The secret to finding wild bass off Mayo's coastline?
COUNTRYFILE
WINTER bank holidays are made for fishing.
Those shortest days are a final opportunity to catch a flatfish, a fat flounder or a tasty dab before these head offshore in search of deeper water.
There has been quite a movement toward catch and release angling.
To date I continue to resist and will continue to endure the as-yet mild disapproval of my fellow anglers, many of whom are convinced that throwing fish back after capturing them is somehow more 'sporting' than taking them home for the table.
Yet I only kill what I want to eat. Fish found on the supermarket shelf are caught far less sustainably.
A huge net dragged across the seabed does great damage to fish habitat, and for every specimen dredged or trawled that is large enough to be sold, there are others that must be tipped back into the ocean either injured or already dead.
And as for farmed fish, well, we know only too well how damaging intensive aquaculture can be.
For instance, shop-bought sea bass comes mostly from Turkey or Greece, where high stock densities mean individual fish must be vaccinated against a variety of ailments, including Nervous Necrosis Virus (one of a group of Nodavirus, RNA viruses), and related problems with viral encephalopathy (which affects the brain) and retinopathy (which causes blindness).
Farmed sea bass are harvested at a pretty small size, too, so that one fish would barely make a decent meal.
Yet if I wander down to the coast and manage to catch one of the wild bass that frequent parts of the Mayo coastline, not only do I get a nice bit of exercise in a beautiful location, I've also got myself a fine dinner for several people, one free from antibiotics and other chemical treatments and that has not caused any problems in being produced.
Where would I go if I was looking for a bass?
That, my friends and fellow anglers, is something you must find out for yourselves.
And what would I use to catch one or even two of these very fine fishes?
The same thing applies, but I'm sure you will have as much fun finding out as I ever did.
Many other species of fish are also being farmed, and all too often these also rely on having their lives sustained by artificial means so they can reach a marketable size. Salmon and trout spring immediately to mind.
The notion of 'organic' salmon and trout farming provides some relief for the environmentally conscious consumer, despite the fact that countless tonnes of waste are dumped directly into the sea and that sea lice from even the most responsible farms continue to endanger wild fish stocks.
There are other problems associated with aquatic fish farming too.
Escaped fish might breed with or alongside wild, native stock, causing a loss of genetic integrity and potential species weakness.
Outbreaks of disease do occur and have been known to spill into wild populations. We could go on, but the point of all this is that if only we learned to look after our wild fisheries there would be more than enough food for all.
Great strides have been made in recent times, with marine reserves springing up around the world.
These are areas strictly off-limits to commercial fishermen, where fish species can reproduce unmolested.
One female cod might lay four or five million eggs and other species are similarly fecund.
The potential for restocking parts of the ocean from which various types of fish have all but disappeared is evident. Unfortunately, our greed has changed ocean dynamics so much that things are just not straightforward.
What can we do? Nothing but go fishing. See you there.