Otters die at High Eske Nature Reserve after getting trapped in illegal fishing nets
Two otters have been killed after anglers illegally fixed nets at a nature reserve near Beverley.
The male and female adult otters were discovered by walkers on Tuesday afternoon and raised the alarm with the Environment Agency.
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Fyke nets similar to this trapped two otters at High Eske Nature Reserve.
Agency fisheries enforcement officers, the RSPCA and Humberside Police's wildlife crime officer attended the scene.
They retrieved the otters, who had been dead for some time, and seized the fyke nets.
High Eske Nature Reserve at Tickton is an important spawning ground for coarse fish, such as pike, perch, carp and bream in the River Hull and angling is strictly controlled.
The illegal nets snared the otters, so they were unable to escape.
Agency team leader Phil Young admits illegal fishing at the reserve is a growing problem.
He said: "Illegal angling has become an increasing problem at the reserve in recent months.
"We want residents and birdwatchers to be able to enjoy the reserve and its wildlife and would appeal to any responsible visitors to immediately report anything suspicious."
RSPCA inspector Geoff Edmond has been left shocked by the otters' deaths.
He said: "I'm appalled by what's happened here. Otters are just beginning to re-establish themselves in East Yorkshire which makes it all the more tragic that two have been killed in this way. We are working hard to find out who was responsible."
The police have also slammed the illegal fishermen.
Sergeant Dave Jenkins, of Humberside Police, said: "I have lived in this area all my life and spent a lot of time along the banks of this river and never had the pleasure of seeing an otter.
"They are something of a rarity, so to find two dead ones is quite devastating to the reintroduction of otters into this area.
"What makes matters far worse is that their deaths were totally unnecessary and caused by people who have placed nets both in the river and nearby pond to illegally catch eels.
"We shall be working with the Environment Agency and RSPCA to ensure that something like this does not happen again and if we can identify the person or persons who placed the nets we will be looking to prosecute those offenders."
Otters are a protected species, so killing them is illegal and could lead to a fine of up to £5,000 or imprisonment for up to six months.
The maximum sentence for those found fishing with illegal nets is an unlimited fine and two years in prison.
Anyone wanting to report similar crimes can call the agency's hotline on 0800 80 70 60 or call the RSPCA cruelty line on 0300 1234 999.
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by gary, lincs
Monday, May 31 2010, 8:36PM
“once again its the bad old netters/eelmen that are the bad ones,when will people sit up and open there bloody eyes to whats going on,and that includes the EA ,
i am a profesional eel man,
and yes my eyes are open ,i see and remove ILLEGAL NETS,LEFT NETS, GILL NETS,HUGE HOOKS FROM DEAD SWANS,REMOVE DEAD DUCKS THAT HAVE BEEN CAUGHT AND MANAGED TO FLY AND GET CAUGHT IN TREES,AND THE LIST GO,S ON AND ON, the people who do this and its not just in yorkshire,its every where, are the imigrants,i have seen it with my own eyes . but what happens NOTHING,AND IT NEVER WILL,i have been netting now for 34 years,i have never caught an otter , i dont catch fish bigger than 4 ounces,
yes i catch eels but all my eels over 3lb go to specimen lakes,all my traps are legal they are all licenced,all fitted with otter guards,,,,,
just a final note myself and two other eelmen caught two polish illegal so called fishermen?????????????????????????? they had caught around 12 carp two which where in there twenties,a number of good bream and a couple of pike ,,,,,all dead and ready for the pot, we detained them and called the EA, ALSO THE POLICE, the police came and because we had held them there without there consent, we where the bad ones and nearly got arrested, and yes lets all guess what happened to these lovely robbers and killers of our fish and wildlife ,NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING, ,,,,,,, and lets not forget the lake owner in scunthorpe who put up a sign saying NO POLES, god forbid,fancy him doing that,he spent thousands and thousands of pounds on his lake,his fish,so he can create a beautifull fishery ,which i am sure he pays lots of tax on,just so the POLES,EASTERN IMIGRANTS,CAN COME AND WRECK, ROB,STEAL,KILL,HIS FISH,and then he gets slammed and taken to court,because he,s racist,this country needs to sit up and look learn listen,...an english man without a rod licence gets dragged over the coals,imigrants without a licence,it takes two weeks to find an interpretor,5000 of tax payers money to end up dropping the case incase somebody shouts racist.”
by Ian, Hull
Monday, May 31 2010, 9:10AM
“Who cares whether they are eastern european or not?Jesus, you lot want to hear yourselves.”
by phil, east hull
Saturday, May 29 2010, 3:21PM
“True cynic, you are living in la la land! Can you please explain in what context Hugh's coment earlier is racist? I also know that Eastern Europeans class freshwatet fish as a treat and will kill undersize fish to take home leaving the breeding programme unable to kep up and the numbers of freshwater fish dwindling! I doubt it you have much concern for this though as you too busy throwing the race card about at anybody who dares to mention that a non- british person may be involved in this activity!”
by Steve Asylum, Hull
Saturday, May 29 2010, 11:51AM
“http://www.harlowstar.co.uk/News/Police-probe-carp-poaching-claims.htm”
by Jim, Beverley
Saturday, May 29 2010, 8:41AM
“True cynic, you are in La la Land, what Hugh said is fact quite rare on these web pages I know. There are reports all over the country of fish like Carp being caught and eaten in recent years, you work out who's doing it and explain why Hugh's comment is racist?”