Angler Fined for No Licence!

FISHING without a licence netted a Durham man a fine.

John Hopper, 26, was caught on CCTV fishing for salmon on the River Wear at Framwellgate.

He was arrested after Environment Agency fisheries enforcement officers, carrying out an anti-poaching operation in the area, viewed the CCTV.

Hopper of Bradford Crescent in the city, denied fishing without a rod licence, saying he was fishing for chub for which he had a licence.

But he was found guilty by magistrates, fined pounds 100 and ordered to pay pounds 300 court costs. A migratory trout and salmon licence would have been pounds 65 at the time of the offence.

Speaking after the court case, Environment Agency fisheries enforcement team leader Kevin Summerson said salmon and sea trout fishing made a valuable contribution to the region’s economy and studies show that every rod-caught salmon can generate as much as pounds 4,600 for the local economy.

He said: “We have identified a problem at a Framwellgate Waterside where poachers are taking migrating salmon and sea trout.”

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