11/05/2005 - Environment
Agency Wales enforcement teams caught 68 anglers
over the May Bank Holiday fishing Welsh lakes
and rivers without a rod licence. The rate
of evasion in Wales dropped slightly this
year. The message seems to be sinking in,
with fewer anglers willing to take the risk
of a fine or a fishing ban.
Agency officers made checks on 63 waters
across Wales between April 30 and May 2. The
highest percentage of offenders was in north
Wales where fisheries officers visited eight
waters, checked 163 anglers and netted 28
licence dodgers (17.2%).
In south east Wales officers visited 25 waters,
checked 473 anglers and caught 30 (6.3%).
In south west Wales officers visited 30 waters,
checked 236 anglers and caught 10 (4.2%).
The percentage of anglers caught without
a licence this May was 7.8% compared with
7.93% in 2004 and is down from 8.45% in 2003.
Fishing without a licence is an offence and
those caught fishing illegally can face tough
penalties including fines of up to £2,500
and a ban from fishing.
'People who fish without a licence are cheating
the system and their fellow anglers. We will
continue vigorously with our detection programmes
to bring rod licence evasion down,' said Tim
Harrison, Agency Policy and Strategy Manager
Wales. '
'All rod licence money is 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,' he added.
The checks were part of a National Bank Holiday
detection exercise that netted a total of
868 illegal anglers across Wales and England
giving an overall evasion rate of 6.9 per
cent. The figure is down slightly on 2004
and 2003 when 1,085 and 1,010 licence dodgers
were caught respectively.
Buying a rod 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 this website
- www.environment-agency.gov.uk/fish
