A fishing trip cost a Gloucester man more than £800 after he was caught fishing in the closed season and without a licence.

Following a joint patrol with the Environment Agency, Angling Trust and Gloucestershire Police, Frank Cole was found guilty in his absence at Northampton Magistrates’ Court on 26 November for fishing during the closed season and fishing without a licence on the River Severn on 31 May 2018. A charge that the 52-year old of Bibury Road, Gloucester, failed to give his name and address to an Environment Agency bailiff when requested to do so, was also proved. Magistrates fined him £660 in total, and imposed costs of £127.47 and a victim surcharge of £30. Angling is not allowed during the closed season in order to protect spawning fish stocks.

An annual fishing licence costs just £30, yet a small number of anglers continue to flout the law and risk prosecution for fishing without a licence and breaching byelaws in place to protect fish stocks.

Money from fishing licence sales is invested in England’s fisheries and is used to fund a wide range of projects to improve facilities for anglers including; protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease, restoring fish stocks through re-stocking, eradicating invasive species and fish habitat improvements. Fishing licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing, to encourage participation in the sport and to manage a voluntary bailiff scheme.

Children under 13 fish for free. Anyone aged 13 to 16 also fish for free, but they do need to have a valid Environment Agency fishing licence. Anyone over 16 must pay for an Environment Agency fishing licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England.

Source: gov.uk

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