Licence Dodgeing

[Mally]

Okay, These are extracts taken from a EA press release found elsewhere on this site,

 

Enforcement teams made checks on 1057 waters across England and Wales between 1 and 3 May and caught 1,122 illegal anglers who are cheating the 12,700 licenced anglers out of valuable resource – and not playing the sport fairly.

 

Environment Agency Head of Fisheries Dafydd Evans said "Environment Agency inspectors checked over 14,000 licences"

 

Can you spot the mistake her or is it just me? They checked 14,000 licences? But the 1,122 anglers they found without licences were cheating the 12,700 licesenced anglers?

 

It then goes on to say,

 

The message is sinking in with evading anglers, as the rate of evasion dropped from 8.45% in 2003 to 7.93% this time round.

 

Do they honestly think they caought everone who was fishing without a licence that day, and that everone who fishes without a licence was fishing? The true 'evasion rate' must be somewhere nearer 50%+?

[Peter Waller]

It doesn't end there Mally. How many people had borrowed a licence from a friend. We need photo I.D. licences!

 

The proportion of licence evasion is probably about average, 1 in 10 basically.

[wunnus]

Just give the bailiffs a baseball bat.

[dizidave]

I cant beleive theres only that many licensed anglers?!

 

Surely its more.

[Tog]

Nope - there's not just 14,000 licenced anglers - the EA only checked 14,000 anglers! but the figure of 10% is probably correct. Maybe more fisheries and tackle shops should check the licence on anyone after a day ticket? I know some do!

[Keith Finn]

Funnily enough, I seen the NRA bailiff the other day, the first time I have seen one in over 15 yrs,.

Talking to him,out of over a hundred anglers checked, everyone of them had a licence.

The message must have got through with all the regular anglers having one and it tending to be mainly fair weather/a couple of times a year fishermen going without!

Keith

[trent.barbeler]

Dear Keith,

 

Shows clearly how long its been since you saw a bailiff Keith because they now all work for the EA not the NRA!!

 

Seriously though,

 

This whole problem revolves around lack of effective funds the EA receive. As I've said many times before, you simply can't have a system of funding in place which requires effective policing for it to work then get rid of all the copper's on the beat!! No small wonder that license sales are falling if people think they stand a very good chance of getting away with it??

 

Then there's the honest guys that pay for their licenses year in year out. They are the honest chaps that have to stump up the license dodgers money with paying yearly price rises for their licenses to fill the shortfall!! Yep, its a really fair and effective way of funding EA fisheries work all right??!!

 

I have no complaints about funding EA fisheries work as they do a very good job provided they get enough funds to do their jobs properly. But come on, lets make this system work at least?

 

EA enforcement is not working. So lets start to think about ways of making sure everyone buys a rod license if we are to stick with this system? Or, scrap the idea alltogether and come up with a better, more workable system whereby EA fisheries is funded a whole lot better than it is presently?

 

Regards,

 

Lee.

[Vagabond]

Lets get the costs in perspective.

 

I've had my licence checked just once in 60 years of angling. Some might think that means the bailiffs aren't doing their job, but as far as I am concerned, I want my licence fees spent on looking after the fisheries, not in checking that I have bought my licence.

 

To my mind the level of checks is about right. What is too low is the level of fines.

 

Look at it this way, according to figures in "Reel Life", the EA's magazine, 672 cheats were caught in two months, and fined a total of £30453 plus £29136 costs - that comes out at £45 odd each plus £43 odd costs. I'm not sure what proportion of that ends up in the EA's coffers, but no doubt someone will tell me.

 

Now consider that an angler who buys a licence coughs up £23 a year, or £92 over four years (or a bit more with increases in the pipeline).

 

By contrast a cheat coughs up on average £45 plus £43 costs each time he is caught, so if he is caught less often than once every four years he is in pocket.

 

Clearly the fines need to be trebled, so that if as someone suggested, 10% are cheating, then if caught they should be paying the equivalent of 12 years licence fees.

 

I would much rather things moved that way than bailiffs spent more time checking licences, for that would mean they spent less time looking after fisheries.

 

[ 10. May 2004, 12:37 PM: Message edited by: Vagabond ]

[ian mckay]

YEAH WE NEED PHOTO ROD LICENSES

[Tog]

A TV shop must inform the govmt of the customers details. To get car tax you have to show ins&MOT. Is it too much to ask tackle shops and fisheries to check the angler has a licence when purchasing a ticket? Regular anglers would obviously be 'skipped' as they have produced previously. Club anglers who do not need to purchase 'tickets' should be checked by their club bailiff when checking their 'book'. Cheats are stealing from honest Anglers just like car tax dodgers! :mad:

In 30 odd years of angling no EA/NRA/water board bailiff I have met (only a few!) has asked to see my licence - only odd fishery owners and a club bailiff or two.