Operation Leviathan: Gloucestershire Police tackling illegal fishing
Fish poaching is becoming a bigger problem in the county and impacts fisher's' mental health and numbers in lakes.
Gloucestershire Police are tackling illegal fishing as apart of their continued work on Operation Leviathan.
Rural Crime in the South-West costs the region ÂŁ5 million, and an increasing part of it is fish poaching.
In the last week we've joined Neighbourhood Policing teams as they try to tackle the issue to stop dwindling fish numbers in lakes, and the devastating impact it has on fisher's mental health.
Joining Neighbourhood Police Officer Bee Chant on a patrol of Steam Mills Lake, she says the main reason for the rise is "for various reasons, I imagine some financial, because we know some fish to eat.
"But we also know people will chance their arm and not have a license to do the fishing they want to do.
"It has a big knock on impact on the fisherman that pay for the licenses, and the amount of fish they got in the lake to actually fish, so I think its quite a big issue."
While patrolling the lake we came across a fisher who didn't want to speak to us as he told his wife he was at work, but Officer Bee Chant tell us he was concerned about people's mental health in the community.
She tells us, "the impact on the people who are stealing to eat, it depletes the fishing stock, having an impact on the club members.
"But he was explaining how at other clubs they were lucking to be more inclusive with education around returning the fish, addressing language barriers, making sure everyone is aware of what the rules are, and how it can impact on the fisherman because they're not able to fish where and what they want.
"Because its been stolen."
Rural Crime is have a "is having a devastating effect on victims."
As a whole Rural Crime cost the UK nearly ÂŁ50 million in 2022, compared toÂŁ40 million in 2021.
It this time period, the cost fell in Gloucestershire but it still has a "devastating" impact on communities and its victims.
Gloucestershire Police are committed to increasing the number of specialist officers and Superintendent Paul Keasey says, “Rural areas typically tend to be safer, but the impact of crime is often greater on victims in the countryside due to their remote and isolated locations, making them feel more vulnerable and concerned.
"They also pose a threat to public health and safety, as well as animal welfare.
“The scale, cost, social impact and other effects of crime in rural areas are underestimated, under-reported and not fully understood.
“Farming communities are facing fear and intimidation from groups of criminals and this has severe impacts on agricultural businesses. This in turn negatively impacts both the local and national economy.
“The loss of equipment may not be noticed immediately and its detection can often be challenging but this type of crime has a real impact on peoples’ livelihoods and community confidence, heighten the feelings of vulnerability and fear of crime in rural locations.
“That’s why a week like this is really important and why we, alongside our partner agencies, want to demonstrate our support of rural communities and explain what we are doing and how the community can help.
"By working together, we can make sure criminals don’t think they can come to Gloucestershire and take advantage.”