While gill nets, fish traps, set lines and other unsuitable items are banned across UK fisheries, the end of 2023 has seen a major spike in activity from giant online retailers peddling illegal goods.
Suppliers such as Temu and Ali Express have been especially busy with social media adverts, with products and imagery clearly showing illicit products and practices.
“Goods can arrive from China in days and there are no checks for compliance with UK legal fishing methods” warned the Angling Trades Association’s Andrew Race.
“Acquisition of illegal gear is easy and the situation is wide open to abuse.”
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Of particular concern are items like gill nets, fish stringers and illegally short, fish damaging keepnets, which bailiffs and fisheries enforcement officers are already on the look at for.
Some images for items promoted on Instagram and Tiktok even showed images of carp and coarse fish snared in them, which could clearly mislead buyers into thinking they were legal.
Andrew Race told us that while the onus was still on the buyer currently, “ignorance is not a defence” when it came to the legality of equipment.
He added that they were working closely with the EA on licensing and trying to dissuade both buyers and sellers of illegal tackle, while pushing for better recognition of UK laws.
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