‘Watch Out! There’s bailiff about’

I am pleased to announce that our BAA bailiffs have once again carried out a high number of bankside checks and engaged with a substantial number of our members (and non-members!) during 2018.  We are on target to have completed 5000 visits and checked around 7000 anglers by the end of the year.  This increased activity has also resulted in a lower level of people found fishing without membership, which is currently running at 4.5% compared with a national average of rod licence avoidance of over 8%

Our bailiffs, who are all volunteers, are grouped into 10 teams in different areas, each one headed by a senior ‘Area Bailiff’ who is responsible for keeping an overview of what is happening there and organising targeted patrols at the appropriate times. Many are now working closely with the EA and police and this has resulted in much-needed support in hotspot areas and we hope that this practice will continue.

Please support our bailiffs when you see them out on the bank, they are there to help our members and to keep our fisheries safe and free from illegal fishing… and remember, you don’t have to be a bailiff to ask another person who is fishing if they can show you their membership card. By working together, we can make it clear that our members are vigilant and that fishing without membership will not be tolerated.  Also, if you witness what you consider to be illegal fishing or unlawful removal of fish from our waters, then please report it to the EA on 0800 807060 (see the back of your rod licence) so that the incident can be recorded. If you think that a crime is in progress then consider phoning the police on 999 or 101 for non-emergencies.

Thank you for reading this message and I would like to end by wishing all our members a very Merry Christmas and a successful New Year out on the bank!

Kevin Pearson

Superintendent Bailiff