) in the scoring of the Bristol Channel sea bass fishery against the MSC Principles and Criteria.
Any persons wishing to comment on this proposed use of the Default Assessment Tree and RBF are invited to contact Jim Andrews by 5pm GMT, 30th December 2009.
Furthermore, Moody Marine Ltd., has announced that the Bristol Channel sea bass fishery is now entering the information gathering phase of the assessment. The primary objective of this stage is to collect information on the fishery and in particular to speak to representatives of the fishery, fishery management bodies and other stakeholders of the fishery. Meetings will be carried out over the period of the 9th-11th February 2010 in various locations over the South-West of England and South Wales.
Any stakeholder with information on this fishery that should be considered in the assessment, or who wishes to meet with Moody Marine should contact Jim Andrews, no later than 5pm GMT 15th January 2010.
Finally, Moody Marine has announced that that the Bristol Channel sea bass fishery is to change the Unit of Certification following feedback from stakeholders and subsequent discussions with the client (the North Devon Fishermen’s Association). The geographic area of the Unit of Certification is to be altered and the new western boundary of the unit of certification will now be marked by a line from St Agnes Head in Cornwall (50°19’10.2”N 5°14’4.6”W) to St David’s Head in Pembrokeshire (51°51’41.2”N 5°19’9.8”W). The unit of certification area now includes parts of ICES Areas VIIg as well as Area VIIf.
Please refer to the assessment downloads section for further information.
Fishery location
ICES Area VIIf, East of 5º 30’ West.
Fishing method
Demersal Otter trawl
Fishery management
All fisheries for sea bass, including the recreational and part time fisheries, are governed by EU legislation which prohibits the landing of sea bass below 36cm in length. In the Cornwall and South Wales SFC districts the minimum landing size for bass is 37.5 cm. Under current EU legislation, a directed fishery for bass using a demersal otter trawl is subject to minimum mesh size restriction.
National legislation restricts fishing for bass from a boat in bass nursery areas, i.e. 37 estuaries around the coast of England and Wales.
Bass are not subject to an EU or UK quota, therefore there are no current restrictions on the quantity
Commercial market
The main markets for sea bass caught in the Bristol Channel are the domestic market and other EU markets.
Assessment timeline
The assessment process is expected to take 12 months and is scheduled for completion around June 2010. Please see the download section for a detailed assessment timeline.
The target eligibility date for this fishery is the 1st of April 2010.
The MSC ecolabel can only be applied to product from certified fisheries. The MSC program does allow, in certain circumstances and within strict traceability requirements, the MSC ecolabel to be applied following certification to product caught before the actual date of certification. The target eligibility date therefore represents the date from which products may become eligible to carry the MSC ecolabel, however they cannot be sold until and if the fishery is certified. The actual eligibility date will be determined if the fishery is certified to the MSC standard.
To find out more about when fish from this fishery may be sold with the MSC ecolabel, please follow this link (http://www.msc.org/get-certified/supply-chain/eligibility-dates).
