Just one month after penalising eight Staffordshire anglers, the same court issues a combined fines of £5,500 to another nine anglers for fishing offences.

On 20 March, North Staffordshire Justice Centre Magistrates’ Court heard how nine anglers were caught fishing illegally last summer.

All nine were caught fishing without a rod licence by Environment Agency officers out on regular patrols. Six anglers pleaded guilty but the fines were much higher for those who didn’t submit a plea and didn’t appear in court. And with an annual fishing licence now costing £30 these nine are probably wishing they’d chosen the cheaper option!

Connor Grey of Oak Grove in Cheadle, Nicholas Mills of Neale Place in Stoke on Trent, Samuel Smith of Moston Street in Stoke on Trent, Ashley Gould of Thornewill Drive in Burton on Trent, Stephen Clarke of Sandwood Crescent in Stoke on Trent, Ashley Taylor of Birches Head Road in Stoke, David Pickerill of Hoveringham Drive in Stoke on Trent, Michael Horton of Chapel Drive in Walsall and Ryan Marriette of Skipton Road in Liverpool were all found guilty for fishing without a licence under Section 27(1)(a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

Magistrates heard that in August and September Environment Agency enforcement officers found these anglers fishing without a rod licence at pools in Stafford, Cannock, Burntwood, Leek, Newcastle under Lyme and Burton.

Andrew Eardley of the Environment Agency said:

The majority of anglers fish legally and purchase a rod licence. With anglers now being able to buy a licence online for a number of rods to cover any 12 month period it seems ridiculous the minority still risk a significant fine like these we’ve seen here.

The minority of anglers that fail to buy a rod licence are cheating their fellow anglers and the future of the sport. Fishing licence cheats risk a criminal conviction, a significant fine and could lose their fishing equipment.

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. Rod licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing and to encourage participation in the sport.

You need a valid Environment Agency Rod Licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England. Buying a rod licence is easy, simply visit www.gov.uk/fishing-licences/buy-a-fishing-licence.

Just one month after penalising eight Staffordshire anglers, the same court issues a combined fines of £5,500 to another nine anglers for fishing offences.

On 20 March, North Staffordshire Justice Centre Magistrates’ Court heard how nine anglers were caught fishing illegally last summer.

All nine were caught fishing without a rod licence by Environment Agency officers out on regular patrols. Six anglers pleaded guilty but the fines were much higher for those who didn’t submit a plea and didn’t appear in court. And with an annual fishing licence now costing £30 these nine are probably wishing they’d chosen the cheaper option!

Connor Grey of Oak Grove in Cheadle, Nicholas Mills of Neale Place in Stoke on Trent, Samuel Smith of Moston Street in Stoke on Trent, Ashley Gould of Thornewill Drive in Burton on Trent, Stephen Clarke of Sandwood Crescent in Stoke on Trent, Ashley Taylor of Birches Head Road in Stoke, David Pickerill of Hoveringham Drive in Stoke on Trent, Michael Horton of Chapel Drive in Walsall and Ryan Marriette of Skipton Road in Liverpool were all found guilty for fishing without a licence under Section 27(1)(a) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

Magistrates heard that in August and September Environment Agency enforcement officers found these anglers fishing without a rod licence at pools in Stafford, Cannock, Burntwood, Leek, Newcastle under Lyme and Burton.

Andrew Eardley of the Environment Agency said:

The majority of anglers fish legally and purchase a rod licence. With anglers now being able to buy a licence online for a number of rods to cover any 12 month period it seems ridiculous the minority still risk a significant fine like these we’ve seen here.

The minority of anglers that fail to buy a rod licence are cheating their fellow anglers and the future of the sport. Fishing licence cheats risk a criminal conviction, a significant fine and could lose their fishing equipment.

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. Rod licence money is also used to fund the Angling Trust to provide information about fishing and to encourage participation in the sport.

You need a valid Environment Agency Rod Licence to fish for salmon, trout, freshwater fish, smelt or eel in England. Buying a rod licence is easy, simply visit www.gov.uk/fishing-licences/buy-a-fishing-licence.

The Marine Management Organisation (MMO) has welcomed its first Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC) Fellows to support its work in improving access to marine science.

Dr Jacqui Tweddle from the University of Aberdeen and Dr Katherine Yates from the University of Salford have started in their new roles of Knowledge Exchange Fellows, helping the MMO to deliver key elements of its Evidence Strategy.

Dr Tweddle and Dr Yates’ three year fellowships will focus on the use of science in decision making and marine management, encouraging greater knowledge exchange around marine research.

The two fellowships which are funded by NERC, will:

• Support the review of the use of science in the MMO’s decision making processes
• encourage greater collaboration between the MMO and academic and research communities
• fill gaps in marine evidence by influencing and improving access to external marine research

As part of their fellowship Dr Tweddle and Dr Yates will also identify and promote the vast amounts of marine data and evidence generated by scientific researchers to the MMO enabling the MMO to provide effective, efficient, targeted marine management based on the most up to data knowledge.

This is work is an important part of delivering Part 2 of the MMO’s Evidence Strategy, published August 2016. The Strategy sets out how knowledge exchange, partnership and influencing research will be used to deliver the MMO’s future evidence requirements.

Dr Tweddle said: “I’m excited to be working with the MMO, and grateful to NERC for the opportunity. Understanding more clearly what the MMO needs, and how the research community can support that, is a priority for me. I want to help the MMO access and use the best scientific evidence and expertise available. Facilitating new contacts between researchers and the MMO will both help the MMO, but also provide researchers with opportunities to have their work make the biggest impact it can in supporting how we manage out marine activities.”

Dr Katherine Yates added: “Marine management is incredibly complicated and it’s essential that management decisions are based on robust, up-to-date evidence. Our roles will be to help with evidence provision, through both personal contributions and by facilitate partnerships between the academic community and the MMO. It’s an exciting opportunity and I am grateful to be part of it.”

Adam Cook, MMO’s Head of Evidence welcomed the two knowledge exchange fellows:

“We are delighted to welcome Jacqui and Katherine to the MMO. The scale and complexities of our seas means there is still much to learn about their ecosystems and our impact on them. Access to high quality evidence is critical to delivering effective and sustainable marine management and their work will be an invaluable part of improving access to this information.”

Notes

• Dr Jacqui Tweddle is a research fellow at the University of Aberdeen, and is an oceanographer with expertise in marine spatial planning.
• Dr Katherine Yates is a lecturer at University of Salford specialising in marine conservation planning and spatial management.
• Both fellowships are funded by the Natural Environment Research Council. NERC Knowledge Exchange Fellows focus on accelerating and amplifying impact of NERC science. They do this through a number of different mechanisms, from NERC-funded research to working with business, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or, as in this case, government bodies.
• This new partnerships between the MMO and NERC is an important part of delivering the MMO’s Evidence Strategy, improving access to the latest scientific research and providing funding for a new Knowledge Exchange Fellowship.
• NERC is the UK’s main agency for funding and managing research, training and knowledge exchange in the environmental sciences. Their work covers the full range of atmospheric, Earth, biological, terrestrial and aquatic science, from the deep oceans to the upper atmosphere and from the poles to the equator. They co-ordinate some of the world’s most exciting research projects, tackling major issues such as climate change, environmental influences on human health, the genetic make-up of life on Earth, and much more. NERC is a non-departmental public body. They receive around £330m of annual funding from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS).