River Tywi net prosecution

River Tywi net prosecution

Operating an unauthorised fixed net on the River Tywi Estuary at Ferrysideon 24 April 2006 cost a Ferryside man £ 1,150 in fines and costs atCarmarthen Magistrate’s Court on Febuary 20th.

David Laughton Sandbrook Cole of Brigstocke Terrace, Ferryside was fined£ 400 and also ordered to pay costs of £ 750 in a prosecution brought byEnvironment Agency Wales.

He had pleaded guilty to using an unauthorised net in the estuary. The netwas confiscated by the Agency.

The Court was told that on 24 April 2006 Agency Enforcement Officers found astake net set on the left bank of the river downstream of Ferryside RailwayStation. The net appeared to have been recently cleaned and no fish werepresent.

Byelaws issued by the South Wales Sea Fisheries Committee (SWSFC) restrictthe height of stake nets in the Tywi estuary to 1.25 metres, however the netbeing used on this occasion was capable of exceeding this height. Lawfulnets are effective for catching bottom dwelling fish such as flat fish, butmigratory fish can swim over them safely.

Cole admitted that the net was his but argued that the nature of the tideswas such that the height of the net would not have exceeded the heightrestriction.

In response to this the Agency carried further investigations of the riverwhich demonstrated that the net would have exceeded the limit. The argumentbecame unnecessary as the Court ruled that the Agency need only establishthat a net had the capacity to exceed the height restriction.

As a result of that ruling the defendant amended his original pleas of notguilty to guilty although it was stressed on his behalf that it had not beenhis intention to catch migratory fish.

Following the case Stephen Williams, Senior Environmental Crime Officersaid: “These byelaws are aimed at conserving fish stocks and specificallyprotecting salmon and sea trout. Stake nets are designed to catchbottom-feeding species such as flat fish and are therefore allowed insuitable areas.

Nets that are allowed to float with the rising tide are however far less discriminatory and hence banned from most estuaries. We must protect vulnerable fish stocks from exploitation and salmon and sea trout are in serious decline on the River Tywi. Our enforcement officers make regular patrols to ensure that rules and regulations are being observed, and this will continue.”