{"id":52075,"date":"2014-12-30T10:51:01","date_gmt":"2014-12-30T10:51:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=b0faff9d1b52824457a51fcfc58b0733"},"modified":"2014-12-30T10:51:01","modified_gmt":"2014-12-30T10:51:01","slug":"press-release-illegal-anglers-netted-in-durham-operation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=52075","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Illegal anglers netted in Durham operation"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>7 north east anglers have been banned from fishing following an undercover operation to crack down on illegal fishing methods.<\/p>\n<p>The men were caught following a joint operation between the Environment Agency and Durham Police on a stretch of the River Wear.<\/p>\n<p>Between April and November this year, magistrates in County Durham imposed a range of penalties on those caught in the operation, including banning defendants from holding rod licences for between 12 months and 2 years, after they pleaded guilty to offences under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act.<\/p>\n<p>Thousands of pounds worth of fishing equipment was also ordered to be destroyed after being confiscated.<\/p>\n<p>The court heard that enforcement officers carried out undercover night-time surveillance which caught a number of men fishing illegally using a method called \u201cstroke hauling\u201d. They were using a hook which impales the fish\u2019s body or head.<\/p>\n<p>If the fish had managed to escape the hook, it could have left them susceptible to diseases and they may have even died before reaching their spawning grounds.<\/p>\n<p>Environment Agency Fisheries Enforcement Team Leader Kevin Summerson said: <\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>The fines, fishing bans and orders for equipment to be destroyed should send out a warning to all those who are considering breaking angling laws \u2013 we could be watching you!<\/p>\n<p class=\"last-child\">Poachers are not just taking 1 or 2 fish. They are frequently taking large numbers that are often sold on for profit. The methods they use can have a dramatic affect on wildlife and cause serious damage to already threatened fish stocks.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<div class=\"call-to-action\">\n<p>If you have any information about illegal fishing, or you are offered fish for sale which you suspect has been obtained illegally, call the Environment Agency\u2019s 24-hour hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>7 anglers banned following undercover operation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52075"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=52075"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52075\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=52075"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=52075"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=52075"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}