Three men have been convicted of using lamps to poach salmon from a County Durham beck.
- Bradley Parkin, 20, of Chester Drive, Willington;
- Jonathan Amos, 28, of Constantine Road, North Ditchburn;
- Marley Roles, 19, of Clement Way, Willington,
Were each convicted of using lamps to illegally take fish, following a trial at Peterlee Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 14th November 2023.
This is an offence under section 1(1) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, which has a maximum penalty of an unlimited fine on summary conviction.
The three were cleared of a second allegation that they used a prohibited article, namely a gaff, to take or kill fish.
Magistrates heard that Environment Agency fisheries officers were on duty at Waskeley Beck, Wolsingham, just before midnight on Tuesday, 18th October 2022.
The officers observed three men, now identified as the defendants, leave a vehicle and follow a footpath along the edge of the beck. A short time later they observed lamps being shone around the waterway.
Using a thermal imaging device, the officers observed the men shining lamps directly into the water. They also saw the men entering and leaving the beck.
Officers then approached the men and challenged them on their activities.
The three men were later invited to attend a voluntary interview in relation to the matter, but only Amos did.
Each man was handed a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £26 surcharge and £600 towards prosecution costs.
Magistrates also made a deprivation order in respect of the seized lamps.
David Shears, Senior Fisheries Enforcement Officer at the Environment Agency, said: "These men have been rightly punished for the illegal activities they undertook last October, and we hope the penalty received will act as a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of breaking the laws and byelaws we have in place across England. They were using prohibited instruments to attempt to take fish, and we are pleased that we managed to obtain this conviction for the use of lamps.
"Poaching of this nature can incur an unlimited fine and/or result in imprisonment for up to two years. We monitor our waterways 24/7 to help protect them from cases of illegal activity and for those caught cheating the system, we will always consider prosecution."
Anyone with information about illegal fishing activities can contact the Environment Agency incident hotline 24/7 on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
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