One of the features of the Bass Management Plan is carcass tagging of bass caught for sale.

If implemented, this measure will put a cap on the number of fish that can be caught for sale, and provide enforcement authorities with a useful tool for identifying illegal bass throughout the whole supply chain.

Although not yet adopted for bass, the environment agency are proposing that this system be put in place for the protection of salmon and sea trout.

Introducing their proposals, the EA state:

" Our new proposals to ban the sale of rod caught salmon and sea trout and introduce a carcass tagging scheme for net and trap caught fish of these species are also in this paper. We propose to introduce these in time for the 2009 season.

We plan to start the process to formally advertise these byelaws in April or May 2008 and there will then be a formal consultation period. We will post further information about the consultation procedure on these pages."

Further details of the EA proposals and the consultation are available at:

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk/subjects/fish/165773/1791055/1942427/?version=1&lang=_e