Police and partners tackle summer trends of fish poaching

Our dedicated rural and wildlife crime officers from the Country Watch team have been working with partners to tackle seasonal trends of fish poaching in the county.

Fish poaching in fresh water rivers, known in law as ‘theft of fishing rights’ is defined simply as the act of offenders fishing without permission where a private right of fishery exists – it is a criminal offence under Schedule 1 of the Theft Act 1968.

The Test and Itchen in Hampshire are some of the finest chalk rivers in Europe, and are a big draw for fishermen from all over the world who make the most of their rich source of salmon and trout.

Mottisfont on the Test is also widely believed by many to be the birthplace of Fly Fishing. Sadly, there are criminals who exploit the opportunities provided by these pristine waterways through illegal fishing and poaching for their own personal gain.

Warmer periods in spring and summer will often correlate with increased reports of this type of crime.

Fishermen who abide by the law provide lucrative business for landowners along the Test and Itchen, but poaching can put landowners at significant financial disadvantage and undermine the efforts of riverkeepers who work hard to organise the beats and opportunities for legitimate customers.

Operation Traverse has been running for a number of years locally, and sees police work with partners such as the Environment Agency and The Angling Trust to catch offenders and reduce poaching on the river network.

On Friday 3 May this year, the Country Watch team attended some training input hosted by The Angling Trust in Eastleigh. Part of the training focused on identifying illegal traps and nets, rods and other fishing equipment. Officers also refreshed their knowledge on identifying suspicious people and activity on the river network, and ensuring checks are made for correct rod and fishing licences.

Following the training, the team broke away to conduct patrols and visits on rivers across the county, engaging with people fishing to check for licences and ensure no illegal fishing was taking place. The majority of anglers that police met with were fishing legally.

A selection of photos taken during the day can be found in the gallery below.

During patrols in Romsey, a man was found fishing without a valid rod licence. He was asked to remove his rods from the water and was reported to the Environment Agency for theft of fishing rights.

Other areas visited included Totton and Broadlands along the River Test, and the Lower Itchen. During patrols in Lower Brook, the Compton Estate and Pittleworth seven people were caught fishing without a rod licence, all of whom were reported to the Environment Agency.

The following week, a large amount of fishing kit was located in Ringwood next to a lake where fishing is forbidden. This was seized by police. Poachers will sometimes travel long distances to take valuable fish from a prohibited site before transporting them to other lakes, whilst dumping and concealing their kit with the intention of returning again to continue fishing illegally.

PC Nick Atkins said: “The financial impact of fish poaching on landowners is significant and something that we as a police team and as a partnership work hard to tackle and reduce.

“It is a seasonal issue that we focus on every summer under Operation Traverse. We have refreshed the team’s training this year and will continue to actively patrol river networks, and work with riverkeepers and other partners to intercept fish poachers.

“We want people to keep reporting suspicious activity on the river network or concerns around illegal fishing to police. The more we know, the more action we can take alongside our key partners.

“We are already seeing annual increases of landowners making reports to us which helps with our intelligence gathering and ultimately any patrol activity and enforcement action.”

We urge anyone with information about fish poaching to call police on 101, or provide information via the report tool at www.hampshire.police.uk 

If you are a member of DISC you can also use this platform to provide information to the police.

If you have a business connection to the rural and wildlife environment, you may be eligible to be a member of DISC. Please email [email protected]