Anglers' Net - The UK Online Fishing Magazine: Illegal anglers are April Fools

Illegal anglers are April Fools
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Julian on 09 May, 2006 02:00:00
 
Nearly 500 anglers were prosecuted by the Environment Agency in April for
fishing without a rod licence.
“Courts across England and Wales continue to support the Environment
Agency’s campaign to stop illegal fishing,” explained Environment Agency
Head of Fisheries Dafydd Evans.
“Fishing without a licence is an offence and those caught fishing illegally
face tough penalties, including fines of up to £2,500 and a ban from fishing.
This time around the courts fined the illegal anglers a total of more than
£30,000 and charged them close to another £30,000 in costs.
“People who fish without a licence are cheating the system and their fellow
anglers. Around £19m is raised through rod licences and invested in fisheries
work that benefits all anglers, fish stocks and the waterside environment. Last
year more than 4,600 anglers paid almost £600,000 in fines and costs. We expect
more prosecutions following the recent May Bank Holiday blitz.”
Breakdown of prosecutions figures by region shown below.
Region    Prosecuted Total fines    Total costs
Anglian        26            £2,015        £1,559
Midlands      42            £2,744        £2,720
North East    68            £4,225        £4,145
North West   91            £5,131        £5,270
Southern      25            £2,110        £1,770
South West  65            £5,095        £4,220
Thames       138            £8,355        £8,255
Wales          21            £1,084        £1,290
Total        476            £30,759        £29,229