William Paul Chapman, master and owner of unlicensed vessels Spirt and Last Minute, was sentenced at Bodmin Magistrates Court on 12 April 2018 in a prosecution brought by the MMO.

The court heard about a joint patrol that was conducted on 15 September 2016 by MMO and Environment Agency (EA) officers around the Camel Estuary in Cornwall, a Bass Nursery Area (BNA) where fishing is prohibited between 1 May and 30 November in any year. The officers observed one vessel fishing within the BNA and two men transferring items to a second vessel.

When that vessel returned to shore officers identified themselves to one of the men, Chapman, who subsequently left the scene. The fish box left behind was found to contain 10 bass, two of which were below the minimum conservation size. Three nets and anchors used in the fishing operation were also found on the vessel.

Chapman pleaded guilty to three offences relating to the catching of the bass and was ordered to pay total of £1,000 fine and £1,000 costs.

A spokesperson for the MMO said:

Bass conservation is very important and this case highlights the benefits of joint patrols between MMO and EA.

In cases like these MMO will always take proportionate and appropriate action, including prosecution, to ensure offenders do not profit from such illegal activity and to protect fish stocks for the wider fishing industry and future generations.

Chris Hitchings, EA Fisheries Enforcement Officer said:

We regularly work with the MMO and pool our resources enabling us to better protect sea fish and migratory fish from illegal capture. We hope that this result will serve as a deterrent to others seeking to fish illegally.

This guide is for operators of standalone water discharge activity and point source groundwater activity permits. Standalone means the activity is not part of another regulated facility such as a waste operation, installation, radioactive substances activity, flood risk activity or mining waste operation.

The guide explains:

• the 4 types of compliance limit
• how we set each of these types of limits
• how we assess compliance against the limits

This guide is for operators of WWTW with environmental permits for water discharge activities or point source groundwater activities.

WWTW collect and treat sewage. This guide explains the:

• level of treatment WWTW must provide
• numeric compliance limits that define the treatment’s effectiveness
• monitoring and reporting required to assess compliance with the limits

This guide sets out what you need to do to meet the requirements of the Urban Waste Water Treatment Regulations.

This guide is for water companies. It will also apply to other operators of standalone water discharge and groundwater activities if they’re required to carry out OSM.

The Environment Agency sets numeric discharge quality limits in environmental permits to make sure discharges comply with water quality objectives.

Water companies must collect and analyse samples of permitted discharges that are subject to numeric quality limits. This is called OSM. It includes discharges to surface water and groundwater.

This guide explains the rules that apply to OSM. It sets out the minimum standards needed to meet the requirements of OSM permit conditions.

The Environment Agency makes sure water companies carry out OSM specified in their permit conditions. Operators must carry out OSM to a standard that meets the requirements for compliance assessment and water quality planning.

This guide is to help water companies submit appropriate permit applications for storm overflows and emergency overflows.

Discharges of storm sewage and sewage in an emergency must be authorised by an environmental permit.

This guide explains:

• how to classify storm overflows
• water quality, aesthetic control and design standards for storm overflows
• monitoring and reporting requirements for storm overflows
• requirements for new or improved emergency overflows
• what to include in your permit application
• when the Environment Agency will issue a permit