Cornish poachers go for salmon (From This is The West Country)

Cornish poachers go for salmon

7:20pm Monday 20th July 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

The discovery of a large illegal net on the River Camel near Padstow has prompted fisheries officers to launch a major crack-down on poachers on Cornish estuaries.

The 150-metre long net was recovered after Agency officers received a tip-off from a member of the public. Luckily it didn’t contain any fish and was removed by fisheries officers with the help of the Padstow Harbourmaster.

The Environment Agency is working closely with the Police and Sea Fishery Authorities to protect migrating salmon and sea trout on the Camel Estuary. Regulations controlling the use of nets are also designed to protect an important local bass nursery.

This latest swoop follows recent seizures of illegal fixed nets at Daymar Bay and Little Petherick Creek. Given its large size and position, the net could have caught a large number of fish if it had been left undisturbed.

“Fortunately, on this occasion the net was empty which suggests it hadn’t been in the water long. We had officers in the area at the time and were able to act swiftly assisted by the harbourmaster and the police,’” said Chris Hitchings for the Environment Agency.

“This latest success highlights the benefits of working in partnership with other authorities and organisations. We will be using this approach during anti-poaching work targeting all the main local estuaries including the Camel, Fowey and Tamar.

“With wild salmon fetching around £18 per kilogram, people might be tempted to set an illegal net to make some money, especially during the credit crunch, but our advice is ‘Don’t risk it’. There are lots of pairs of eyes watching Cornwall’s estuaries and in all likelihood you’ll be caught. We always prosecute where we have sufficient evidence,’ said Mr Hitchings.

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)