For most anglers, a Fisheries Enforcement Officer is the person who checks their fishing licence. But for the Environment Agency, the work of our enforcement officers helps protect fisheries, wildlife and the future of angling.
From routine patrols and licence checks to investigations and protecting vulnerable fish species, Fisheries Enforcement Officer Richard takes us behind the scenes of a day in his life.
Planning the patrol
Patrols often begin long before we reach the water.
We are guided by intelligence, local knowledge and valuable reports from anglers, members of the public and partner organisations.
Before we head out on our patrol, we check our intelligence system to see if there's any relevant information for that area including previous offending, hotspot locations, recorded incidents and information from other enforcement partners like the police. We then tailor our patrols to that intelligence.
We're out every day on some sort of water, no matter the weather.
Licence checks on the bank
When we get to any location, whether it be a river or a lake, we have to record the time we arrive in our pocket notebook; it's a legal document and can be used in court to provide evidence.
As we carry out rod licence checks, we show our authorisation as we go. Hopefully they'll all be happy and enjoying themselves and catching fish legally!
The rod licence money that anglers pay goes back into fishing in a number of different ways. For example, fishery owners can have Environment Agency specialists out to assist and advise them on potential issues before they become bigger issues, we also invest a lot of that income back into fishing and angling through schemes like the Fisheries Improvement Programme, which supports environmental and habitat improvements as well as making fisheries more accessible and safer and helping to bring new anglers into the sport – especially youngsters.
Following up reports
Licence checks are just one way fisheries enforcement officers help protect fisheries and tackle illegal fishing.
Illegal fishing can come in many forms. Reports from members of the public help us investigate incidents, build intelligence and respond to threats to fisheries and wildlife.
One issue is traps and other illegal instruments. We've seen all kinds over the years, from children's fishing nets all the way up to seine nets, cast nets and gill nets, the latter of which tangle fish up so they cannot get out of them.
While we are out, we keep an eye out for set lines. These are lines attached to the bank and a stake with bait on a hook. These can be set quite sneakily to avoid us finding them. Plastic bottles and tin cans are often used to identify where traps have been laid.
These lines are then left for a few hours before someone comes back to them. They can catch any fish species and wildlife other than fish and are particularly damaging to the environment and other kinds of wildlife.
We remove these illegal traps and once retrieved, equipment may be recorded, photographed and retained as evidence to help officers investigate incidents and take action where offences have occurred. We can also stake-out locations known to be hotspots, with the aim of catching offenders red handed.
Protecting fisheries and wildlife
This is only one side of fisheries enforcement. No two days are ever quite the same, and across England our officers are tackling very different challenges.
From routine patrols to specialist operations, the work may look different, but the aim is the same. We gather intelligence and monitor activity across our waters - teams may also use specialist equipment, including drones and night-time surveillance tools, to gather evidence and support investigations.
Some specialist operations focus on protecting migratory fish such as Atlantic salmon and sea trout - our officers cover every watercourse and even up to 6 nautical miles out into the sea to carry out vessel checks for migratory fish species. When fish populations are already under pressure, tackling illegal fishing can help protect some of our most vulnerable fish species.
Find out more
Most people will only ever see a small part of fisheries enforcement. Behind every patrol are intelligence-led operations, incident responses and specialist work helping to protect fisheries, wildlife and angling for future generations.
If you see illegal fishing activities on any inland water report in England, contact the Environment Agency’s Incident Hotline immediately on 0800 80 70 60 (available 24/7) or use the official online Report an Environmental Problem tool.
Watch our day in the life of a Fisheries Enforcement Officer video and find out how to buy a fishing licence.
seen at 16:45, 28 August in Environment Agency: For homes and habitats..