LICENCE CHEATS Should fishereries pitch in?
You may be about to get your rod licence checked a lot more often, thanks to a new scheme introduced by the Environment Agency
OVER the past 12-month reporting period, the EA checked a total of 66,074 licences, an increase of 1,692 over the previous period.
The Voluntary Bailiff Service played its part in this, carrying out 27,996 hours’ worth of patrols, but with an estimated 3.92 per cent of anglers still fishing without a licence, there is clearly more that needs to be done – and fisheries could be the answer.
“The new pilot scheme involves fishery managers and bailiffs asking every visiting angler to provide a rod licence. This data is recorded by the fishery and collected by an EA bailiff every two weeks,” explains EA Fisheries Technical Officer Andy Eaves.
“If someone doesn’t provide a rod licence, they can either turn the angler away or give them a leaflet, which advises the fines for fishing without a rod licence, in the hope they’ll buy one on the spot. This will save the EA time and money, which we can use to target high-evasion waters and to undertake intelligence-led enforcement.
“In return, we’ll provide advice and management services to the fisheries who sign up, in a bid to improve their waters.”
Twenty-five fisheries in the Greater
Manchester, Merseyside and Cheshire area have already agreed to the new scheme and, subject to the results of the pilot, the Agency could roll it out to other parts of the country.
Most others contacted by Angling Times were enthusiastic about increasing cooperation with the EA.
Shane Turrell, owner of Star Carr Lakes in Yorkshire, says: “We check and record licences at Star Carr as part of our signing in process. All data and details of anyone without a licence is passed on to our local EA bailiff Paul Caygill. He covers a massive area, so we’re more than happy to help.
“When someone turns up without a licence, we simply get them to buy a day one. Some people have just forgotten and are happy for the reminder.”
Hayfield Lakes in South Yorkshire, which was voted the number one commercial by Angling Times readers last year, is yet to be approached by the EA, but is also backing the scheme.
“We don’t want people willing to break the law to be fishing here and if you love the sport you will buy a rod licence,” venue owner Noelie Goforth told us.
However, while fisheries can check licences, they are limited when it comes to enforcement, as head bailiff at Hampton
Springs in Cheshire, Silvak Nowakowski points out: “We’re happy to highlight the need for a licence to our customers and exchange information with the EA” he says, “but our powers are limited when it comes to removing people from the fishery – we don’t have stab vests like EA officers.”