ELVER FISHERMAN FINED FOR USING ILLEGAL NET

19/09/2005 - Bridgwater man was today ordered to pay £350 in fines and costs after being caught fishing for elvers with an oversized net.
Environment Agency water bailiffs were carrying out spot checks on the River Parrett at Saltlands near Bridgwater on April 5, 2005 when they discovered Sean Godfrey fishing for elvers. He produced his elver fishing licence, but the dip net he was using was 1.65 metres in length – 40cm longer than the maximum legal size of 1.25metres.
Godfrey, 35, of Edinburgh Road, Bridgwater was fined £200 and ordered to pay £150 costs by local magistrates after pleading guilty to two offences under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 and The National Eel Fishing Byelaws 2004 including fishing for elvers using an elver dip net greater than 1.25 meters long and fishing for elvers other than by means of an instrument which he was entitled to use in his licence. He was also ordered to forfeit his net.
‘Elver fishing can be very lucrative and the prices of the elvers though governed by market forces can fetch very high prices. They are at the moment in the region of £435 per kilogram. The price of elvers peaked at £525 this year,’ said Richard Dearnley for the Environment Agency.
‘An oversized net gives a fisherman an unfair advantage enabling him to catch more than his fair share and therefore reducing the amount of elvers able to escape into our lakes and rivers.’
‘While the defendant had a licence he was still breaking the law by using a net that was too large. The legislation clearly states an elver dip net must not have a frame size greater than 1.25 metres long, 1 metre wide and 1 metre deep. This prosecution sends out a clear message that we will catch people who don’t abide by the rules,’ said Richard Dearnley.
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 that cost £65 per year. About 250 fishermen are licensed to catch elvers - baby eels - as they enter fresh water after migrating from their birthplace, the Sargasso Sea.
Members of the public can report suspected illegal fishing incidents to the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60.