Press release: Gloucestershire Man ordered to pay £675 for illegally fishing for elvers.

Yesterday (6 February 2017) Paul Ridler, of Betjeman Close, Gloucester pleaded guilty at Gloucestershire Magistrates’ Court to one charge of fishing for elvers without the appropriate authorisation.

Mr Ridler was fined £250 and ordered to pay £400 in costs, along with a £25 victim surcharge.

The charge was brought by the Environment Agency contrary to section 27B (1) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

On April 7 2016, Environment Agency officers were patrolling the River Severn at Ashleworth. Officers spoke to two males, Mr Anthony Ridler and Mr Paul Ridler. Anthony Ridler confirmed he had the required authorisation to fish for elvers but Mr Paul Ridler did not have authorisation and would not be fishing.

Later that evening officers returned to find Paul Ridler in wet, muddy waterproofs and gloves with an elver net and empty bucket. Paul Ridler stated he was looking after the net for his brother who was further downstream, and this was the only net they had with them.

Officers located Anthony Ridler who was in the river further downstream with a dip net immersed in water, and confirmed he was fishing alone and indicated he was not aware his brother was using the spare net.

Paul Ridler stated to one of the officers that he was not elvering and it was a “silly mistake, which would not happen again.”

Speaking after the case, Carl Salisbury, the Environment Agency officer in charge of the investigation, said:

We will continue to target those who decide to fish illegally without a licence or the correct authorisation and will work with other enforcement bodies to deal with the theft of fish.

Anyone witnessing illegal fishing incidents in progress can report it directly to the Environment Agency hotline, 0800 80 70 60. Information on illegal fishing and environmental crime can also be reported anonymously to Crime stoppers on 0800 555 111.



Smuggled trash, coal targeted in customs crackdown

China’s customs authorities will launch a year-long smuggling crackdown prioritizing in imported garbage and natural products.

Industrial waste, electronic scrap and plastics will be in the cross hairs of the watchdogs, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) said on Tuesday.

Those convicted of smuggling could face a maximum penalty of the death sentence, according to China’s Criminal Law.

The counter-smuggling efforts will target gangs and well-organized operations acting illegally, GAC said.

Customs investigated 2,633 smuggling cases in 2016, up 17 percent year on year, according to the GAC.

In December 2016, Shanghai customs authorities seized 3.1 tonnes of pangolin scales in the biggest smuggling case of its kind to date.

The scales, worth over 10 million yuan (1.45 million U.S. dollars), were reportedly bought from Nigeria. The trade in pangolin is banned by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.



Top court pledges non-interference in judges’ work

China’s top court promises to ensure judges properly exert their judicial power without interference.

The Supreme People’s Court on Tuesday published a document on improving the mechanism to protect judges and their associates in fulfilling their legal duties.

The measures stipulate that when handling cases, judges should not be subject to interference from other government organs, social organizations or individuals.

Judges have the right to refuse to follow any requests by any organization or individual that are without legal mandate or due process, the document said.

They are also entitled to refuse to comment on cases which are not in a judicial process or trials that they do not participate in, the document said.

Moreover, they are entitled to make complaints against nine types of action by governmental agencies or staff, including intervention in judicial process, obstruction of justice and restraint or suppression of the judges’ independent expression of opinion.

As cases of disturbance in courts and harassment of judges have increased, the document said all courts should have committees to protect judges’ safety, rights and interests.

Judges and their associates should also be provided with recording devices at their workplace.

The document pledged protection of personal information of judges and their families.

In January, Fu Mingsheng, who worked at a court of Luchuan County in Guangxi, was reportedly killed at his residence by suspect Long Jiancai, a defendant in a divorce case that Fu heard in 1994.



BHSEA Meeting: CDM: Is It Doing the Job? – West Midlands, 13 Mar 2017

Date and Location

Monday 13th March 2017
National Metalforming Centre, 49 Birmingham Road, West Bromwich, West Midlands, B70 6PY

Event overview

Afternoon meeting (beginning at 13.30) of BHSEA.

  • Presentation: ‘CDM: Is it Doing the Job?’, Tony Mitchell, HM Principal Inspector of Health and Safety.
  • Presentation: ‘Safety By Design’, Ray Gold, RDG Engineering.
  • Presentation: ‘Use of CCTV in Manufacturing’, Nicky Ayers, Ecl-ips

Further information and booking

Visit www.bhsea.org.uk and to reserve your place, please contact the secretary secretary@bhsea.org.uk



HSL: Biosafety – Concepts and working practices at Containment Level 3 – Buxton, 27 February – 3 March 2017

HSL is to run a 5 day course on Biosafety – concepts and working practices at Containment Level 3.

Please email your expression of interest

This is a four day course (run over five days) on working in and with a Microbiological Containment Level 3 facility. It will comprise a number of modules presented by a combination of interactive theory, practical and workshop training.

You will achieve a greater understanding of the work carried out within a Containment Level 3 facility, the equipment used and the concepts and philosophy of working with biological agents at that level of containment.  It will also cover the design, management and legislative requirements associated with operating a Containment Level 3 laboratory facility. It will also provide the skills and confidence to deal with accidents and incidents and to enforce their duty and the duty of others in maintaining and working in a safe environment.

Anyone working at or intending to start work at Containment Level 3 also Safety Advisors, Biological Safety Officers who support Containment Level 3 facilities.

Previous experience working at Containment Level 2 is essential.

The course will be presented as a collaboration between HSL and Sharon Webster of Webster’s Biosafety.Sharon has over 20 years in the microbiological industry having worked as a scientist and Biological Safety Officer at HPA Porton Down as Head of Health and Safety at Institute for Animal Health and for HSE as a specialist microbiology inspector. She is currently Corporate Biosafety Manager for the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and is a Biosafety Consultant and trainer. She is also a Chartered Member of the Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (CMIOSH) and a registered Biosafety Professional with the Institute of Safety in Technology and Research (ISTR BSP) and is on the Occupational Safety and Health Consultants Register. (OSHCR).

HSL staff presenting the course will include Brian Crook, Microbiology Team Leader with 25 years’ experience as a research microbiologist in occupational health and safety including working with Hazard Group 3 pathogens.  Other HSL staff will include specialists in human factors and the design and use of personal protective equipment and ventilation systems.  Practical sessions in HSL’s Containment Level 3 laboratory facilities will provide hands-on opportunity to understand the design and operation of such facilities

The course will be run at the HSL laboratory in the spa town of Buxton. Buxton is in the heart of the Peak District and has good links to mainline train stations and Manchester International Airport. This course can be run at your site or local area by arrangement.

The cost of this course is £1950 per person (includes course notes, guidance book, lunch/refreshments and a course dinner on the second night).

Please note the invoice option is not available within 4 weeks of the course date, or for overseas customers.  If you are selecting the invoice option for payment, it will be mandatory to input a purchase order/reference number as we are unable to process booking forms without this.

For further dates and additional information email: training@hsl.gsi.gov.uk or contact the Training & Conferences Unit
at HSL directly on +44 (0)1298 218806.

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