Anarchy on the Ogmore

[highplains]

From tonight's SOUTH WALES ECHO

May 21 2007

by Gareth Rogers, South Wales Echo

FISHERMEN are appealing for protection after a spate of violent attacks by illegal poachers.
Members of the Ogmore Angling Association, the largest river angling club in Wales, say that May has been “open season” for poachers.
The club said legal fishermen who have tried to stop them have been punched, kicked and pelted as well as receiving regular verbal abuse.
Angler Wynne Griffiths, 33, said: “One member was pelted with boulders and forced to flee the river for fear of life and limb.”
The Bryncethin radiographer says the poachers, who are believed to have travelled to Bridgend from up to 20 miles away, have been catching fish stocked in the rivers especially for club members. He said: “Officers of the club who have been brave, or foolhardy enough, to approach these poachers have been chased away by the thugs.”
Mr Griffiths says club members have informed Environment Agency Wales on several occasions but each time officers have been unable to attend, so some of their 500 members have been logging incidents themselves.
He said: “This issue needs to be addressed before there is a death or serious injury.”
The issue has also been brought up on the message board of the Ogmore Angling Association’s website.
When asked what members’ views were of the current enforcement of the river, a poster calling himself Oggy876 said: “What enforcement would that be? I don’t know of any.”
Another member called Highplains added: “The association has my sympathy in respect of current issues and my full support for future action.”
Environment Agency Wales spokesman Martin Watkins said: “We have a dedicated team of enforcement officers who cover the whole of Wales.
“They do all sorts of things from checking rod licences to sorting fly tipping problems. With the best will in the world, they can’t be everywhere but we are looking at the problem.”

gareth/[e-mail]

[highplains]

Welsh anglers turn vigilante to fight ‘mob rule’ May 19 2007



by Sally Williams, Western Mail


ANGLERS are being forced to “go vigilante” on Welsh rivers due to a lack of protection for the fish stocks.

Gangs of poachers are starting to “mob rule Welsh rivers” and are increasingly clashing with legitimate fishermen who say there are not enough river bailiffs.

Welsh anglers who have been campaigning for years to have the number of river bailiffs increased fear the problem is now out of control.

They are beginning to enforce rod licensing laws by approaching suspicious anglers themselves.

Ogmore Angling Association (OAA) in Bridgend, says there have been several confrontations in its area. The association claims that poachers have subjected some of its members to verbal and physical abuse.


One member fishing alone at night claims he was pelted with boulders and forced to flee the river.


An OAA spokesman said, “The coastal areas, rivers and estuaries of Wales are being raped of their fish stocks.


“For example, wild salmon from Wales could sell for £50 a kilo in London restaurants.


“It is big money and the poachers we are talking about are nothing like the Seth Armstrong characters we have watched on television’s Emmerdale.


“The Welsh Assembly must address this issue, before there is a death or serious injury on the Ogmore or other Welsh river.


“The poachers are depleting the River Ogmore of the fish with which the river has been stocked for the benefit of club members.”


He said anglers had tried to enforce the law themselves but this was proving confrontational.


“Officers of the club who have been brave, or foolhardy enough, to approach these poachers have been chased away, threatened with violence and in one case chased by the thugs who threw kicks at the officer’s car. They also frightened and intimidated one junior member of the club who suffers from learning difficulties.


“Anglers in Wales, both local and visiting, contribute hundreds of millions of pounds each year to the Welsh economy. Loss of much of this income would seriously affect the rural economy of Wales.”


He claimed that the Environment Agency Wales, widely regarded as the “guardian of Welsh rivers”, had failed to address the problem.


And he added, “When we called on their emergency hot line, they responded by saying that they did not have officers available to attend the incidents.


“The Agency acknowledges five calls but such is the club’s lack of faith in this emergency number that many incidents were not called in.”


Another member of the angling club said, “There used to be five enforcement officers on the Ogmore – now there are none.


“Bridgend Police have been very helpful and have attended when called and there are prosecutions pending as a result of their help, which I hope will be carried through.


“We pay £15,000 to stock the river and it is all getting stolen, so we are starting to approach people whom we suspect are fishing without a rod licence.


“We are doing it on behalf of the Environment Agency.”


But the Environment Agency said it had increased patrols in the area since received the club’s reports about illegal fishing.


An Environment Agency spokesman said, “Our enforcement officers have increased their patrols in the area but to date we have not detected any offences.


“We will continue to use the information from all sources to target specific times and stretches of the river.


“We are concerned about the violent nature of some of the reported incidents and will continue to liaise with the local police.


“While we can’t physically respond to every call we get about illegal fishing, the information we get is valuable intelligence for us to target hotspots.


“This was evident in a recent court case in Cardiff where our officers used intelligence from our emergency hotline and were lying in wait to catch people taking spawning salmon from the River Taff.”