Post by Hoppy on Jul 5, 2006 18:19:37 GMT -1
Illegal netsmen caught red-handed on River Piddle
A police helicopter helped Environment Agency officers net three poachers on the River Piddle in Dorset yesterday.
The trio were caught red-handed removing fish from an illegal net they had set at a point where the Piddle flows into Poole Harbour. The Piddle is an important spawning river for salmon and sea trout. The use of fixed nets is prohibited.
Agency fisheries officers were on routine patrol on Tuesday afternoon when they suddenly saw the netsmen removing approximately a dozen mullet and bass from a monofilament net that had been set across the river entrance.
The men, in their 20’s and 30’s, were cautioned and the net and fish seized. A police helicopter was called to the scene to assist with the operation and hovered overhead while the suspects were questioned.
‘Salmon and sea trout are moving upstream to their spawning grounds at this time of the year and are very vulnerable. This net was fixed across the river channel for a distance of some 40 metres and posed a very real risk to migrating fish. Had it remained in place, it would almost certainly have caught migrating salmon and sea trout,’ said Stuart Kingston-Turner for the Environment Agency.
The fishing rights on the Piddle are owned by the Environment Agency. This means that in addition offences under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act, the men could also face charges under the Theft Act for the illegal removal of fish.
The Environment Agency’s fishery is clearly marked by two white posts at the entrances to the rivers Piddle and Frome as they enter Poole Harbour.
Anyone witnessing illegal fishing should call the Environment Agency’s free 24 hour hotline 0800 80 70 60
A police helicopter helped Environment Agency officers net three poachers on the River Piddle in Dorset yesterday.
The trio were caught red-handed removing fish from an illegal net they had set at a point where the Piddle flows into Poole Harbour. The Piddle is an important spawning river for salmon and sea trout. The use of fixed nets is prohibited.
Agency fisheries officers were on routine patrol on Tuesday afternoon when they suddenly saw the netsmen removing approximately a dozen mullet and bass from a monofilament net that had been set across the river entrance.
The men, in their 20’s and 30’s, were cautioned and the net and fish seized. A police helicopter was called to the scene to assist with the operation and hovered overhead while the suspects were questioned.
‘Salmon and sea trout are moving upstream to their spawning grounds at this time of the year and are very vulnerable. This net was fixed across the river channel for a distance of some 40 metres and posed a very real risk to migrating fish. Had it remained in place, it would almost certainly have caught migrating salmon and sea trout,’ said Stuart Kingston-Turner for the Environment Agency.
The fishing rights on the Piddle are owned by the Environment Agency. This means that in addition offences under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act, the men could also face charges under the Theft Act for the illegal removal of fish.
The Environment Agency’s fishery is clearly marked by two white posts at the entrances to the rivers Piddle and Frome as they enter Poole Harbour.
Anyone witnessing illegal fishing should call the Environment Agency’s free 24 hour hotline 0800 80 70 60