Post by wnion on May 10, 2006 10:05:44 GMT -1
May 09,2006
Home : News : Illegal anglers are April Fools
Illegal anglers are April Fools
by Julian Grattidge
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