19-Apr-2006
- Illegal anglers will have nowhere to run and
nowhere to hide over the May holiday weekend as
the Environment Agency cracks down on people fishing
without a valid rod licence.
Environment Agency Head of Fisheries
Dafydd Evans said: ‘Anglers must ensure they have
a valid licence before they start fishing or face
the prospect of prosecution. Fishing without a
licence is an offence and anyone caught fishing
illegally can expect to face tough penalties,
including a fine of up to £2,500 and a ban
from fishing.’
'Licence dodgers are also cheating
fellow anglers and the future of angling, as money
raised by rod licence sales goes straight back
into fisheries.
'Last year, we invested £29
million on our fisheries, with £19 million
of this coming from rod licence fees. Work including
disease detection, enforcement of illegal fish
movements, developing angling opportunities and
facilities and audit of foreign species is all
funded by rod licence revenue.
‘Over 12,000 people were checked
over the May Bank Holiday last year with almost
900 offences reported. We are anticipating that
even more staff will be out checking licences
this year,’ Dafydd Evans said.
Enforcement teams will be making
regular checks on waters across England and Wales
between 29 April and 1 May 2006.
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.
