Bishop of St Albans asks about prosecutions for unlicensed fishing

The Bishop of St Albans received the following written answer on 19th March 2024:

The Lord Bishop of St Albans asked His Majesty’s Government how many successful prosecutions by the Environment Agency there were for fishing without a licence in England in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, (3) 2021, (4) 2022, and (5) 2023.

Lord Douglas-Miller (Con, DEFRA): In addition to prosecution, the Environment Agency will use other enforcement outcomes that include formal cautions, warning letters and issuing advice and guidance. The table below provides the numbers of these used alongside prosecutions between 2019 to 2023.

Final Action Taken20192020202120222023Grand Total
Advice and Guidance Total2615916711478679
Caution Total1132525457311762141
Warning Letter Total18210223814473382307
Prosecutions (Successful) Total18764647283792503697
Grand Total24326501387251318428824

The total number of successful prosecutions is higher (+498) than the table above if you include fisheries byelaw offences such as fishing in the close season. Please see the table below for all prosecutions and enforcement actions.

Final Action Taken20192020202120222023Grand Total
Advice and Guidance2696216711679693
Caution1232927657911852192
Warning Letter19111026514613622389
Prosecutions (Successful)20574948184833434195
Grand Total26406951526263919699469

Hansard