The GFAC Table
SSACN - Give Fish A Chance
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 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.
The GFAC table.
| Species of Fish | GFAC (cms) | Species of Fish | GFAC (cms) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bass | 46 | Mackerel | 34 |
| Bib (Pout) | 22 | Megrim | 28 |
| Bream - Black | 23 | Mullet - Grey (thin) | 47 |
| Bream - Gilthead | 36 | Mullet - Grey | 47 |
| Bream - Rays | 40 | Mullet - Red | 16 |
| Bream - Red | 30 | Mullet - Golden Grey | 34 |
| Brill | 41 | Plaice | 35 |
| Bull Huss | 80 | Pollack | 50 |
| Coalfish | 60 | Poor Cod | 16 |
| Cod | 60 | Ray - Painted | 51* |
| Common Dab | 25 | Ray - Blonde | 45* |
| Dover Sole | 35 | Ray - Cuckoo | 45* |
| Flounder | 28 | Ray - Eagle | 45* |
| Garfish | 45 | Ray - Spotted | 48* |
| Gurnard - Streaked | 20 | Ray - Starry | 45* |
| Gurnard - Grey | 20 | Ray - Sting | 40* |
| Gurnard - Red | 25 | Ray - Thornback | 57* |
| Gurnard - Tub | 25 | Smoothhound | 80 |
| Haddock | 40 | Torsk / Tusk | 50 |
| Hake | 55 | Trigger Fish | 20 |
| Halibut | 110 | Turbot | 46 |
| Herring | 27 | Whiting | 30 |
| Horse Mackerel | 30 | Witch | 30 |
| John Dory | 35 | Wolf-fish | 60 |
| Lemon Sole | 30 | Wrasse - Ballan | 15 |
| Lesser Spotted Dogfish | 60 | Wrasse - Cuckoo | 18 |
| Ling | 100 | Weever - Greater | 20 |
| NB:: measure fish with a | * across its wings |
Note : 1
SSACN would like to remind all anglers fishing in Scottish waters that they must release any of the following : Angel shark, common skate, white skate, porbeagle, spurdog, knifetooth dogfish, sailfin roughshark, greater lanternshark, undulate ray, leafscale gulpershark, portuguese dogfish, blackmouth catshark, longnose velvet dogfish, black dogfish, greenland shark, six-gilled shark, velvet belly, deep-water catsharks, frilled shark, birdbeak dogfish, kitefin shark, tope.
Currently there are are no European size limits for skates and ray though some authorities have set a minimum disc width of 45cm.
Please 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.
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, just use the ‘Contact Us’ facility below - many thanks.
