Fisheries and rod licensing - Kayaker caught poaching on Devon river
14 Apr 2014 12:31 PM
Beverley Nicholls
concealed bass and trout in his kayak after netting them during an illegal
fishing spree on the River Taw in north Devon.
A court heard how a Barnstaple
man caught more than 20 fish during an illegal fishing spree on the River Taw
in North Devon. Beverley Nicholls concealed bass and trout in his kayak after
netting them early one evening last summer.
The paddling poacher was caught
after a member of the public saw him using a net at Runsam Bridge and reported
the sighting to the Environment Agency. Two fishery officers were quickly at
the scene and saw the defendant fishing from his canoe. When they called to him
to ask if he’d caught anything, Nicholls replied ‘only a couple of
bass.’
One of the officers suggested he
returned the fish to the water unharmed as he was in a bass nursery area. He
asked Nicholls to haul in his net so he could check and make sure it was legal.
It contained four mullet and a bass.
The officer told the defendant
he was going to search his boat and asked him to get out. Nicholls tried to
paddle away. The officer then waded into the river and grabbed the cock-pit of
the canoe to stop him escaping. At one point Nicholls tried to push the officer
away with his paddle. He was warned he was at risk of being reported for
obstruction.
The canoe was brought ashore and
the defendant asked to empty the boat of fish. When one of the fisheries
officers checked inside the canoe he found a large bass that Nicholls had tried
to hide. He was allowed to keep the mullet as netting this species within a
bass nursery area is permitted.
A court heard how a Barnstaple
man caught more than 20 fish during an illegal fishing spree on the River Taw
in North Devon. Beverley Nicholls concealed bass and trout in his kayak after
netting them early one evening last summer.
The total number of fish
recovered included three bass, five rainbow trout, a brown trout, a sea trout
and 12 mullet. The sea trout (3lb) alone was worth approximately £30.
Nicholls, who lives on a houseboat in Barnstaple, said he knew there was a bass
nursery area on the River Torridge, but didn’t realise it extended to the
Taw estuary.
It is illegal to fish for bass
from a boat within the tidal limits of the Taw estuary from the site of the old
power station at Yelland to a point upstream at New Bridge between May 1
– October 31. A net limitation order is in place on the Taw and Torridge
estuary to protect salmon and sea trout on their migration from the sea to
their spawning grounds.
Paul Carter for the Environment
Agency said:
Bass nurseries help safeguard
stocks so it is important fishing from boats is restricted in these areas. The
defendant has an excellent knowledge of the Taw and Torridge and is aware of
local restrictions. On this occasion he chose to break the law and was
caught.
Appearing before Barnstaple
magistrates, Beverley Nicholls, was given a 12 month conditional discharge and
ordered to pay £200 costs after pleading guilty to illegally fishing for
bass and sea trout at Runsam Bridge on the River Taw on June 4, 2013. His net
was confiscated.
The case was the first joint
prosecution ever taken in the south west by the Inshore Fisheries Conservation
Authority (IFCA) and the Environment Agency. It was heard on Tuesday (April
8).
Members of the public can report
illegal fishing and other environmental crimes by calling the Environment
Agency’s free 24-hour hotline 0800 80 70 60.