Saturday, August 04, 2007

Cultural differences lie behind fish thefts

The opening of European borders and the subsequent influx of immigrants from Eastern Europe is said to have led to a significant rise in the number of fish thefts from commercial coarse fisheries in England and Wales, according to a new survey carried out by The Professional Coarse Fisheries Association (PCFA).

According to the survey of 60 commercial coarse fishery owners, the first of its kind to be carried out in the UK, over half of those questioned said they believed they suffer from the theft of fish from their waters. The majority of these are believed to be as a result of an increase in the number of anglers from Eastern European countries, where it is common practice to eat coarse fish such as carp.

Pike are not as popular but are still being taken, the Fisheries and Angling Conservation trust (FACT) says.

More from FACT here.