Environment Agency enforcement teams continued their clampdown on illegal fishing, issuing 90 offence notices for close season offences across England from the start of close season (15 March) to the end of May. Patrols focused on a range of illegal fishing – including close season offences and fishing without a valid rod licence.
‘Close season’ – which runs from 15 March to 15 June inclusive – is when coarse angling is suspended on rivers, streams and specified canals and stillwaters to protect spawning fish.
Officers notched up more than 570 patrols up and down the...
A new mobile-friendly interactive website has been launched today to help anglers, and would-be anglers, find the best spot to fish.
Fishinginfo.co.uk provides everything needed for a fishing trip, from searching for fishing spots to what the weather is doing and live water levels to information on buying a rod licence and where to buy kit.
Produced by the Angling Trust in partnership with the Environment Agency, Met Office and Post Office, Fishinginfo.co.uk is part of a major nationwide drive to increase participation in angling.
Fish lovers and members of the South West fishing industry are being urged to get on board with a forthcoming campaign designed to champion the diversity and sustainability of many species landed by the UK fishing fleet in a week-long Twitter campaign set to take place in March.
The initiative, dubbed #CatchOfTheDay, is being launched by the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO), the body which represents fishermen’s groups, individual fishermen and producer organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Britain's bass stocks have collapsed, with commercial fishermen and even recreational anglers facing drastic cuts in what they're allowed to catch. West Country boats are laid up after a total ban on fishing for skate — the latest evidence of our continuing failure to manage our seas properly.
But it is not all bad news. Tough decisions to slash cod quotas in the North Sea in recent years, vigorously opposed by the fishing industry at the time, have led to the stock beginning to recover. But still far too little is being done to ensure we have a healthy, sustainable marine...
Of the anglers checked for a valid licence, 965 were fishing illegally and could face a court appearance and a substantial fine. A recent penalty was more than £800, when an annual licence costs just £27.
May falls within the coarse fishing ‘close season’ – which runs from 15 March to 15 June – when coarse angling is suspended on rivers and a few canals and lakes in order to allow coarse fish to breed.
While some licence cheats were also fishing rivers during the close season, the majority were caught on stillwaters where fishing is still allowed during these months....
If coral reef health continues to decline, reefs of the future may not be able to support the food demands and livelihoods of millions of people living in the coastal tropics, according to new research from the Universities of Exeter and Queensland.
The findings, to be reported in the journal Current Biology on 5 May, are based on a study of Caribbean coral reefs and their ability to support reef fisheries.
“Corals are the building blocks of coral reefs. They create an amazingly complex habitat with lots of holes, cracks and crevices that serve as hiding places and homes...
If this is your fishing equipment, the time has come to catch it and carry it off!
The nets, floats and weights have been stacked without permission at East Devon District Council’s Camperdown depot in Exmouth.
EDDC has been happy to turn a blind eye until now, but with improvement work now planned it all needs to be removed.
The Council is now politely requesting that whoever owns the equipment makes arrangements to have it removed before 31 August 2013. Anything remaining after this date will have to be disposed of without further notice.
A team from the Environment Agency is returning to the Grand Western Canal at Halberton today in a final attempt to rescue some of the remaining fish from a temporary lake that was created following last month's torrential rain.
Thousands of fish, including pike, perch, bream, tench, roach and eels, were washed out of the canal after a section of bank near Halberton gave way following torrential rain.
Water from a two-mile section of the canal flooded surrounding fields creating a temporary lake. A team of Environment Agency officers, assisted by members of...
Join Darts Farm and the Fish Shed guys for an unforgettable experience where you will be taken aboard a local fishing boat to fish for sea bass off the Jurassic coast.
You will be brought back to the Darts Farm cookery studio where the fisherman-chefs will show you how to prepare and cook this tasty local fish before tucking into a full fish supper together.
The day starts with breakfast at Darts Farm, followed by line fishing on the wrecks off the East Devon coast with brunch and a beer on board, then back to Darts Farm for tea and cake. A fish prepration and cookery...
