Fines for illegal fish movements will increase to up to £50,000, close seasons will be set for eel, smelt and lamprey fisheries, while so called fish-thieves will see the maximum penalty for removing fish from Britain's rivers increased from £100 to £5,000.
The PAC was today passed a copy of the Environment Agency's take on the Marine and Coastal Access Bill currently before Parliament.
Entitled Reforming fisheries law for the 21st Century, the document spells out for the first time how the EA plans to "modernise fisheries regulation in England and Wales", and address recommendations made in the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries review.
"There will soon be major changes to the rules governing freshwater and migratory fisheries," the document says.
"These changes will help to conserve fish stocks, allowing people to continue to enjoy and make a living from fishing.
"Legislation to make these changes will go through Parliament over the next year or two.
"At the Environment Agency, we are working with Defra and the Welsh Assembly Government to ensure new regulations will meet current and future challenges.
"And to make the regulations as effective as possible, we will also work closely with other organisations, including angling governing bodies and conservation agencies."
At present, the EA is responsible for regulating salmon, trout, coarse and eel fisheries.
"This leaves fisheries for other migratory species unregulated, including rare and threatened species," the report adds.
"The Marine Bill will extend our regulatory responsibilities to river and sea lamprey, and smelt."
The bill will give the EA powers to make and enforce byelaws to meet European targets for protecting all three species. It is also seeking to regulate fishing for twaite and allis shad, which it says are also threatened.
New licence and authorisation schemes for smelt and lamprey will come into force in January 2010. Both species are a staple of the frozen deadbait trade.
New measure to protect the eel, whose population is believed to have declined by up to 70 per cent in recent decades, are included. The EA intends to regulate fishing, improve habitats and relocate elvers into "suitable upstream areas".
A faster mechanism for setting byelaws is included in the Marine Bill, along with powers to set close seasons for smelt, eel and lamprey.
The maximum penalty for byelaw breaches will be increased from £2,500 to £50,000.
"The marine Bill will reform how we regulate fish removal," the EA document says. "As well as giving us greater byelaw-making powers to control fish removal, the bill will change the Theft Act by removing the disticntion between day and night fishing, and increasing the maximum penalty for fish theft from £100 to £5,000.
A new scheme governing fish introductions and removals is also proposed. This is likely to impact on pike culls, by requiring nyone wishing to remove fish to obtain a long-term poermit lasting for between three and 10 years.
"Thanks to these measures, it will be much more difficult to move fish illegally without being detected, as only authorised suppliers will be allowed to move fish, and only to or from waters which have a long-term permit," the EA adds.
"The maximum penalty for illegal fish movements will also increase from £2,500 to £50,000, creating a much greater deterrent to breaking the law."
Anyone who wishes to comment on the proposals can e-mail paul.lidgett@environment-agency.gov.uk.
Showing posts with label Marine Bill. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marine Bill. Show all posts
Monday, February 02, 2009
Tuesday, December 09, 2008
New bill outlaws fish theft
Powers to prohibit the taking of fish caught on line from our rivers are included in the new Marine Bill.
Angling groups including the Pike Anglers Club are still poring over the finer points of the bill, which is expected to become law next summer after its inclusion in the Queen's Speech.
Notes accompanying the bill say it will outlaw the taking of fish caught on rod and line for the pot.
Recent seasons have seen widespread anger among many anglers over the authorities' apparent unwillingness to tackle what has become a widespread problem in many areas of the country, from the River Wissey to the Wye.
Pike often bear the brunt of this because they are prized as a food fish by some cultures. They are also vulnerable to capture by roving anglers travelling light with just a lure rod and a carrier bag to carry your catch in.
Defra's website states: "Whilst the custom in England and Wales is for the catch and release of coarse fish it is not actually a legal requirement on rivers.
"We will remove the current right for fishery owners, and anyone with their permission, to remove freshwater fish by rod and line.
"This undermines any catch and release byelaws the EA may introduce to address fish theft."
Reading West MP Martin Salter, the Labour Government's spokesman on angling issues, said: “It has been a long campaign but we have finally got the chance to do something to protect our fisheries, to give the police and the Environment Agency real powers to clamp down on those who remove fish for either the pot or for private gain.
"The current hotch potch of fishery by-laws are unintelligible and unenforceable and I know for a fact that the EA are starting work on a national catch and release by-law which I want to see implemented as soon as possible.
"Catch and release must become the norm in freshwater with exceptions available in clearly defined circumstances such as put and take trout fisheries."
Many conservation groups were celebrating after the legislation was included in last Wednesday's Queen's Speech, in which the Government set out its priorities for the next parliamentary session.
The bill signals a new approach to protecting the marine environment that will include conservation zones, a new planning system, reform of fisheries and access to the coasts, along with a new agency to manage the seas around our coasts.
Defra - the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs - said freshwater fisheries would also benefit from the "modernised and more flexible powers" it contains.
A statement on its website adds: "These will give the Environment Agency the tools to better manage fisheries for the benefit of anglers and commercial fishers."
To date there has been one prosecution for taking fish for the pot - the widely-reported case earlier this year, when two migrant workers were ordered to forfeit boats and equipment worth thousands after they were caught catching fish and barbecuing them on the bank during the close season.
Click here to read a court report from our archives.
Click here to read Defra's summary of the Marine Bill's proposals for freshwater fisheries.
Angling groups including the Pike Anglers Club are still poring over the finer points of the bill, which is expected to become law next summer after its inclusion in the Queen's Speech.
Notes accompanying the bill say it will outlaw the taking of fish caught on rod and line for the pot.
Recent seasons have seen widespread anger among many anglers over the authorities' apparent unwillingness to tackle what has become a widespread problem in many areas of the country, from the River Wissey to the Wye.
Pike often bear the brunt of this because they are prized as a food fish by some cultures. They are also vulnerable to capture by roving anglers travelling light with just a lure rod and a carrier bag to carry your catch in.
Defra's website states: "Whilst the custom in England and Wales is for the catch and release of coarse fish it is not actually a legal requirement on rivers.
"We will remove the current right for fishery owners, and anyone with their permission, to remove freshwater fish by rod and line.
"This undermines any catch and release byelaws the EA may introduce to address fish theft."
Reading West MP Martin Salter, the Labour Government's spokesman on angling issues, said: “It has been a long campaign but we have finally got the chance to do something to protect our fisheries, to give the police and the Environment Agency real powers to clamp down on those who remove fish for either the pot or for private gain.
"The current hotch potch of fishery by-laws are unintelligible and unenforceable and I know for a fact that the EA are starting work on a national catch and release by-law which I want to see implemented as soon as possible.
"Catch and release must become the norm in freshwater with exceptions available in clearly defined circumstances such as put and take trout fisheries."
Many conservation groups were celebrating after the legislation was included in last Wednesday's Queen's Speech, in which the Government set out its priorities for the next parliamentary session.
The bill signals a new approach to protecting the marine environment that will include conservation zones, a new planning system, reform of fisheries and access to the coasts, along with a new agency to manage the seas around our coasts.
Defra - the Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs - said freshwater fisheries would also benefit from the "modernised and more flexible powers" it contains.
A statement on its website adds: "These will give the Environment Agency the tools to better manage fisheries for the benefit of anglers and commercial fishers."
To date there has been one prosecution for taking fish for the pot - the widely-reported case earlier this year, when two migrant workers were ordered to forfeit boats and equipment worth thousands after they were caught catching fish and barbecuing them on the bank during the close season.
Click here to read a court report from our archives.
Click here to read Defra's summary of the Marine Bill's proposals for freshwater fisheries.
Monday, December 08, 2008
Marine Bill could see close season change
Powers to alter the dates of the traditional close season on Britain's rivers to adapt to climate change are contained in the new Marine Bill which now looks set to become law.
Explanatory notes to the bill say: "The draft Bill removes statutory close seasons and close season lengths. The current provisions impose an unnecessary restriction on the EA’s ability to determine appropriate evidence-informed close seasons.
"The draft Bill gives the EA the power to set close seasons through byelaws, and whilst initially we do not envisage signicant changes to the current close seasons, there will be more flexibility to adapt to future challenges such as different spawning times brought about by changes in water temperature due to climate change.
"This will allow the EA to protect fish stocks when they are most vulnerable."
So could we see a situation where pike in our rivers could come under the protection of an extended close season in areas of the country where they are known to begin spawning before March 14..?
Explanatory notes to the bill say: "The draft Bill removes statutory close seasons and close season lengths. The current provisions impose an unnecessary restriction on the EA’s ability to determine appropriate evidence-informed close seasons.
"The draft Bill gives the EA the power to set close seasons through byelaws, and whilst initially we do not envisage signicant changes to the current close seasons, there will be more flexibility to adapt to future challenges such as different spawning times brought about by changes in water temperature due to climate change.
"This will allow the EA to protect fish stocks when they are most vulnerable."
So could we see a situation where pike in our rivers could come under the protection of an extended close season in areas of the country where they are known to begin spawning before March 14..?
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