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THE BASS (DICENTRARCHUS LABRAX) IN CARDIGAN BAY F. I. SANT INTRODUCTION The sea bass is the premier fish of the British sea angler and is rightly so because of its sporting qualities and remarkable flavour. Bass are at the northern limit of their distribution in the British Isles and are confined generally below a line from the Mersey to the Wash. Kelley (1949, 1953, 1965, 1967 and 1968) analysed the growth of bass from scale measurements and showed the remarkable longevity of the species. The spawning and nursery areas of bass were a matter of considerable mystery for many years but Kennedy and Fitzmaurice (1972) in their definitive work on Irish Bass were able to show that spawning occurred in areas of shoal water and swift tides, and estuary mouths. The young fish were found in estuarine situations and fed on small crustaceans, worms and small fish. Mature bass are mainly found in shallow inshore waters and are quite catholic in food tastes. These adults have been shown to move only short distances from their home areas. Records of anglers point to a decline in the numbers of bass caught since the 1939-45 war due possibly to the ease of transport of bass anglers and netsmen to the coast. Except for a few netsmen and handliners commercial fishing for bass is negligible and the major causes in decline of numbers must lie at the feet of the angler. In recent years many bass anglers have become conscious of the disappearance of their quarry and have looked to naturalists for help. The formation of the Bass Anglers Sportfishing Society has pressurised the relevant authorities for legally enforced minimum sizes. Unfortunately these have not been as high as some angler-naturalists would like and are below the maturation sizes found by Kennedy and Fitzmaurice. For several years the author was secretary of the Aberystwyth Sea Angling Club and was responsible with D. G. Taylor for formulating the club's conservation policy. Large bags of fish were banned at contests, results being decided on the largest individual fish caught. Minimum sizes were given at a higher level than those of the national angling body. To gain a better knowledge of the bass in the area, local anglers were requested to send details of their catch and as many scales as possible to the author. A recent letter from an angler in Nature in Wales has stimulated this paper from the data so far gathered. METHOD Scales from 58 fish, from an area bounded by Cardigan in the south to Ynys-las in the north, were washed in Decon 80, dried and placed in photographic slide mounts. These were then projected in a slide projector onto a sheet of drawing paper and measured. Annual growth in weight was estimated from annual growth in area of the scales (Kelley 1968). In most cases anglers also supplied length and girth measurements. Stomach contents and bait were recorded, together with information useful to anglers such as water clarity, state of tide and wind.