The GFAC Table
It’s not what you take out – it’s what you put back.
FISH FOR THE FUTURE
Deciding whether a fish is a suitable size to take for the table is a cause for concern for many conservation minded anglers. Some use their federations’s / association’s or club’s competition size limits, others the government’s minimum landing size (MLS).
Unfortunately none of these reflect the maturity of a fish and it’s ability to reproduce.
SSACN’s GFAC sizes are a voluntary measure for anglers wishing to do their bit to help ensure the future of a species – by adopting these, anglers can be reasonably certain a fish has had at least one chance to breed.
SSACN – Give Fish A Chance
A printable version of the table is available here .
| Species of Fish | GFAC (cms) | Species of Fish | GFAC (cms) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | 45 | Mullet - Grey (thin) | 40 |
| Bib (Pout) | 20 | Mullet - Grey | 40 |
| Bream - Black | 30 | Mullet - Red | 24 |
| Bream - Gilthead | 40 | Mullet - Golden Grey | 35 |
| Bream - Ray's | 40 | Nursehound / Bull Huss | 80 |
| Bream - Red | 25 | Plaice | 31 |
| Brill | 40 | Pollack | 55 |
| Cod | 50 | Poor Cod | 23 |
| Common Dab | 25 | Ray - Painted | 70 |
| Conger | 75 | Ray - Blonde | 100 |
| Dover Sole | 30 | Ray - Cuckoo | 60 |
| Flounder | 30 | Ray - Eagle | 70 |
| Garfish | 45 | Ray - Spotted | 55 |
| Gurnard - Streaked | 20 | Ray - Starry | 40 |
| Gurnard - Grey | 25 | Ray - Thornback | 95 |
| Gurnard - Red | 20 | Rockling - 3 bearded | 30 |
| Gurnard - Tub | 20 | Saithe (Coalfish) | 60 |
| Haddock | 40 | Smoothhound | 80 |
| Hake | 50 | Torsk / Tusk | 50 |
| Halibut | 110 | Trigger Fish | 20 |
| Herring | 25 | Turbot | 40 |
| Horse Mackerel | 25 | Whiting | 27 |
| John Dory | 35 | Witch | 28 |
| Lemon Sole | 30 | Wolf-fish | 60 |
| Lesser Spotted Dogfish | 60 | Wrasse - Ballan | 25 |
| Ling | 90 | Wrasse - Cuckoo | 25 |
| Mackerel | 30 | ||
| Megrim | 28 |
SSACN recommend anglers release all – Angler Fish, Monkfish (Angel Shark), Common Eel, Common Skate, Spurdog or Undulate Ray as all these are critically endangered – check back occasionally for any updates.
It would really help get the message across to a much broader audience if you could print a few off and distribute them at your local tackle shop, club meeting etc.
If you’d like a copy laminated in either A4 or A5 formats, send our Secretary your address and three first class stamps (or make a donation using paypal) and he’ll get them to you – if you would like a greater amount, he’ll be more than happy to work out a reasonable cost.
His address and the paypal facility are on our subscribe or donate page.
The optimal supply of fish depends on the fish being allowed to grow and spawn before they are caught - EU Parliament – reducing discards of fish (COM(2002) 656 2003/2036(INI)
We would naturally be grateful for any feedback; to help minimise ‘spam’, please use the email facility on the ‘Contact Us’ page – many thanks.
