06/05/2005 - Over the
May Bank Holiday last weekend Environment
Agency officers caught almost 1000 anglers
fishing without a rod licence.
Enforcement teams made checks on 868 waters
across England and Wales between 30 April
and 2 May and caught over 800 illegal anglers
who are cheating honest anglers and not playing
the sport fairly.
Fishing without a licence is an offence and
those caught fishing illegally will face tough
penalties, including fines of up to £2,500
and a ban from fishing. The message is sinking
in with evading anglers, as the rate of evasion
dropped from 7.93% in the May 2004 blitz to
6.9% this time round.
Environment Agency Head of Fisheries Dafydd
Evans said “Environment Agency inspectors
checked over 12,000 licences at over 800 locations
this weekend and officers targeted waters
better and directed maximum effort to waters
where cheats would be present. We picked up
more than 850 rod licence offences over the
bank holiday weekend. People who fish without
a licence are cheating the system and their
fellow anglers. We will continue vigorously
with our blitz programme to bring rod licence
evasion down.
"All rod licence money gets ploughed
back into fisheries work which benefits all
anglers, fish stocks and the waterside environment,
and we will continue with our efforts to safeguard
this essential income.”
Anglers on almost half of all waters visited
had no offences detected. An officer patrolling
the River Cam spotted anglers fishing on the
opposite bank. He flagged down a passing boat,
hitched a lift and issued them both with tickets
for fishing without a licence. Enforcement
officers were also pleased to see that more
ladies were seen out fishing than in previous
years, demonstrating what a popular and inclusive
sport fishing can be.
Dafydd went on to say “Our staff are better
equipped than ever. With access to databases
at the switch of a mobile phone, enforcement
officers can verify address and licence details
– including whether they purchased a licence
the previous year. All this makes catching
licence evaders an easier process.”
Buying a licence couldn’t be easier – there
are around 15,000 Post Offices and other outlets
which sell them direct, and for a small additional
charge they can be purchased over the phone
(0870 1662662) or from our web site (see link).
