Catherine Ross - 2-Aug-2007
- Members of the public have helped Environment
Agency officers foil four separate attempts
to fish illegally in Kent in the last two
weeks.
At Hadlow on the River Bourne, an eagle eyed
lecturer from Hadlow College spotted four
crayfish traps under the A26 roadbridge. The
lecturer contacted the Environment Agency
and Fisheries Technical Officer Ben Lord visited
the site. He checked the traps and discovered
that they were unlicensed. Ben seized the
traps and left a receipt for the owner saying
where they had been taken.
The use of Crayfish traps is licensed to
protect the native white clawed crayfish,
whose numbers are dropping rapidly.
On the Isle of Sheppey, an Environment Agency
officer spotted two men acting suspiciously
while he was out doing a water vole survey.
The men were next to a pool beneath the old
sheppey bridge. They were casting a net out
into a pond and then tying it to the river
bank with rope. When Tim Erskine and John
Smith from the fisheries team went to the
site, they found that the trap didn’t have
a licence. It was baited and clearly set to
trap eels. The Fisheries Officers seized the
net and will hold it as evidence.
There are many concerns about eel stocks
in the UK and Europe. The Environment Agency
is working with the Eel fishing industry,
angling and conservation interests and with
the Government to help fight the decline in
European Eel stocks. The Environment Agency’s
National Eel Management Strategy can be found
at www.environment-agency.gov.uk.
At Nickolls Quarry in Palmarsh, the fishery
manager spotted a rope tied to the bank in
a reed bed. When he pulled the rope he found
it was attached to a Fyke net. The net contained
several eels and roach. They were still alive
and the fishery manager released them back
into the lake. He called the Environment Agency’s
24hr incident hotline. Steve Smith and Tim
Erskine from the Environment Agency’s Fisheries
Technical team visited the site where they
took details of vehicles seen at the lake
and searched the area. No further nets were
found but the lake will be monitored to make
sure no further illegal nets are set.
At a popular fishing lake in Kemsley, keen-eyed
locals spotted people setting unlicensed nets
to catch fish owned by Swale Borough Council.
Local Fisheries Officers attended and searched
the lake to make sure there were no more nets.
Jon Whitmore, Fisheries Team Leader for the
Environment Agency in Kent Area said:
“These are four examples of people using
unlicensed or illegal methods to try and catch
fish. All the fish species targeted in these
incidents, are valuable either from a recreation
or conservation point of view. This sort of
illegal activity can irreparably damage valuable,
local fish stocks and I would ask people to
be vigilant and if they see anything suspicious
to give us a ring immediately.
“Our officers undertake regular patrols in
an effort to detect this sort of activity.
We are also very reliant on members of the
public reporting anything suspicious to us.
Because of the quick actions of the public,
our colleagues and a fisheries manager, we
were able to respond quickly to these incidents
and limit the damage to eel, crayfish and
other freshwater fish species numbers, in
the areas concerned.”
If you see anything suspicious, please report
it to the Environment Agency on our 24 hour
incident hotline freephone 0800 80 70 60.
+ More
Birmingham waste carrier nabbed in Environment
Agency operation
Michelle Dolphin - On Friday 27 July 2007,
Christopher Robert Dixon, of Hall Green, Birmingham,
was convicted in his absence at the Birmingham
Magistrates Court in respect of two charges
relating to the illegal transportation of
waste.
The charges were brought by the Environment
Agency under the Control of Pollution Act
1989. Christopher Robert Dixon was fined £1,000
and ordered to pay costs of £733.85.
For the Environment Agency, Michael Robinson
told the court that on 10 January 2007, Environment
Agency officers carried out an exercise in
Nechells, Birmingham, to identify people carrying
controlled waste who were not registered waste
carriers.
At 10.45am, Environment Agency officers stopped
the driver of a blue flatbed lorry, which
was carrying a scrap Ford Scorpio. The driver
of the vehicle was Mr Dixon who was interviewed
under caution by officers.
During the interview, Mr Dixon admitted to
collecting the vehicle and said that he was
going to take it to a local vehicle dismantlers
where he expected to be paid for it. Mr Dixon
also admitted that he was not a registered
waste carrier.
During the course of the interview, Mr Dixon
was also asked about a car that an Environment
Agency officer had observed being taken to
another metal recycling site on 9 January
2007. Christopher Dixon admitted to collecting
the vehicle from a house in Small Heath, Birmingham,
and being paid for the scrap.
Speaking after the case, Paul Marlow, an
Environment Agency officer involved in the
investigation, said: 'The illegal carriage
of waste can have a significant effect on
the local economy. It is for this reason that
all waste carriers must register with the
Environment Agency. We will not tolerate people
who carry waste illegally, as it is unfair
on the waste carriers who do comply with the
law and pay the registration costs.'
