Close season fish stealing

[Peter Sharpe]

Yesterday, while walking between Water Newton and Wansford on the Nene, I saw a group of three men "of Eastern European appearance", spinning for pike. They were obviously fishing for the pot, with what appeared to be quite primitive tackle, with no landing nets or any other unhooking gear, apart from what they could carry in their carrier bags. Closer to Wansford I saw another man with his girlfiend, blatantly spinning within sight of the public footpath. Last year during the close season, I saw somebody doing the same thing within easy sight of Milton Ferry bridge. This latter was a strange case, as he had a 42" landing net and a full set of pike tackle.

I phoned the Environment Agency yesterday, and I have to say that the person who answered didn't seem to be the slightest bit interested.

 

Can I urge everybody this Easter, to walk the banks of your local rivers and look for people doing this, as it seems to be getting out of all proportion. It might be best not to approach groups of people doing this, but a camera might help to get evidence, following a call to the EA's hotline on 0800 807060.

 

Just one boat patrol could easily find anyone doing this, but I have a feeling that the EA have no plans at all to act against close season fishing, unlicenced fishing and fish stealing. Perhaps a few photos published in the weekly angling press might stir them into action.

 

[ 26. March 2005, 11:51 AM: Message edited by: Peter Sharpe ]

[Peter Sharpe]

Just received this:

 

This is an automated message acknowledging receipt of your enquiry.

 

If you wish to report an incident i.e. pollution, fish in distress,

dumping of hazardous waste please call our 24 hour freephone incident

Hotline on 0800 80 70 60.

 

Regards.

 

National Customer Contact Team

 

>>> peter 03/25/05 21:46 >>>

[Liamsm]

Hi Peter,

If this guy was spinning I think that he could possibly be within the law.

All he has to do is say is that he is spinning for trout.

He would need a rod license also though to be legal.

Too easy to bend it all, the way it stands at the moment, almost impossible to police properly as well.

 

………….Liam

[Peter Sharpe]

I would doubt if there has been a trout caught on that stretch of the Nene in the last hundred years. You would be at least as likely to catch a trout on maggots or worms, but try giving that excuse in court.

[GlennB]

Peter Sharpe:

.... I phoned the Environment Agency yesterday, and I have to say that the person who answered didn't seem to be the slightest bit interested...

Modern life in action? It's pretty hard to get the police to take too much of an interest when your home is burgled, or your car vandalised.

Taking action against people fishing during the close season (which is of slightly dubious logic anyway) will be way down the list of any organisation's priorities.

 

I hasten to add that I happily observe the close season myself. It was a strange experience a couple of years ago, though, to politely challenge two teenagers who were off to fish the Somerset Frome in April and to have them look at me as if to say "get a life - haven't you got better things to worry about?"

 

The age of deference is dead and gone.

[Peter Sharpe]

It wouldn't be quite so bad if these people were merely fishing, but it is quite obvious that they were after fish to take away. By a bizarre coincidence I happened to see the man and his girlfriend today in Spalding, about twenty five miles from where I saw them yesterday. It was in a branch of Lidl and, you guessed it, they were speaking either in German, or an Eastern European language. Ken Wade reported in his column in the PPeterborough Evening Telegraph that there have been reports of fish stealing in the area. It makes me wonder how much, unlicensed, illegal fishing is actually taking place. I have just completed yet another season without once being asked for my licence by an EA bailiff.

[chesters1]

theres ea bailiffs ,the ea dont give a toss what goes on it means they have to go outside their warm offices ,our one in a "crucian" delivery never even spotted goldfish in the bucket even after i pointed them out ,he just said some look like that when their small :confused: strangly i spotted several shouls of "crucain" with goldfish amoungst them ,mind you modern "crucaian" are brown goldfish anyway if they had been doing their jobs we'd all have real ones :mad: