Polish fish poachers attacked by MP

Parliamentary angling spokesman Martin Salter singled out Poles as he backed moves to strengthen "arcane" local bylaws.

The Reading West MP spoke out following a warning that fish stocks in many British lakes were in danger of collapsing.

The National Association of Fisheries and Angling Consultatives (NAFC) said recent extreme weather had had devastating effects and poaching had also been reported.

One lake in Northampton has been forced to close because the problem has become so bad, and the NAFC warns that others could suffer the same fate.

"We are a very crowded island and we need to protect our fish stocks," Mr Salter told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"The carp stocks as a whole in this country are not in threat; we have never had so many. But that doesn't give the right of Poles and Eastern Europeans who are stealing fish for gain or for the table to break the local rules or plunder the stocks from fisheries who are trying to make a living or anglers who rely on them for their sport."

The MP welcomed Government moves to include a national framework in the Marine Bill due next year.

"We've got a complete mess with the arcane bylaws we've got in the country and there is a big problem, he said.

"It is not just carp that are being targeted; Poles and the Eastern Europeans in particular have been seen, and occasionally caught, removing all species of coarse fish: roach, bream and perch."