What would you have done?

Below isan email i sent earlier today to a club secretary after walking along a length of their canal yesterday.My question is what could/should i have done? Who do you contact for these kind of things? I took a long walk up the canal yesterday and was a little shocked by a few things i thought i should bring to your attention; 1) there were a couple of eastern Europeans who had clearly stayed overnight fishing for pike - they were using 6 rods between them and these were spread several metres down the towpath & tied to branches to stop them going in the water if they got a bite. If they had caught a pike I would have grave concerns for its safety as it seemed they were fishing for the pot rather than for sport. 2) I saw 2 reasonably sized pike lying belly up within a metre of each other - this could be coincidence however its more likely to be as a result of poor handling on the bank and/or deep hooking.3) I also saw a dead carp of around 10-12lbs which looked like it had had chunks of flesh taken off of it's flanks. It looked to me as if someone had taken the meat off & thrown the rest of the fish back. I know when you buy your licence it enables you to take up to 2 fish home per day but what local byelaws are in place? Do you have any specific rules for your waters regarding taking fish? I wouldn't mind so much if there was no other food available but to eat a small bit of a carp that could be 30 years old just to throw the rest of it back into the water is beyond me.As you can probably tell im an angler and i love fishing so i'll try to protectmy sportin anyway i can. If this happens again who should i contact in the first instance?

The Environment Agency would be a good place to start.

And before the usuals come out and say "they never turn up" - I'll retort as usual-

The more calls logged- the more enforcementissues noted. The EA work by spreadsheets and numbers. Keep reporting and you will keep highlighting an is issue. More figures means more reason for more enforcement officers/bailiffs. As it stands- calls of this nature are pitifully low- anglers, in general,are really bad at reporting.

It sounds to me like these two could be had for:

Unattended rods

No license (you need 2 licences to fish more than 2 rods per angler)

Nathan,

EA National Customer Contact number: 08708 506 506

Call them when you see anything 'suspect'

This is the reponse i've had,

"Hi Nathan

Thanks for the info I will alert our bailiffs and fisheries officer. If you should see these people again please try and get a registration number and let me know. I would also advise you to call the police as we are working closely with them to stop this sort of thig from happening.Kindest regards"

I've made a note of the EA's number & should I see this again i will also report it to them.

<blockquote class=quoteheader>Nathan wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>I know when you buy your licence it enables you to take up to 2 fish home per day but what local byelaws are in place?</blockquote>

That is a common misconception. There is no national all over rule, nor is it an entitlement that you get for buying a rod licence.

It derives from the much quoted fact that the Thames Valley River Authority byelaws provide for a maximum of two fish per day to be taken for the pot

BUT

a) they have to be larger than the minimum size specified for each species (tho where you find that out I don't know, used to be printed on the back of the licence, but that would be too easy wouldn't it)

b) they have to be caught lawfully, by rod and line with all appropriate permits to fish

c) they either have to be taken from public open water or with the permission of the owner of the fishing rights to the water (not the same as riparian owner or adjoining land owner).

And on top of that each different water authority had its own unique byelaws, mostly completely unpublished.

I must admit I have lost track of where we are with all this since the reorganised water authorities and the advent of the Environment Agency tho. Someone wiser, more expert and more up to date may perhaps advise better..... ?

As I mentioned on another thread Eastern Europeans are a far bigger threat to fishing than otters could ever be.

I think for some EE's that may be true but i dont want to generalise. I'm sure there are some who share the same belief that fish should be returned safely.

I fully agree with you Nathan that we can't generalise, and that many EE's probably share our values, but it doesn't take too many of the type you saw to do a great deal of damage.

I'm not trying to belittle your post Nathan, but if they were fishing for the pot would they have not kept the two Pike you saw floating, regardless of the poor handling or deep hooking?

I agree with DZ's post, REPORT REORT REPORT..........

Steve

...and write down the incident number the EA call centre will give you. You can then use it to call back and check progress, and give it to the club and/or the police

"The Environment Agency would be a good place to start."

They're too busy chasing afterpeople like Dan and Emmo for fishing on private land to worry about anything as petty as Eastern Europeans or anyone else doing apparently outrageous things.

<blockquote class=quoteheader>Stephen Williams 2 wrote (see)</blockquote><blockquote class=quote>

I'm not trying to belittle your post Nathan, but if they were fishing for the pot would they have not kept the two Pike you saw floating, regardless of the poor handling or deep hooking?

I agree with DZ's post, REPORT REORT REPORT..........

Steve</blockquote>
Steve, i think you've misunderstood - the dead pike i saw had clearly been dead for a while but the point i was trying to make was that to see 2dead pike right next to each other led me to believe it was due to poor handling/deep hooking. I wasn't suggesting the EE's had killed them then thrown them back.

I'm taking another trip down the stretch this weekend - if i see anything dodgy i'll be sure to report it.

Have you not seen Bourne Identity now there's a man who know's how to deal with dodgey EE, and remember don't leave your house without your A K 47. I wished that I had the same faith in the EA as other FM members.