Post by Hoppy on Aug 8, 2007 18:13:55 GMT -1
Environment Agency nets poachers in Poole Harbour
Three poachers were filmed by Dorset’s police helicopter as they removed fish from an illegal net in Poole Harbour.
The trio were spotted by Environment Agency officers during a routine fisheries patrol on July 4, 2006. The police helicopter was in the area and offered to assist in the operation.
The poachers had fixed an illegal net across the entrance to the River Piddle using a flat-bottomed boat known as a ‘Poole canoe.’ The net was set in such a way so as to intercept any fish trying to enter the river including salmon and sea trout.
As the fisheries officers approached they saw all three offenders in the water alongside the boat. One was removing fish from the net that contained five grey mullet and one bass. The fish were returned alive to the water by Agency officers. Five dead mullet were lying in the boat.
The net was attached at each end to two coloured marker buoys and anchored to the river bottom with weights. It had been placed inside a fishery owned by the Environment Agency where the use of such a ‘fixed net’ is prohibited. Officers seized the dead fish and net.
When asked what they were doing the offenders claimed they were catching fish for their dog. One of the defendants, Michael Corcoran, said he hadn’t realised they had done anything wrong. A second said he knew they couldn’t keep any salmon or sea trout and that any bass caught would have to be returned to the water as they were fishing within a bass nursery area.
The Dorset police helicopter assisted in the final stages of the operation by hovering overhead and filming the scene.
‘This net was fixed across the mouth of the River Piddle at one of the most important times of the year for migrating salmon and sea trout. It was effectively blocking the movement of fish upstream and would have caught most fish as they entered the river with the tide. Had it not been discovered it could have resulted in a significant loss of breeding stock,’ said Stuart Kingston-Turner for the Environment Agency.
Michael Corcoran, 33, of Gussage Road, Parkstone was today fined £200 and ordered to pay £150 costs by East Dorset Magistrates after pleading guilty to using a fixed net in tidal waters contrary to Section 6(1) and Schedule 4 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
A reporting restriction, imposed by magistrates at an earlier hearing, prevented the naming of the two other defendants who were each fined £100 and ordered to pay £150 costs. The court ordered forfeiture of the net and fish caught.
Three poachers were filmed by Dorset’s police helicopter as they removed fish from an illegal net in Poole Harbour.
The trio were spotted by Environment Agency officers during a routine fisheries patrol on July 4, 2006. The police helicopter was in the area and offered to assist in the operation.
The poachers had fixed an illegal net across the entrance to the River Piddle using a flat-bottomed boat known as a ‘Poole canoe.’ The net was set in such a way so as to intercept any fish trying to enter the river including salmon and sea trout.
As the fisheries officers approached they saw all three offenders in the water alongside the boat. One was removing fish from the net that contained five grey mullet and one bass. The fish were returned alive to the water by Agency officers. Five dead mullet were lying in the boat.
The net was attached at each end to two coloured marker buoys and anchored to the river bottom with weights. It had been placed inside a fishery owned by the Environment Agency where the use of such a ‘fixed net’ is prohibited. Officers seized the dead fish and net.
When asked what they were doing the offenders claimed they were catching fish for their dog. One of the defendants, Michael Corcoran, said he hadn’t realised they had done anything wrong. A second said he knew they couldn’t keep any salmon or sea trout and that any bass caught would have to be returned to the water as they were fishing within a bass nursery area.
The Dorset police helicopter assisted in the final stages of the operation by hovering overhead and filming the scene.
‘This net was fixed across the mouth of the River Piddle at one of the most important times of the year for migrating salmon and sea trout. It was effectively blocking the movement of fish upstream and would have caught most fish as they entered the river with the tide. Had it not been discovered it could have resulted in a significant loss of breeding stock,’ said Stuart Kingston-Turner for the Environment Agency.
Michael Corcoran, 33, of Gussage Road, Parkstone was today fined £200 and ordered to pay £150 costs by East Dorset Magistrates after pleading guilty to using a fixed net in tidal waters contrary to Section 6(1) and Schedule 4 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
A reporting restriction, imposed by magistrates at an earlier hearing, prevented the naming of the two other defendants who were each fined £100 and ordered to pay £150 costs. The court ordered forfeiture of the net and fish caught.