A 48-year-old man from Long Eaton, Derbyshire, has been ordered to pay a total of £406 after pleading guilty to fishing without a licence. The offence was discovered after a tip-off from a member of the public, and Environment Agency officers responded in the early hours of the morning.

Guilty plea

On 8 August 2019, at Derby Magistrates’ Court, Zong He was ordered to pay a fine of £276, £100 towards prosecution costs and a £30 victim surcharge. In passing the sentence, the Magistrates gave credit for his guilty plea and accepted that he was not receiving any financial gain from fishing for the crayfish.

In mitigation, the defendant stated that he had been in the country for 22 years and never been in any trouble like this before. He also stated he did not catch anything, but if he did he would have eaten it.

Reports had previously been received of 3 men fishing for crayfish in the St Mary’s Bridge area of Derby, with plastic trays on string and using chicken carcasses as bait.

Environment Agency acted on intelligence

In September 2018, Environment Agency officers were following up these reports near St Mary’s Bridge on the River Derwent, and approached Mr He at 1am. They carried out a search of his vehicle. Mr He denied fishing for crayfish, but officers found plastic trays and a ball of green twine that matched trays and green twine attached to chicken carcasses on the nearby River Derwent that had been used to catch approximately 20 to 30 crayfish.

During a later interview under caution, Mr He accepted that he had put trays into the water, but had hoped to catch lobster. He claimed there was no intention of selling what he had caught and denied that they would be used in the takeaway shop where he works.

Speaking after the case, Pete Haslock, Enforcement Team Leader for the Environment Agency in the East Midlands, said:

The case shows how seriously the Environment Agency takes these offences and reminds everyone of the importance of having a licence. We hope it will provide a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of fishing without a licence.

All of the money raised from fishing licence sales is used to protect and improve fish stocks and fisheries, benefitting anglers. For those caught cheating the system, we will always prosecute.

Further arrests have been made by the Environment Agency and the police in connection with the illegal trapping of crayfish in the Derby area.

Buy a fishing licence

Any angler aged 13 or over, fishing on a river, canal or still water needs a licence. A 1-day licence costs from just £6 and an annual licence costs from just £30 (concessions available). Junior licences are free for 13- to 16-year-olds. Licences are available from GOV.UK or by calling the Environment Agency on 0344 800 5386 between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday. Alternatively you can purchase a licence from your local Post Office branch.

Takeaway shop worker insisted he was just hungry and denied illegally caught crayfish would be used in takeaway

The consortium will design, supply and install the mechanical and electrical instrumentation necessary for the new plant at Culham Science Centre.

The purpose of the new Hydrogen-3 Advanced Technology (H3AT) facility will be to support the development of new technologies to process and store tritium, one of the fuels that could be employed in future fusion power plants.

The facility, which will be commissioned in 2021, will have the capacity to hold tritium and, uniquely, will provide a ‘closed-loop’ research system. Although the stand-alone technologies for each component are used elsewhere, the H3AT facility will be the first to bring these together in one place, and will represent a small-scale forerunner of the tritium facility for the multinational ITER fusion project in France.

This ‘closed-loop’ system allows for the recycling and reuse of tritium as well as the ability to use it for further experiments – a valuable resource, therefore, for tritium R&D.

Contracts for a suite of sub-systems for the facility will also be awarded by tender to industry in the coming months.

Colin Walters, Director of the National Fusion Technology Platform at UKAEA, said: “The H3AT facility will provide a truly world-class capability, and will enable the development of technology, expertise and skills to support UK industry growth.”

Thomas Keegan, Group Chief Executive Officer at DBD, said: “H3AT is a dream project for Different by Design; it allows us to use our skills on an internationally important facility. We were thrilled to be appointed as a delivery partner to UKAEA and are looking forward to the collaboration.”

Homes England Chief Executive Nick Walkley said:

I confirm Sir Edward Lister has informed the Secretary of State for Housing, Robert Jenrick MP that he is stepping down as Chairman of the Homes England Board permanently to focus on his new role as Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s Chief Strategic Advisor. I’d like to thank him for his huge contribution to the agency, particularly during a period that has seen us expand rapidly.

Homes England Board member and Senior Independent Director Simon Dudley said:

Sir Edward leaves a remarkable legacy, including making the case for a new Homes England that promises to disrupt the housing market to deliver the homes this country needs. Sir Edward has worked tirelessly to ensure Homes England has the expertise it needs, helping to double the number of staff in just 18 months, and by strengthening its Board to make it more resilient and diverse.

We are all incredibly grateful of the support Sir Edward has given Homes England and its partners over the past three years and I am honoured to continue to stand in whilst we look to recruit a new Homes England Chair.

Background

• Sir Edward Lister has been Chairman of Homes England for the past three years.
• Simon Dudley was appointed Senior Independent Director by the Homes England Board on 4 July 2019. The Non-Executive role is in addition to Mr Dudley’s responsibilities as a Board member and will include deputising for the Chairman.

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