How would an annual limit work?
It's hard enough to do it by trip, do all skippers carry a log book with each angler's name and each of their catch log down?
How would an annual limit work?It's hard enough to do it by trip, do all skippers carry a log book with each angler's name and each of their catch log down?
Haven't given a thought to implementation - simply pointing out that from a conservation perspective the implementation of bag limits is ridiculous without an annual baseline.
Otherwise, if you set it at, for example, '5 a day' someone fishing 365 days a year can take 1,825 fish.......and someone who goes out twice could take 10.
The real problem is that both would think they were doing their bit for conservation by only taking those fish - people need to think a little wider; as was I believe the point of the initial post in the thread.
'pose we can go down the aussie route and introduce bag limit not only on the boat but also in your freezer at home, so say if you are allow 10 bass, you go and caught 10 yesterday, had 2 for tea, that leave 8 in the fridge. You go out again today, caught 5, you are over the limit i.e 8+5=13.
certainly better but, both there and in the US, they have much more appropriate size limits driven by science as well rather than ....... well, how we approach things basically!
also, in fairness all round, both the US and Aus have 'sportfishing' whilst we seem to equate charter fishing/professional angling with 'catching'. Many charter skippers in this area have been trying hard to change this focus but it's difficult - and always will be.
Interesting topic
and following on from Duncan's comments
about 20 years ago when I was still competition fishing a lot on charter trips, the Weymouth boats instigated measures to release as many fish as possible and limit bag weight comps.
while in Plymouth they carried on with the old methods, and skippers sold the catch not wanted by their punters.
While Weymouth is still a thriving charter port, Plymouth sadly is not.
Not hard to see why is it.
Last year on our Alderney trip, Dan and I chatted in the Pub with one of the Weymouth skippers who fishes the Islands a lot and tries to stick to an eighteen inch minimum size for turbot.
We thought that such a good idea that we used it on that trip.
It meant a lot of fish caught were returned, but it suited us. We had a few for the table and released more than usual.
It is only a drop in the ocean, but it is a start.
maybe someone up there was watching 
, later in the year a 19lb fish was caught on Alfresco 
We can all do a bit to help , if we want to
Charlie
I guess we would have more "sport fishing" if there were plently of fish! If the minimum sizes were bigger then the sport fish that were plentlyful would be bigger and give sport.
A 36cm bass is not great sport - but if fun maybe, 45cm is good sport, so a min size of 50cm might mean an increase of 45cm fish to give the sporting angle what they want.