Wednesday, January 03, 2007

Zander caught in River Yare

A 6lbs zander has been caught in Norfolk's River Yare, prompting fears the species has been illegally introduced to the Broads, it emerged today.

Nick King from Norwich caught the fish at Surlingham on a sardine intended for pike. A picture of the fish appears in today's Eastern Daily Press.

EA fisheries officer Nigel Gamble told the Norwich-based paper: "This zander was transported alive from the West Norfolk or Cambridgeshire fens and placed in the River Yare.

"This was an unlawful act on a number of counts and once caught, the fish should not have been returned to the water alive.

"The captor should have killed it immediately or telephoned our hotline for one of our officers to visit the venue and knock it on the head."