The EA report that during a routine evening patrol at a known vulnerable location two of their fisheries enforcement officers observed three people walking along the River Itchen in Hampshire at night with torches. The officers decided to carry on watching the individuals using night vision and thermal imaging equipment and realised that they were carrying what appeared to be a fishing rod.
When the people were approached by the officers they were found to be empty handed so the officers decided to search the immediate area – and discovered a spear gun hidden behind a fence!
The officers called Hampshire Police to report the incident and to arrange for the equipment to be collected and a police fire arms unit was deployed to their location to de-activate the spear gun.
The EA’s Paul Newman said:
“This is a clear example of the lengths some individuals will go in order to
catch and kill wildlife from our river systems. The enforcement work that our HIFE officers carry out is very important and specifically aimed to target locations where this type of activity is known to occur. Offences of this nature are very serious and
can significantly impact not only fish stocks but on wildfowl too.”
