How is it that we have a valuable resource that is ecologically under pressure year on year and the government allows people to catch them without any recourse or recompense. No one pays a license for the upkeep or management of this resource yet they are allowed to on sell their catch in the open market and pay not tax. Drive past any cafe or fish & chip shop and you will see whitebait on sale for exorbitant prices. It is about time that the authorities made it mandatory to have a license to white-bait and make it a criminal offense to sell. We need a license to fish for salmon and trout and we can’t sell it for monetary gain so what is the difference!
