Two men were fined £469 each after fishing at night, and removing fish and eels, a protected species, from the River Avon in Worcestershire.
The incident happened in July 2021 and their cases were brought to Redditch Magistrates Court by the Environment Agency on Monday 7 March 2022 where both men pleaded guilty to the offences of the removal of fish and the removal of eel.
Both anglers got the same penalty, including:
The men were found in possession of fish and eels that they had removed from the river at 10:40pm by a Birmingham Angling Association (BAA) club bailiff. The bailiff contacted West Mercia Police, and the fish and fishing equipment were seized by a police officer and handed to the bailiff.
The fishing rights at the location are owned by the BAA and rules state that any fish caught must be returned alive, and fishing is only allowed until one hour after sunset. Night fishing is not allowed and all of the fish and eels were found to be dead.
Nichola Tomlinson, fisheries enforcement team leader for the Environment Agency said: "Whilst on this occasion both men had a valid fishing licence, it is also imperative for anglers to observe fishing byelaws".
"Not complying with the byelaws can incur a fine of up to £50,000 and, as in this case, offenders can also have their fishing equipment seized".
