{"id":87729,"date":"2018-01-04T15:34:51","date_gmt":"2018-01-04T15:34:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=ff005a0a052e3152579f3b19e5391bd7"},"modified":"2018-01-04T15:34:51","modified_gmt":"2018-01-04T15:34:51","slug":"press-release-boston-man-faces-hefty-fine-for-fishing-without-a-licence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=87729","title":{"rendered":"Press release: Boston man faces hefty fine for fishing without a licence"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>The Environment Agency is reminding anglers of the importance of having a fishing licence, after a Boston man was ordered to pay more than \u00a3600 for fishing without one.<\/p>\n<p>Aivis Putnins, aged 32, of St Bedes Drive, Boston, was proved guilty in absence at Northampton Magistrates\u2019 Court on 21 December 2017.<\/p>\n<p>The defendant was found to be using unlicensed fishing instruments on the River Witham, Boston, on 20 August 2017, in breach of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act (1975).<\/p>\n<p>Following the verdict, Steve Powell, Enforcement Team manager for the Environment Agency, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">It\u2019s important that all anglers understand how seriously the courts take these offences and we hope it will act as a deterrent for any angler thinking of fishing without a licence.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">All the money raised from licence sales is used to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries, benefitting anglers. Those cheating the system will be prosecuted.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Every year across the country, thousands of anglers are prosecuted by the Environment Agency for not having a fishing licence.  The agency and its partners work to catch illegal anglers in the act.<\/p>\n<p>As well as swindling other anglers, fishing illegally can harm wildlife and carries a hefty penalty. Getting caught without a licence could land you with a fine of up to \u00a32,500.<\/p>\n<p>Any angler aged 12 or over, fishing on a river, canal or still water needs a licence. An annual licence costs from just \u00a330 (concessions available) and is available from GOV.UK or by calling the Environment Agency on 0344 800 5386 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Anyone with information about illegal fishing activities can contact the Environment Agency Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.<br \/>\nNotes to editors:<\/p>\n<p>Mr Aivis Putnins was ordered to pay a fine of \u00a3440, costs of \u00a3171, and a victim surcharge of \u00a344.  The total penalty was \u00a3611.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Aivis Putnins was found fishing without a licence on the River Witham and has been ordered to pay over \u00a3600.<\/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\/87729"}],"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=87729"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87729\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=87729"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=87729"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=87729"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}