Hi Guys

Ive been sat on this one for a while but hopefully it wont affect any of the good folks of FFF.......just like speeding or seat belts fines

2011 will see the introduction of Fixed Penalty Notice for just about all of the 'fishery' offenses. Use of dynamite....... and fishing without a rod license....for example

This power was granted by the RES act in 2008 and it has been left until now to introduce the system. (April 2011)

It should even out some of inconsistency between different courts on the fines imposed.

Its not only 'fishing' that will see this but most of the Agency's regulatory enforcement which will all see 'ticket' enforcement added to the armory.
Of course the court option will still be available.
Here is a list of 'ticket' options which may help to clarify this for various offenses:

“FMP” is a fixed monetary penalty – a low level fine fixed by legislation that the regulator may impose for a specified minor offence;
“VMP” is a variable monetary penalty – a proportionate monetary penalty which the regulator may impose for a more serious offence;
“CN” is a compliance notice – a regulator’s written notice requiring actions to comply with the law, or to return to compliance, within a specified period;
“RN” is a restoration notice – a regulator’s written notice requiring steps to be taken, within a stated period, to restore harm caused by non-compliance, so far as possible;
“SN” is a stop notice – a written notice which requires an immediate stop to an activity that is causing serious harm or presents a significant risk of causing serious harm;
“EU” is an enforcement undertaking – an offer, formally accepted by the regulator, to take steps that would make amends for non-compliance and its effects.

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Two things to have in life - A good bed and a good pair of boots -and if you aren't in one you should be in t'other

A FPN for dynamite use at a fishery

bloody hell - and I thought the Swiss were complicated, this is Germanic in its granularity. What size are the fines - between 10 and 20 quid?

Actually fairly common on my side of the Pond.

fe

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"The problems we face today are there because the people who work for a
living are now outnumbered by those who vote for a living." -- Anonymous

FMP and VMP - New options for a regulator.
CN and SN - Have existed for years in water, waste and industry regimes
RN - Not really new either could be included in a CN under previous regulation
EU - Is new and seems to be a formal mechanism for pre-court settlement presented by the polluter to escape prosecution? Mind you such an agreement could have been made pre-trial up here in Scotland with the support of the Procurator Fiscal and must have been available to the EA too...

So basically new spot fines and a few new terminologies which may or may not be used more effectively than previous similar options... Will this make a real difference with a smaller cut-back pressured regulator?

In my experience as a police officer I found that as more and more offences became Fixed Penalty Offences, the enforcement of those offences became really hap-hazard. You only have to look at the actions of some parking wardens to realise some of the pitfalls.

It is too easy to issue tickets without using common sense or discretion.

It is also easy to deal with serious offences as minor offences by giving out a ticket.

Management can set targets that defeat the object of enforcement , for example by insisting that 90% of all offences detected are dealt with by way of ticket. This takes away the discretion of the enforcement officer.

It is equally easy never to issue a ticket and just to deal with anything by way of verbal warning.

As to the level of fines, the general rule in the UK seems ot be £60 starting point.

Fixed Penalty notices are an important tool in enforcement but there must be a mechanism whereby the enforcement officer can make the decision as to the seriousness of the offence and the appropriate way of dealing with it. They must be able to retail the full range of disposal options from words of warning to court action.

The major problem with any ticketing offence is getting correct detials from the offender, now the police have powers to arrest if ID is an issue but baliffs and the like will probably not have those powers and even if they did, are they going to risk assault by trying to use them?

Rant over, Having got all my licences and having only been checked once in 30 years south of Northampton it seems unlikely that I will ever fall foul of them down here.

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Chris REEVES

www.flydressersguild.org

The only time we see a bailiff round here(N.W.Wales)is on April 1st when some poor unfortunate who forgot to renew his licence is clobbered.I know forgetting is not an excuse but with our rivers being openly poached,I really wonder if the E.A. has any interest in fish stocks at all.IMHO we're just a means of income.While returning a red sea trout today I wondered how long he had to live.In the last 2 days I've seen canoists on 2 rivers,Numerous cormorants and stories of gill netting on the Mawddach and Wnion.
When the law was changed allowing seizure of a vehicle used by poachers,poaching seemed to lessen for a while but with the lack of bailiffs and paltry sentences for those few that are caught it seems that poachers are coming out of the woodwork again.
Excuse the rant

I was talking to a bailiff a few weeks ago and asked if he found many people without a license. He explained that more and more groups of young course fishermen he comes across give him abuse and refuse to show (more likely don't have) a valid license or permit, but he said he usually can't do anything as they are normally in groups, drinking and being quite threatening.

I also spoke to one of the farmers at a local commercial carp fishery last weekend who said they are getting the same problems up there with groups of lads spending the day drinking whilst fishing and refusing to pay £6 for a days fishing. However they too struggle to kick them out due to numbers of them.

It is pretty pathetic that some people refuse to pay £27 for a years fishing yet will gladly pay £100 for one of those really "Cool" tracksuits which they go fishing in.

Disclaimer: Please note if you too own one of those "Cool" tracksuits with matching baseball cap but own a license, this doesn't apply to you

---------- Post added at 11:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:15 PM ----------

On a slightly different matter how do they enforce fly fishermen?? Who are usually stood in the middle of a river and surely can just wade to the other side if they are fishing illegally and spot a bailiff.

there was an instance last year where a fishery owner confronted 4 poachers in scotland one poacher had heroin in his posesion one had canabis the fishery owner was on his own there was a slite confrontation between the fishery owner and the poachers i think a rod belonging to the poachers was broken they got let of with out charges the fishery owner was seveerly
mistreated including armed officers arriving at his place and removing his guns and several days in court where he had to hire a lawyer now you telling me thats justice if it had been me 4 seriouse punctures would have made them think about coming back thats justice in my book