Changes to Section 30 announced

A fisheries watchdog today welcomed moves to streamline the Section 30 procedure for those applying for permission to move live fish.

NAFAC - the National Association of Fisheries and Angling Consultatives - said the move made it easier to apply.

From April 2007, Angling Clubs will be able to apply on-line 24 hours a day for Section 30 consents to introduce fish and Section 25 Consents to use an unlicenced instrument to catch fish.

As well as being able to track the progress of consents, clubs will be also able to access former applications and overtype them with simple changes like dates and numbers of fish saving much time and administration.

Repeat consents will also be much quicker with request being turned around within one day, direct from the central Fish Movement Authorisation Team, rather than Regional Offices as at present.

The current system is generally acknowledged to be somewhat discredited and evaded, with some suppliers moving fish illegally, because of the delays and bureaucracy often involved. It is anticipated that on-line applications will reduce this.

The new system is being implemented after discussion with the Fish Welfare Group under the auspices of FACT (Fisheries and Angling Conservation Trust) on which NAFAC is represented along with the fish supply trade and other angling and fisheries bodies.

Chairman of NAFAC, Martin Read commented, “This result demonstrates what can be achieved by Fisheries and Angling organisations working together on behalf of anglers, angling, and fisheries throughout the country. I hope the improved system will reduce current bureaucracy and subsequent illegal movements so that the benefits of the consent system can start to truly protect our fish and fisheries”.

Livebaiting laws - a very different approach

Over in the States, they have licensed bait dealers, who are allowed to move health-checked fish from state to state - even in the face of a major disease outbreak.

Because people moving baits around aren't the most likely cuplrit for the spread of the virus. It's more likely down to ballast water, says the South Bend Tribune.

Williams fined £800 for livebait smuggling

Nigel Williams was fined £800 and ordered to pay £500 costs today after he admitted trying to smuggle livebaits to Ireland on a ferry.

Holyhead magistrates heard Williams, 48, and his friend Gary Banks were stopped by customs officers as they were about to board a car ferry at the North Wales port of Holyhead, in May.

They found 100 roach, carp and goldfish concealed in a large tank in the boot of Williams's car.

Both anglers admitted exporting live fish without the necessary health certificate. Banks was also fined £800 and told to pay £500 costs at an earlier hearing.

Today the court heard transporting live fish without the correct documentation was banned to help prevent the spread of disease.

Steve Maidment, from the Centre for Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences, said: "Angling is not a game to be played by a few professionals, it is a sport enjoyed by millions and is acutely vulnerable to the threat of fatal fish diseases.

"The most important element of the sport is healthy fish - if they die, then so does angling.

"We are determined to prevent illegal shipments of live fish out of or into Britain, and we will pursue vigorously anyone breaking the law and risking the health of our indigenous fish stocks."

In a letter handed to the court, Williams said he deeply regretted his actions. Both he and Gary Banks resigned from the Pike Anglers Club shortly after the Holyhead incident.

Goldfish dumped in Thames, court told

A man was given a conditional discharge in court today for dumping a bucket of goldfish in the River Thames.

Derek May, from Reading, was seen releasing between 15 and 20 fish into the river on March 29, Reading magistrates heard.

The Environment Agency said the goldfish, a species originally brought to the UK from Asia, could put thecountry's native fish populations at risk if released into the wild, either by spreading disease or by breeding with native species causing hybrids.

May admitted breaking two wildlife laws, releasing an animal into the wild that is not normally resident and introducing a fish into water without Section 30 consent.

He was given a six-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £60 costs.

Dennis Welling, the EA's environmental crime officer, said: "Although thehumble goldfish has been part of our society for 400 years, it is still anon-native species that should be enjoyed in garden ponds and fish tanks, rather than damaging native fish stocks in our lakes, streams and rivers.

"Introducing non-native fish into the wild can have serious implications for our native fishpopulations. They carry disease, out-compete native species and breed soprolifically that they change the natural balance of the ecosystem.''

PC Russell Hounslow, from Thames Valley Police's Wildlife Crime Unit, said: "Although this prosecution may seem trivial to some, thisincident could have had traumatic implications for the environment."