A LYME Regis man who poached sea trout from the River Axe has been fined and given a three month night curfew.
A LYME Regis man who poached sea trout from the River Axe has been fined and given a three month night curfew.
Vincent O'Brien, from Uplyme Road, was caught by Environment Officers with a bag of eight adult fish on May 28 of last year.
A court heard half the fish were female and could have resulted in the loss of an estimated 250,000 eggs during their spawning lifetime.
O'Brien pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to three offences under the Salmon and Freshwater Fishers Act 1975 and Police Act 1996.
The court heard O'Brien and his accomplice were spotted using an inflatable rubber dinghy to set monofilament gill nets across the lower Axe.
Exeter Magistrates' Court was told O'Brien's actions seriously threatened the survival of the species.
O'Brien was ordered to carry out 120 hours unpaid work, abide by a three month curfew from 9pm to 6am, pay �250 costs and forfeit his dinghy and nets - worth a total of �500.
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