Commercial bass fishermen are often heard to complain that anglers and unlicenced hobby netters are seriously affecting the market for bass.

Reports of bass going in the back doors of pubs and restaurants are common even now despite the introduction of the buyers and sellers legislation.

Carwyn Jones the Welsh Minister recently stated that the reduction in black fish selling was an important requirement and for him obviously over riding the need to protect immature bass through a sensible bass mls increase in Welsh waters.

One measure that could easily support the commercial market whilst making it harder for others to sell ‘back door’ bass would be the mandatory introduction and use of commercial bass carcass tags.

Only licenced commercial bass fishermen (any method) would have tags which could be issued each year free of charge by either defra, MFA, local Sea Fisheries Committees or Producer Organisations.

All bass offered for sale would have to be whole fish each with a tag which could not be removed until the fish was consumed or prepared for a meal.

Tags would be destroyed by removal rendering reuse impossible and retained as proof of origin.

Tags would be imprinted with each year.

The key would to also introduce legislation which would make it an offence for any wild bass to be sold or offered for sale without an appropriate tag with inspection powers granted to MFA, SFO and Environment Agency Officers.

Tags could easily be colour coded • one colour for netted fish another for premium line caught fish.

Yes it would add a bit of time for bass fishermen to add tags, but this would be compensated by a better market price through reduction of back door sales.

What criteria would be required for a commercial bass fishermen to be able to obtain tags?

Easy, a track record from sales dockets or other reliable evidence which showed the degree to which a dependence on bass was a core part of annual income.

A qualifying dependence of say 20% of annual income from sales of bass would be about right.

As most back door bass is cash in hand, bartered and of course tax free, I doubt there would be many non bona fide commercial fishermen who could provide such evidence.

Farmed bass I hear you cry?

Also easy, inspecting officers would require proof of purchase receipts to confirm farmed or place of origin.

This is not a far fetched, pie in the sky ideal.

Legislation akin to this already exists for salmon as encompassed by the Buyer Beware principle.

EA officers inspecting premises require the seller of wild salmon to quote a salmon licence number if the fish is angler provided or details of the licenced salmon netsmen, or receipts from a fish farm. Failure to do so can result in enforcement action against the seller.

Bona fide commercial bass fishermen want back door sales of bass stopped, so do bona fide bass anglers who return many fish or take a few home for the pot.

 Maybe this is something, for once, that both sides in unison could lobby the government to introduce?