TWO men who put out illegal fishing nets off the North Wales coast have been fined.
The net, fixed using iron stakes, was set near Point of Ayr in the Dee Estuary.
Defendants, 42-year-old Christopher Ernest Bailey, of Maes Gwynfryn in Gwespyr near Holywell, and Gino Ghisoni, 50, of Talacre, both said that they did not realise that such a net was illegal and that it was a restricted area.
They said they simply wanted to catch flounder for their own consumption.
But Flintshire magistrates' court at Mold was told that they were illegal and potentially could catch salmon.
Both admitted charges of placing and using the monofilament gill net.
Ghisoni was fined £300 with £115 costs and Bailey was fined £200 with £115 costs.
Four flounders which were caught in the net were confiscated.
Neil Evans, prosecuting for Environment Agency Wales, said that on July 30, environment officer Peter Lewis was on duty in the Talacre area near Point of Ayr and saw a net set in the River Dee which was anchored at both ends with metal stakes.
The following morning he and three other officers kept observations and at 6am saw the defendants walking down to the nets.
They were intercepted as they walked back up the beach and in a rucksack they recovered the net and flounders.
When asked if he knew it was illegal, Ghisoni said “absolutely not” and said that it was a community net that had been set the previous afternoon.
He had been fishing for flat fish for personal consumption and that it was only the second time that he had fished.
Bailey was questioned and said he did not know it was illegal, and said he had been fishing for mullet and flat fish for personal use.
Both men had been fully co-operative, said Mr Evans.
He stressed that while it was a premeditated fishing expedition, it was not clear that the defendants were fully aware that they were acting illegally.
Byelaws were in place to protect the run of salmonids which inhabited the estuary before moving up the River Dee. No salmon had been caught in the nets but there was an obvious potential for migratory fish to be taken, particularly in view of the indiscriminate nature of that method of fishing.
Brian Cross, defending, said it was a community net which had been left out overnight by the men who did not realise they were doing anything wrong.
They had no previous convictions, he said, and stressed that it was not for commercial gain but for personal use.
“They were going to eat them,” he said.
Both had co-operated fully and pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
Mr Cross said that Bailey used to work at the coal mine in Point of Ayr and the nets
used to be put out so that the miners returning home after a night shift would have the fish to eat when they got home.
A spokesman for the Environment Agency later said: “It is an offence to set nets in this area. This is to protect the run of salmonids which inhabit the estuary before moving up the river Dee. These nets also kill diving sea birds and crustaceans. Any fish that aren’t marketable are thrown onto the beach.”