04/03/04
PAC PRESS RELEASE
The
Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain totally condemns the actions of Peter Collins
in using dead lines to fish for zander and the apparent lack of appropriate response
to his actions by the Environment Agency.
The Environment Agency was
informed on a number of occasions by PAC members and non PAC members that long
lining was taking place. In recent weeks the identity of this person came to light,
but still the EA did very little to stop this from happening and refused to do
any covert operations to try and catch this person in the act of long lining.
Eventually a senior PAC official with a lot of legal experience and
who is conversant with the rules of seizure and handling exhibits contacted a
freelance journalist to try to bring the events into the open. By coincidence
on the day they went to the water to research the article they caught Peter Collins
in the act. After talking to him, Mr. Collins agreed to his long lining equipment
and a gaff being taken and he was cautioned and told that his actions would be
reported to the EA. This PAC Official has made a Witness Statement to the Environment
Agency to allow them to proceed with any prosecution of this matter. The incident
was also witnessed by the said freelance journalist.
The reasons Mr.
Collins has given for long lining do not hold water. Yes, zander are not native
to our waters but would now be impossible to remove. The presence of zander in
any water will not cause an increase in predation of other species of fish. It
has been scientifically proven that predators are typically around 10% to 15%
of the biomass of a water and this used to be made up mainly of pike and perch.
If another predator is introduced into a water you will find that the populations
of other predators will drop off over time to a balanced predator presence at
the 10% to 15% level.
The Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries act 1975 (with
amendments) were put in place to protect our sport and to stop angling resources
from being exploited. For that reason these laws should be policed to the letter
of the law and anyone found to be breaking these laws should be prosecuted. This
sends a message to any body else who is considering doing the same that they will
be prosecuted if caught. PAC members will be encouraged to report all such abuses.
The Specialist Anglers Alliance fully supports the PAC on our stance on this
matter.
Pike Anglers Club of Great Britain
NEWS