Illegal anglers are April Fools

Nearly 500 anglers were prosecuted by the Environment Agency in April for fishing without a rod licence.

“Courts across England and Wales continue to support the Environment Agency’s campaign to stop illegal fishing,” explained Environment Agency Head of Fisheries Dafydd Evans.

“Fishing without a licence is an offence and those caught fishing illegally face tough penalties, including fines of up to £2,500 and a ban from fishing. This time around the courts fined the illegal anglers a total of more than £30,000 and charged them close to another £30,000 in costs.

“People who fish without a licence are cheating the system and their fellow anglers. Around £19m is raised through rod licences and invested in fisheries work that benefits all anglers, fish stocks and the waterside environment. Last year more than 4,600 anglers paid almost £600,000 in fines and costs. We expect more prosecutions following the recent May Bank Holiday blitz.”

Breakdown of prosecutions figures by region shown below.

Region    Prosecuted Total fines    Total costs

Anglian        26            Â£2,015        Â£1,559
Midlands      42            Â£2,744        Â£2,720
North East    68            Â£4,225        Â£4,145
North West   91            Â£5,131        Â£5,270
Southern      25            Â£2,110        Â£1,770
South West  65            Â£5,095        Â£4,220
Thames       138            Â£8,355        Â£8,255
Wales          21            Â£1,084        Â£1,290

Total        476            Â£30,759        £29,229