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Angling: Carp prove the big catch for the illegal snatchers
IN DEMAND: Carp has proved one of the best sellers for market fish sellers over the Christmas and holiday period.
For quite a few years there have been complaints of fish being illegally removed from our lakes and rivers for human consumption.
Normally the only fish taken for this use have been salmon and trout but now it seems that the perpetrators prefer coarse fish, mainly carp.
This has led to a number of court cases in recent times.
In recent years the fish suppliers have started to cater for the special needs of carp lovers with fish bred specially for the table.
I have a couple of friends who have fish stalls in Leeds Kirkgate market and they tell me that one of their best sellers over the holiday period was farmed carp.
Bandwagon
In fact, some of the supermarkets have jumped on the bandwagon. Tesco, for example, proclaim that carp was one of their best sellers.
* I think high street bargain store Poundland should take on some specialist angling experts on their purchasing staff for they have suffered a hefty fine.
The offence came when the group were selling some cut-price fishing gear at their stores in Norfolk which included some catapults.
These were tested and found to be unsafe after at least one customer suffered minor injuries when the elastic broke under tension.
The company then received a warning and the goods were removed from the shelves but later in the year they were found to be still on sale at a Great Yarmouth store and the company were subsequently taken to court in December when they were fined £3,500 and ordered to pay costs of £2,107 after pleading guilty to selling unsafe items.
* There is much concern amongst anglers over illegal lead fishing weights.
lead fishing weights between size six and one ounce were banned in the UK in 1986.
The main fear is that newcomers to the sport may not know of the ban and innocently purchase the banned substance which could then lead to a possible prosecution.
trading standards have been contacted to highlight the problem so it seems that more fines are on the cards.
For the uninitiated, there is a simple test to determine whether the fishing weights are of the safe non-toxic variety or lead.
Just take a piece and rub it across a bit of white paper. If it is lead it will leave a distinct mark.
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Weather for Leeds
Wednesday 23 May 2012
Today
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Temperature: 10 C to 23 C
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Wind direction: North east
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