27/09/2005 - Three Bridgwater
men were today ordered to pay a total of £700
in fines and costs after being caught by the
Environment Agency during riverbank spot-checks.
A fourth man was also prosecuted and received
a conditional discharge. All four defendants
had their nets confiscated.
Today’s court appearances follow the prosecution
last week of local elver fisherman, Sean Godfrey,
who was ordered to pay £350 for using
an over-sized net.
Environment Agency water bailiffs were patrolling
the River Parrett at Dunwear near Bridgwater
on April 6, 2005 checking fishing licenses
and making sure fishermen were complying with
the rules when they discovered Peter Goodland
fishing under the M5 motorway bridge at Dunwear.
The net he was using was oversized - 1.27
m long instead of the legal maximum of 1.25m
- and was also being used in conjunction with
a rope and stake. When a net is fished in
this way it becomes what is known as a ‘fixed
engine’ which is an offence under the Salmon
and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
On April 8, 2005 fisheries officers discovered
two elver fisherman at Huntworth. Stephen
Green was using a legally sized net but it
had an illegal rope and float attached to
it. Steven Griffiths was using an illegal
net 1.57m long by 0.63m wide and 0.90m deep.
A fourth fisherman, Stanley Harper, was also
found to be using an over-sized dip net at
Burrowbridge.
Peter Goodland of Gloucester Road, Bridgwater,
was given a conditional discharge after pleading
guilty to an offence under the Salmon and
Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 of fishing for
elvers otherwise than by means of an instrument
to which he was entitled. He also admitted
an offence under the Salmon Act 1986.
Stephen Green, 36, Adscombe Avenue, Bridgwater
was fined £300 and ordered to pay £200
costs after pleading guilty to using an elver
net greater than 1.25m long in contravention
of the National Eel Fishery Byelaws 2004 and
Water Resources Act 1991. He also admitted
two offences under the Salmon and Freshwater
Fisheries Act 1975 and Salmon Act 1986.
In addition to being fined, Green was disqualified
from holding an elver fishing licence for
two years after being prosecuted for a second
time in two years.
More elver fishermen in court following Environment
Agency crackdown/2
Steven Griffiths, of Peach Tree Cottage,
Bridgwater, was given a conditional discharge
and ordered to pay £100 costs after
pleading guilty to contravening a National
Eel Fishery Byelaw contrary to the Water Resources
Act 1991 and to a second offence under the
Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
Stanley Harper, of 22 Parkstone Avenue, Bridgwater,
was fined £100 and disqualified from
holding an elver fishing licence for one year
after pleading guilty to two offences under
the Water Resources Act 1991 and Salmon and
Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
Elvers can fetch very high prices - at the
moment they command in the region of £435
per kilogram and prices peaked at £525
this year. The confiscated nets are worth
between £150 - £200 each.
The Environment Agency is responsible for
enforcing and regulating fisheries and regularly
inspects sites where elver fishing takes place.
It is also responsible for issuing licenses
which cost £65 per year. About 250 fishermen
are licensed to catch elvers – baby eels -
as they enter fresh water after their birth
in the Sargasso Sea.
‘These cases, coming so soon after last week’s
prosecution, send out a clear message to elver
fisherman that they must read the bylaws and
abide by them. Oversized nets give fishermen
an unfair advantage enabling them to catch
more than their fair share and therefore reducing
the amount of elvers that are able to escape
into our lakes and rivers. The rules are in
place for sound environmental reasons,’ said
Andrew King for the Environment Agency.
Members of the public can report suspected
illegal fishing incidents to the Environment
Agency on Tel: 0800 80 70 60.
