Post by envagencyyorkshire on May 3, 2011 7:49:39 GMT
Dear All,
Recently I've been investigating reports of illegal nets in the River Aire and during a web search one of my colleagues came across your thread discussing the same topic. Having looked at what members have said I felt I had to post something in response.
I've put this in the 'General' section as this applies across the area and not only to the River Aire.
The Environment Agency takes the issue of illegal netting very seriously. If you see evidence of netting which you think is illegal please contact us immediately on 0800 807060 (the ‘Emergency Hotline’ number printed on your rod licence).
Please do not remove any nets you find in rivers yourselves – contact us and we will come to the location to investigate. You will need to tell us the location, what you’ve seen and your name and contact details (we are not allowed to respond to any anonymous reports).
The temptation is of course to remove the net as quickly as possible, but in order to prosecute someone for the illegal use of a net, we need to have evidence of it being set or retrieved. We can’t get this evidence if you’ve taken the net out. Also, there’s a risk that someone could see you removing the net and thinks it’s yours. We could end up investigating you.
Also, some nets are legal and are set under authorisation from the Environment Agency. People operating these nets have paid for their authorisation, and the nets themselves are expensive to buy and replace. We receive catch returns from legal nets, which we use to monitor the fishery. Although eel nets continue to be authorised, the commercial fishery is closely regulated. We have recently imposed close seasons for eel and elver, to help protect the fishery.
Many thanks
Pete
Recently I've been investigating reports of illegal nets in the River Aire and during a web search one of my colleagues came across your thread discussing the same topic. Having looked at what members have said I felt I had to post something in response.
I've put this in the 'General' section as this applies across the area and not only to the River Aire.
The Environment Agency takes the issue of illegal netting very seriously. If you see evidence of netting which you think is illegal please contact us immediately on 0800 807060 (the ‘Emergency Hotline’ number printed on your rod licence).
Please do not remove any nets you find in rivers yourselves – contact us and we will come to the location to investigate. You will need to tell us the location, what you’ve seen and your name and contact details (we are not allowed to respond to any anonymous reports).
The temptation is of course to remove the net as quickly as possible, but in order to prosecute someone for the illegal use of a net, we need to have evidence of it being set or retrieved. We can’t get this evidence if you’ve taken the net out. Also, there’s a risk that someone could see you removing the net and thinks it’s yours. We could end up investigating you.
Also, some nets are legal and are set under authorisation from the Environment Agency. People operating these nets have paid for their authorisation, and the nets themselves are expensive to buy and replace. We receive catch returns from legal nets, which we use to monitor the fishery. Although eel nets continue to be authorised, the commercial fishery is closely regulated. We have recently imposed close seasons for eel and elver, to help protect the fishery.
Many thanks
Pete