Enforcement patrols catch illegal anglers in Yorkshire
20 Jun 2014 04:21 PM
23 people prosecuted in
May
Illegal anglers are being warned
to obey the law or face prosecution after spot checks recorded 157 offences in
Yorkshire in the past three months.
Enforcement patrols carried out
during the coarse fish close season, which runs from 15 March to 15 June,
reported 18 offences relating to fishing out of season, and another 139
offences that mostly involved fishing without a licence.
In May alone, some 23 people
were prosecuted for illegal fishing in Yorkshire. The average fine for those
prosecuted was £250. Nationally, there were 128 prosecutions in May. One
angler’s failure to obtain a valid licence landed him with a fine of
£827, when a year-long licence would have cost him just
£27.
Peter Mischenko, Fisheries
Technical Officer at the Environment Agency, said:
Generally speaking, anglers in
Yorkshire are compliant with the law, but we are still out there carrying out
spot checks, and we do find people fishing illegally.
Many of these offences are
committed by the angler not having a licence, and we have also caught people
coarse fishing during the close season. Both of these types of offences are
crimes, and those who are caught will face appropriate enforcement action: they
could be fined or banned.
The coarse fishing close season
exists to allow the fish time to breed and spawn and so maintain a healthy
stock of fish. When people ignore it, they are putting fish stocks at risk,
which has a direct impact on the ecology of the watercourses and the enjoyment
of other anglers.
The new fishing season for
rivers, streams and drains began on 16 June, and those who want to get involved
in this fantastic sport can buy a rod licence from Post Officers, the Environment
Agency’s website.
Licences cost £27 (fixed
at the 2011 price) for a full annual licence and the money allows the
Environment Agency to continue to manage and improve fisheries on rivers,
streams and man-made drains.
Anyone who suspects illegal
fishing to be taking place should report the matter to the Environment
Agency’s incident hotline, on 0800 807060.