Environment Agency News Release


A Bridgwater man was today (March 19, 2008) banned from fishing for elvers for three years for blatantly disregarding local byelaws in a bid to boost his catch. Jason Irish was also fined a total of £500 in a case brought by the Environment Agency.

On April 18, 2007 Agency officers were checking fishing licences on the River Parrett near Stathe, Burrowbridge when they discovered what they believed to be an oversized net. However, Jason Irish threw it into the river before they could measure it in a bid to evade prosecution.

Elver fishermen are only permitted to use dip nets up to a certain size. Each net must be hand held and not fixed in any way. Agency officers noticed Irish was using a net in conjunction with a long pole and was tethered to the riverbank by a rope. This is also illegal.

Any net that is oversized or fixed gives a fisherman an unfair advantage and enables him to catch more than his fair share of elvers that currently fetch around £250 per kilogram.

On a separate occasion (April 30, 2007) Irish was caught using a net that was too long near the Environment Agency’s Northmoor pumping station. The net was also being used too close to the pumping station’s tidal gate – an obstruction around which elvers tend to congregate in large numbers.

Local fishing byelaws state that elver nets must not be used within 10 metres of a river obstruction that hinders the passage of the eels such as a tidal gate. This is to protect the young eels and stop them from being over exploited.

The court heard that Irish had previous convictions for illegal fishing on the River Parrett. In 2005 he was caught interfering with and diverting the flow of water at the Northmoor pumping station in an attempt to boost his elver catch. His actions could have damaged sensitive pumps and increased the risk of flooding to surrounding land and properties.

‘The defendant is a repeat offender who seems incapable of fishing legally on the River Parrett. His actions were financially motivated and detrimental to both the environment and law abiding fishermen. This prosecution sends out a clear message that the Environment Agency will not tolerate illegal fishing,’ said Richard Dearnley for the Agency.

Appearing before Bridgwater magistrates, Jason Irish, of 100 Sedgemoor Road, Bridgwater, Somerset was today fined £390 and ordered to pay £110 costs after pleading guilty to four offences under the Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 and National Eel Fishing Byelaws 2004 including using an unauthorised fixed engine, namely an elver dip net, in tidal waters, refused to allow a water bailiff to seize fishing tackle, used an over-sized net to fish for elvers and used a dip net within 10 metres of an obstruction.

The European eel has a complex life history. Adult eels spawn in the Sargasso Sea off the Caribbean coast. Larvae hatch and drift in the Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic currents towards the shores of Europe and North Africa. By the time they reach the UK they are known as glass eels or elvers. After spending some time in freshwater they turn mainly yellow in colour and remain in this state until starting their return journey to the Sargasso Sea when their skin colour changes to silver.

Elvers enter the Severn Estuary in large runs and move up river on incoming tides. Their progress upstream is greatly influenced by the amount of fresh water flowing down a river. The young eels are caught by fishermen using hand held nets.

Eels have been exploited by man for thousands of years. There is a thriving commercial market worldwide. On the River Parrett alone, it is estimated the fishery is worth between £750,000 – £1 million a year. Most of the elvers are exported.

In Somerset the elvering season is between January and the end of May. There are approximately 200 licensed fishermen. Prices vary dramatically from year to year. Elvers currently fetch approximately £250 per kilogram.

In the late 1980s a licensing system was introduced to help conserve eels stocks and make sure elvers weren’t over exploited by what was becoming a multi-million pound global industry.

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