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Fryfishing
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blondie
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 Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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What are we paying our license for.  unbelievable!!  Steve  |
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lakefisher
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| Posted: Tue Jan 11, 2022 11:14 pm Post subject: |
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The only reason I have ever bought a fishing rod licence for - is to prevent prosecution.
I never believed that it offered anything else in return for my fees paid.
I've held an annual licence since needing one - and I'm 76 now, and have had my licence checked a whole 4 times
But you can bet on the fact that if I go and fish without a current licence - I'll get done ..... Tony 
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Allrounder
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| Posted: Wed Jan 12, 2022 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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| lakefisher wrote: |
| .... I'm 76 now, and have had my licence checked a whole 4 times |
... and I was with him on one occasion. It was a mini social at Blagdon and as I recall the EA officer (and his trainee) got both barrels! 
Seriously though, it is absolutely disgusting state of affairs but can any of us say we are surprised? It just confirms what we already suspected. I will now wait to see if this strategically leaked internal report provides enough leverage to ensure the government improves its funding to enable the EA to carry out its statutory duty with regard to pollution incidents ... but I wont be holding my breath. 
Alan
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Fryfishing
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 8:04 am Post subject: |
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This BBC Item adds to the above.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-59955624
The key lines are in the comment section by Justin Rowlett,
"But don't assume that will prompt a sudden flurry of parliamentary or regulatory activity.
The EAC has an unusually wide remit for a select committee. It can summon witnesses and request government papers to investigate environmental protection and sustainable development across all government departments.
What it can't do is force the government to act on its reports or push its recommendations through Parliament."
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blondie
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| Posted: Thu Jan 13, 2022 6:40 pm Post subject: |
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I can remember that too Alan
Ironically,that was the last time i had my license checked!  Steve  |
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wylye
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| Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 11:34 am Post subject: |
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| Allrounder wrote: |
| lakefisher wrote: |
| .... I'm 76 now, and have had my licence checked a whole 4 times |
... and I was with him on one occasion. It was a mini social at Blagdon and as I recall the EA officer (and his trainee) got both barrels!
Alan |
And what was the point of THAT? You get people on here whinging like crazy that they have never seen an EA Enforcement Officer - because that is their correct title - since Pontius was a pilot and then when they do see one and get their licence checked they abuse the poor sod and whinge like crazy on here because thy DID see one.
I worked for the EA and its predecessors for 38 years and within 6 months of joining I had come to the conclusion that anglers in the round are far from the most sensible creations on the planet.
I'm guessing that the furore above is because EA staff are no longer attending some pollution incidents. Surprise, surprise! I'll let you into a secret. We never did. Better by far to phone up the person making the report to check what exactly is going on before rushing out to the car and driving a hundred mile round trip for nothing. We were supposed to be protecting the environment after all but we can't expect anglers to get that point. Only if we felt from what we heard as a result of the phone call that the matter deserved checking did we go out to it. We were required to respond to incidents but that didn't - and doesn't - necessarily mean going to every one.
For those that don't know there is a Hot line number on your rod licence and that goes through to an office in Warrington that is manned 24/7/365 + 1 for a Leap year. You report, which for obvious reasons, needs to be accurate and as detailed as possible. That is then passed on to the right Region and from there down to the right Area and from there down to the right Officer who deals with that catchment. Each incident is given a Category according to its perceived seriousness. Cat 4 & 3 are minor with no apparent impact on the environment. No fish deaths or impact on local wildlife. Cat 2 & 1 are serious and very serious and involve fish deaths into the thousands and require a response within 2 hours. So, we get a CAT 4 and send out two officers to attend because lone working is not allowed, and while they are 60 miles away in comes a Cat 1. Does anyone seriously think that is going to be beneficial to the environment? Half the Fisheries team are away because someone reported finding dead crayfish on the bank while thousands of fish are dying 60 miles away.
At a time when resources and staff are cut to the bare minimum then it makes no operational sense whatsoever to scatter those staff across the Area where they can be of no useful purpose.
Next time anyone sees an Enforcement Officer, try being pleasant rather than abusive. I had one like that about a month after I started with what was then Thames Conservancy. I went to bailiff a match on a gravel pit. I checked anglers' licences as they came up to draw their peg number. Those that didn't produce at that time I told to put their licence on the ground behind their seat so I could check it without disturbing their fishing. One d*ckhead ignored all this and when I got to him he refused to dig out his licence. I told him I would return after I had completed my circuit of the lake thinking that this would give him time to re-consider. When I got back an hour later there was still no licence, so I said nothing but started to pace up & down a few feet behind him. This completely put him off and after an hour he gave in and chucked the licence onto the ground. Now I had him, so I wrote out a ticket stating that he had failed to produce his licence on request. He could have ended up in court, but I knew the legals wouldn't go that far in view of the fact that he DID have a licence and finally did produce it but it sent a strong message. I don't think he caught very much either despite being drawn on one of the fancied locations.
If people want to create about water pollutions then fine, but make sure you create about the right people.
1) Yourself. You sh*t and p*ss every day. You don't care what happens to it, but whinge like mad at the size of your water bill. You use it, you pay for it.
2) the water companies. THEY are the ones tipping your sh*t & pIss into the river untreated.
3) Government. They are the ones failing to prevent that scenario and failing to provide the framework to stop water companies from riding rough shod over the environment. |
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tenet
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| Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 1:04 pm Post subject: |
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| Come on Wylye - take a chill pill. This is the Complete Fisher Forum NOT the Fly Fishing Forum. |
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Fryfishing
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| Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 3:49 pm Post subject: |
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Yes that was both barrels from Wylye
My guess is that the E.A today is quite different than when you worked there (but you probably know that) due to underfunding, cut backs and lack of interest from the Government.
I will continue to buy my annual fishing licence but I do not expect that it will be checked by anyone ( fishing club, commercial water or canal bailiff) in the near future.
P
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wylye
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| Posted: Fri Jan 14, 2022 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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| tenet wrote: |
| Come on Wylye - take a chill pill. This is the Complete Fisher Forum NOT the Fly Fishing Forum. |
True, but it didn't hurt for you to understand how things get done.
I had occasion to use the Hot Line myself on New Years Day. I went for a walk along the Kennet & Avon Canal with my wife and the dogs and spotted a boat that was leaking diesel into the water. The canal comes under the Canal & Rivers Trust but I didn't have their number so contacted the EA instead giving full details of what, where, when etc. Two hours later I was sitting at home and the mobile went. It was the local EA Area to tell me the problem had been sorted. I had given the Hot Line the location & name of the boat and the Area had contacted CaRT with that information and the owner's brother, who lived locally had gone down and resolved the issue. A classic Cat 4 incident cleared up in about two hours.
I walked down there next morning and there was only a tiny little residual fuel hanging around in the bankside vegetation.
I freely admit that I enjoyed getting one over on that snotty angler in the match. I am pretty certain that the next time he was asked for his licence he'd have fallen over in his haste to produce it. Another tw*t I enjoyed getting one over on was a dick who was carp fishing. I had a call from one of my Honorary bailiffs back in the day when we had such things. It was a Saturday evening in summer and he had asked this guy and his mate to produce their licences. His pal did so, but plonker decided to get nasty. The HWB called me and I asked what he wanted to do about it which was to get the licence seen so I went. 35 mile drive later I met up with the HWB, told him I would deal with the angler and walked up to him, produced my warrant and demanded to see his licences. 2 were needed as it was still 1 per rod. He looked me up & down muttering and then ducked into his bivvy only to appear clutching an axe which he brandished up & down close to me. I simply told him that he had a very nice matched pair of carp rods & reels and it would be a real shame to see them all smashed up in the ensuing fracas. That brought him up short. The rods were set up on bite alarms and were between him and me. Smashed up they certainly would have been. He saw sense and produced two rod licences which I took my time over checking just to irritate him.
After that we left and enjoyed a quiet pint in a pub on the way back. Happy days!
There is absolutely no point at all in giving the Enforcement guy on the bank a load of grief. It is not his fault that the water companies and farmers persistently pollute our rivers. If anyone wants to make a serious point, refuse to pay your water bills. I believe some people down in the south east have done that. |
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Fryfishing
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Fryfishing
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Allrounder
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| Posted: Sat Apr 16, 2022 10:22 am Post subject: |
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It does indeed, Peter. I wonder how long it will take before this impending environmental disaster is taken seriously enough by the Government and public?
Alan
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Member of ...
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Pike Fly Fishing Association
If you see me on the bank, say hello... from a safe distance! |
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Fryfishing
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