Funded by the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (£241,000), the Immature Bass Acoustic Stock Surveillance (I-BASS) project investigates how European bass, Dicentrarchus labrax, use nursery areas through the tagging of juvenile bass and installation of acoustic arrays in three bass nursery areas in the southwest of England.
The research assessed the effectiveness of different nursery areas at protecting immature bass from capture within commercial fisheries, and helped to identify habitats or features which are of importance to bass development. The outcomes of this research provided vital knowledge to support decision-making for the future management of this high-value, iconic species.
