Nearly 300 illegally imported carp have been seized near the Channel Tunnel, it emerged last week. Fisheries inspectors intercepted the haul at Folkestone after the fish were brought through the tunnel from France. Officials said the 263 fish, some weighing up to 45lbs, were all destined to be stocked in English waters. After seizure the fish were all humanely destroyed.
The black market consignment, weighing 1.8 tonnes, had a black market value of £ 40,000. Fisheries Minister Elliot Morley said: “Fish health inspectors have a vital role to play in helping to prevent the spread of serious fish disease.
“Illegal imports of live fish pose one of the biggest threats to our indigenous stocks.” He added. Legal action was now being considered against two men.
Stillwater Barbel Stopped
Elsewhere last Monday, EA fisheries officers stopped barbel being illegally introduced into a stillwater in West Wales. Agency staff were waiting at the water at Aberaeron, near Aberystwyth, when a consignment of coarse fish arrived from a fish farm in Kent.
Barbel were found to be present, where no consent had been obtained to stock them. An EA spokesman said: “The introduction of barbel to stillwaters is an emotive and controversial issue that the Agency is currently investigating. However these fish are not currently present in the Aeron catchment.
“The introduction of non native barbel into the lakes could pose a significant threat to the populations of native salmon, trout and sea trout if they escaped from the fishery into the adjacent river.”
This operation was carried out as part of a new initiative aiming to clamp down on illegal fish movements being sponsored by the National Assembly for Wales.
