Enforcement

The FESS is the statutory lead on fisheries enforcement, through:

• Coordinating a multi-agency approach to fisheries crime and compliance, encouraging a partnership approach.
• Raising awareness throughout the police service, Crown Prosecution Service and Magistrates’ Association.
• Helping to advise the police and Environment Agency and helping put things right should the services fall short.
• Increasing incoming intelligence and sharing of that information.
• Upskilling the angling community through Fisheries Enforcement Workshops and the provision of expert advice to angling clubs and fisheries.
• Delivering the Voluntary Bailiff Service throughout England, empowering anglers to contribute to fisheries enforcement.
• Delivering the Building Bridges Project, aimed at the education and integration of migrant anglers.
• Delivering the Learning Management System to teach and train our enforcement content.

There are six Regional Enforcement Support Managers who are all retired police officers of immense experience. As anglers themselves, they understand the issues faced and the response required. Please do not hesitate to contact your Regional Enforcement Support Manager for professional enforcement advice – contact details can be found in the Meet the Team section below.

You can stay updated with our work by following the dedicated fisheries enforcement Facebook page here.

The Voluntary Bailiff Service (VBS) is a partnership between the Angling Trust and the Environment Agency which empowers anglers to support the police and EA in preventing poaching and fish theft to protect fish and fisheries. Since launching in 2015, the VBS has offered a unique opportunity for freshwater anglers in England to positively contribute towards supporting our enforcement work. Through patrols carried out on local waters, voluntary bailiffs provide information to the EA wich allows them to directly target areas known for illegal activity, resulting in many successful prosecutions each month.

The VBS is administered in six regions throughout England, each run by an Angling Trust Regional Enforcement Support Manager (RESM), who works very closely with the Environment Agency and police. These RESM’s also provide training to new Voluntary Bailiffs. Volunteers receive an identity card, Angling Trust clothing and, most importantly, access to the secure VBS website for reporting purposes and information sharing. Our bailiffs are trained to never approach anyone they think is acting suspiciously. The correct way of dealing with matters is to safely and discreetly gather evidence, and report this immediately to the Environment Agency.

Annually, the VBS participates in Operation Clampdown with the Environment Agency and police, cracking down on illegal fishing during the coarse fishing close season. This is a perfect opportunity to promote and increase partnership working, intelligence gathering and sharing – and for Voluntary Bailiffs to work directly with EA Fisheries Enforcement Officers on joint patrols.

In the year 2023/24, the VBS conducted 288 joint patrols with the EA and police and reported over 1,000 incidents.

All anglers can help this process by reporting information and offences in progress to the Environment Agency on 0800 80 70 60, or the police on 101/999 as appropriate.

Thanks to the current National Angling Strategic Services contract, the number of Voluntary Bailiffs will more than double to 1,400 over the next few years. You can help look after the waters near you by filling out the application form here.

The VBS is fully funded by fishing licence income delivered in partnership with the Environment Agency, and is inclusive, embracing volunteers from all ethnicities and both sexes. You do need to be 18 years old or over to apply. The Angling Trust is also a member of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations.

Nino Brancato, National Enforcement Support Manager

Joel Virgo. Enforcement Communications Manager

Nevin Hunter, Training Facilitator FishNET (Fisheries National Enforcement Training)

Gary Thomas, Intelligence Manager

Adam Wall, Regional Enforcement Support Manager (North West)

Kev Woodcock, Regional Enforcement Support Manager (North East)

Paul Thomas, Regional Enforcement Support Manager (Eastern England)

Kevin Pearson, Regional Enforcement Support Manager (Midlands)

Dave Wilkins, Regional Enforcement Support Manager (South West)

Tom Hopes, Regional Enforcement Support Manager (South East)

It is vital that all angling related and environmental crimes are reported to the Environment Agency and police when appropriate.
Most angling related crime falls under the ‘theft of fish’, or ‘theft of fishing rights’ (fishing without permission) bracket, but other crimes can also be committed.

Theft of fish in law:

Fish in rivers are wild animals, free to roam, so cannot be owned until reduced into property by catching. Fish in enclosed waters under single ownership are considered property and can be stolen. This is simple theft, contrary to Sections 1-7 of the Theft Act, 1968 – which every police officer in the country does understand. Schedule One of the Theft Act, please note, also applies to stillwaters.

When reporting the theft of fish from enclosed waters:

• Make clear that in enclosed waters fish under single ownership are property in law.
• That this is simply theft, contrary to Sections 1–7, Theft Act 1968.
• That (if applicable) the offence is in progress.
• That the fish are financially quantifiable.
• The theft is not a matter for the EA, but the police.
• The offender has no written consent from the riparian owner or controller of fishing rights to remove the fish.

The EA incident hotline is open 24 hours a day on 0800 80 70 60, and we would advise you to also report these incidents to the police on 101, online or 999 for a crime still in progress.

Each year the Angling Trust’s Enforcement Team deliver Fishery Enforcement Workshops (FEW’s). These are a key element of our fisheries enforcement strategy to upskill the angling community regarding the law and enforcement.

Fisheries Enforcement Workshops are funded by English freshwater fishing licence income. They are FREE to attend and an essential part of the effective enforcement process.

Training is provided by the Angling Trust Fisheries Enforcement Support Service’s policing professionals, Environment Agency fisheries enforcement officers and additional speakers who are all well versed in angling and the legal aspects that go with it.

Workshops are always well-attended by local neighbourhood and specialist wildlife crime police officers, and Agency enforcement staff, so are also a great place to meet your local contacts.

Sessions covered include:

• Fishing without permission and fish theft: Theft Act 1968
• Health & Safety
• Risk Assessment
• Conflict Resolution
• Environment Agency fisheries enforcement – how it works
• Best Practice for angling club bailiffs and fishery rules
• Rod licence compliance – how we can all help
• Practical demonstration of what to look for including nets, lines and traps

Stay tuned for webinar dates later in the year.

See you soon!

The Fisheries Enforcement Support Service delivers educational content to the Angling Trust Voluntary Bailiffs, rural police teams, and other enforcement bodies to help coordinate a joined-up approach to dealing with poaching and fish theft. The Environment Agency has approved funding to expand the training and improve both the content itself and how it is delivered. This Learning Management System – called FishNet – is currently being developed.

What is a Learning Management System?

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software application that helps organisations manage, deliver, and track learning programs. An LMS is used to create and deploy training content, such as videos, podcasts, and eLearning courses. They can also be used to schedule and record training activities, and to report on user progress.

How will this improve things?

Learning Management Systems help to centralise learning content within an online database, which will create a consistent learning environment, ensuring the same accurate content is provided to everyone. This will also allow for unpressured testing at each stage to check each person’s progress and how much information is being absorbed, meaning we can also add and change content over time in accordance with feedback, preference and changes within the law.

How will it be delivered?

Initial content will be delivered through a variety of online tests and workshops at a time and place to suit the user. They will be delivered across three skill levels – Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced, with a mixture of in-person and on-the-bank training for the more advanced users.

Who is delivering it?

The Fisheries Enforcement Support Serevice will be delivering all the content through a partnership with a company called Mowbray Partners. Mowbray works specifically with other enforcement agencies to modernise the approach to learning, providing tailored training services allowing for a better approach to crime prevention.

Who is the target audience?

There are 6,000 free of charge places per year for those interested in enforcement to take part in the learning modules, beginning with the Foundation level. The Intermediate level is aimed towards club bailiffs and committee members, with the Advanced modules being for the Voluntary Bailiff Service and police teams.

As we work to increase the number of Voluntary Bailiffs to 1,400 within the next few years, this will allow the Regional Enforcement Support Managers to provide the content through online workshops, allowing them to be free to deal with enforcement matters and incidents in their regions. It will also greatly benefit each person taking part in the courses as it can be managed around work and other commitments, rather than needing them to be free on specific days and times. We hope this content will be of a huge benefit for the individual user and whole angling community.

The LMS is completely funded by fishing licence income and delivered in partnership with the Environment Agency.

The Angling Trust encourages all anglers to comply with the law and buy an Environment Agency rod licence. The funds raised from licence sales are spent on improving fish stocks and promoting angling, including several programmes of work delivered by the Angling Trust itself.

The prosecutions data is provided periodically by the Environment Agency, and only refers to prosecutions of anglers that were conducted by courts in England in the month stated. It does not include resolutions by way of cautions, warning letters or advice and guidance letters.

Click here for the most recent prosecutions

Everyone from the age of 13 upwards needs to have their own rod fishing licence. This is a legal requirement even when fishing on private land.

Click here for more information and to buy a rod licence