Pub owner sentenced for breaching environmental legislation

Violations of environmental legislation have resulted in the owner of a Shropshire pub being found guilty of handling a wild salmon in suspicious circumstances in a hearing at Welshpool Magistrates Court.

Angela Turner, who owns the Admiral Rodney in Criggion, Shrewsbury, was sentenced to a 12-month conditional discharge by the Environment Agency and ordered to pay costs of £1,000.

Environmental crime team leader Al Watson said that while the agency works hard to protect precious stocks of salmon from poaching, Mrs Turner purchased the fish without investigating where it came from.

"New rules this year prohibit anglers from selling rod-caught salmon and any legitimately net-caught wild salmon must have an Environment Agency unique tag attached," he stated.

Mr Watson added that those buying fish should be aware that they may be prosecuted along with poachers.

According to senior fisheries technical specialist Charles Crundwell, every wild salmon taken deprives rivers of thousands of potential offspring.

Written by Lauren Steadman