Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to deter people from fishing without a licence.

The Environment Agency undertakes a number of activities to deter people from fishing without a valid rod or net licence.

The principal mechanism used by fisheries enforcement officers is licence checking. Targets are set across Environment Agency areas linked to the number of fishing licences sold and during the 2017 to 2018 financial year (the last complete year of data), a total of 64,702 fishing licences were checked by fisheries enforcement staff.

2,257 anglers were prosecuted for fishing licence offences and successful prosecutions resulted in a total average penalty of £267 with total fines issued (including costs) totalling £583,483.

In addition the Environment Agency uses social media, produces a monthly newsletter, works with partners and attends angling and country shows to reduce evasion and highlight the consequences of fishing without a licence.