Five illegal Nottinghamshire anglers ordered to pay over £4,000

Five Nottinghamshire anglers have been found guilty of fishing without a licence, resulting in penalties totalling £4,265 and criminal records.

Jake Munns and Jai Makanji of Nottingham, Keegan Lambert and Kieran Buxton of Mansfield, and Phillip Galley of Sutton-in-Ashfield were all found guilty of fishing illegally. They were caught at the Woodend Lakes in Huthwaite during a routine patrol carried out by Environment Agency bailiffs.

The Environment Agency carries out these routine patrols to ensure that the future of angling is protected for the vast majority of anglers who fish legally. With an annual rod licence valid from 1 April only costing £30, the offending anglers have been left several hundred pounds out of pocket by their actions.

The five offenders were tried on 2 March 2017 at Mansfield Magistrates’ Court. Fines totalled £3,300, but with £635 in costs as well as £330 in victim surcharges the total penalties amounted to £4,265.

Environment Agency enforcement officer Peter Haslock said:

This is an excellent result for the Environment Agency as well as for the hundreds of thousands of anglers who follow the rules.

These offenders could have saved themselves a substantial sum of money as well as a criminal record if they had bought the required licences. An annual rod licence that is valid from 1 April is available from just £30, so there really is no excuse.

The Environment Agency recently launched “Get a Fishing Licence” on GOV.UK to simplify the process of buying a fishing licence. This new webpage is part of a series of changes that have been made to improve the service. The improvements include:

Free licences for junior anglers, up to the age of 17

The fishing licence will now last for 12 months from the day it is bought rather than expire at the end of March every year. A standard year-long licence is available from £30.

Anglers now need only one licence to use three rods, rather than the two licences that were needed previously.

All money raised through rod licence sales is used to support fish, fisheries and the angling sport. The Environment Agency’s activities to protect and improve fish and fisheries include protecting stocks from illegal fishing, pollution and disease, eradicating invasive species and improving fish habitats.

The Environment Agency urges people who suspect they may have been witness to, or have information of, illegal fishing to report illegal activity by calling its incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.