EA carried out 134 prosecutions in Lincolnshire in 2017/2018

The Environment Agency (EA) has revealed how fishing rod licence money was spent in Lincolnshire in 2017/2018.
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According to the EA, more than one million fishing licences were sold in 2017/18 raising £23m.

Deputy Director for Fisheries at the EA, Kevin Austin, said:“Income from fishing licence sales is used to fund our work to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries.

“Fishing rod licence income is vital for so much of the work we do including fisheries enforcement, fish rescues, restocking, improving habitats for fish and facilities for anglers as well as working with partners to encourage people to give fishing a go.”

In the same period, the EA checked the licences of nearly 65,000 anglers (2,799 in Lincolnshire), responded to 569 reports of illegal fishing (211 were reported in Lincolnshire) and conducted 2,257 successful prosecutions (134 prosecutions in Lincolnshire).

Residents in the Horncastle will remember a major pollution incident in the River Witham last March - which resulted in the deaths of almost 100,000 fish.

In May last year, the EA released thousands of roach and bream larvae into the river to kickstart the recovery process.

After further investigations, the EA announced in January this year that ‘an accidental leak of fertiliser’ was responsible for the pollution incident.

Omex Agriculture Limited - based at Bardney Airfield - have been working with the EA to replace the fish and restore the river.

As previously reported, the EA issued Omex with a ‘notice of liability’ under the Environmental Damage (Prevention and Remediation) Regulations 2015.

The notice - only the second the EA has issued since regulations came into place - requires the company to develop plans for repairing the environmental damage caused by the ammonia leak.

Speaking to the Horncastle News in March, a spokesman from the EA said: “Our priority is helping the River Witham recover to its natural, healthy state as soon as possible.

“Omex have submitted a proposal to restore the river, which we are currently reviewing to make sure it represents the best results for the environment.

“Meanwhile, our criminal investigations into the pollution continue, and we’ll make a decision on further enforcement actions once they’re complete.”

In November 2018, the EA also investigated an ‘oil slick’ which polluted the River Bain which runs alongside Tesco, in Horncastle.

At the time, residents demanded that the strongest action be taken against those responsible.