10th Jun 2009 - 00:00
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A new ban on selling rod-caught salmon and sea trout could see fishmongers and restaurants landed with a hefty fine if they fall foul of the rules.
New laws introduced this year mean that it is an offence to sell rod-caught salmon and sea trout – a measure introduced to crack down on poaching and protect vulnerable fish stocks for the future. It is still legal to sell wild salmon and sea trout that have been caught by net, and to help the catering trade know exactly what they are buying, any net-caught salmon and sea trout in England and Wales must, by law, have an Environment Agency carcass tag attached to it. Farmed fish and imported net-caught fish do not need to be tagged and will not have an Environment Agency carcass tag attached to them. Mat Crocker, head of fisheries at the Environment Agency, said: "Salmon and sea trout are vital to the health of our rivers. They bring in millions of pounds to rural areas through angling tourism and support important and traditional net fisheries. We want these fisheries to be sustainable to benefit future generations - removing the market for illegally caught and rod-caught fish allows more salmon and sea trout to spawn, increasing the numbers returning to our rivers in future years." The Environment Agency will be visiting fish markets, fishmongers, restaurants and other outlets for wild salmon and sea trout, to provide advice and make sure no one is acting illegally. The organisation has also sent a 'buyer-beware' leaflet, explaining the changes, to every fishmonger in England and Wales, as well as to hotels, restaurants and pubs in game fishing areas. The leaflet is also available to download from our website at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/fish Mat Crocker continues, "We would advise anyone buying wild salmon or sea trout to make sure the fish are tagged and have been legally caught. Untagged fish for sale will attract our attention. You can also help in the fight against illegal fishing, protecting salmon and sea trout stocks for future generations - if you are offered fish in suspicious circumstances or suspect fish are being sold illegally, please call us on our incident hotline – 0800 80 70 60."