Man prosecuted for illegal netting of salmon

[willie bendit]

"courtaz" Revenue might be interested in that guiding service....this aint over yet!

[marlin vs]

Not a very nice man.

[chuckaroo]

we need to root these people out as unfortunately and somewhat unbelievably there's still a few of them about
it would make you sick
all credit to those Fishery Officers
all the best cortaz

[Richie07]

Disappointed to hear this about Cortaz, I thought he was one of us and not the enemy.

[JOHN1]

just noticed he has a big following of friends on facebook i wonder is he going to lose a lot of them after this

[Complete Angler]

I'm sure the vast majority of members on here already knew this individual was a poacher; the main quarry for this river being sea trout. He terrorised that river for years along with a few associates I would say thousands of fish taken in the process. Cant see this stopping him either. People of poor character and integrity never change.

[Bass Dad]

Shocking news !.........for me anyway. Some of you knew he was leading a bit of a double life by the look of some posts......that must have been a bit frustrating.

A real shame he didn't develope empathy towards his quarry and that money motivated his decisions. A reputation ruined , how short sited. He won't be able to get away with much now though , too many eyes keeping watch.

[roryodonnell]

This is sad on so many levels.

[garymaxima]

what I can't understand is, and as mentioned some of the previous posts allude to this, if members of the forum and public in general knew or had a good idea that this has been going on then why on earth have none of you reported this individual well before now? it's all well and good to say that it's not your job and IFI and the NPWS are supposed to be looking out for this type of thing and indeed they do, but at a time when staffing levels are at an all time low, surely it is the responsibility of the anglers to report such happenings? even during the 'good times' IFI and NPWS never had anywhere near enough staff for the job they are expected to carry out but why do anglers leave it up to the state staff as having sole responsibility for our fisheries? it's not IFI and NPWS's sport that's getting decimated, it's anglers. IFI and NPWS are not the custodians of our sport, we are.

poaching is a disgusting act. anybody who knows anything about it but turns a blind eye is nothing but an enabler and facilitator

[Eoghan]

It's a good point but I wonder how many had proof and how many just suspected. Big difference.

[donal domeney]

what I can't understand is, and as mentioned some of the previous posts allude to this, if members of the forum and public in general knew or had a good idea that this has been going on then why on earth have none of you reported this individual well before now?
poaching is a disgusting act. anybody who knows anything about it but turns a blind eye is nothing but an enabler and facilitator

I understand you points but there is one thing saying that he was up to no good there is another thing proving it. It is hard evidence that is need to take a case to the courts.

You just can't ring the IFI every time you think that there is something illegal going on. Unless they can find something illegal or suspicious when they arrive they will soon tier of your calls. The "Cry Wolf" syndrome come to mind.

Dungarvan is a small town and "if it is not effecting me why bother"



IRONY

I have said it repeatedly on here and elsewere that its the buyers that shoud be targeted by the I.F.I.... theres only a few in the south, maybe as few as 5/6.... take them out= no sale/no nettin..............it is/would be an awful lot easyer than to tryin to watch/catch guys out in boats..................
Also wher the guys reported for workin and signing on the dole?????????? the i.f.i shoud say this in court...

grrrrr,last wed eve, seen 1 guy take 16 Bass mostly undersize,,, the area was/is been netted on a regular basis.........I.F.I A WASTE OF TAXPAYERS MONEY,.............same old story

He had 1716 posts see how many more of this tripe is out there

[garymaxima]

i'd be of the opinion that a strong suspicion is worth reporting. the authorities can then decide whather the case is worth investigating or not. who knows? increased reporting of illegal activities or well-founded suspicions of illegal activities regarding the theft of a natural resource and the loss of revenue to small towns may actually make those charged with looking after our fish stocks realise that the problem is larger than they think it was. more reporting gives a better idea of the problem and may lead on to designation of more staff to help us anglers.

i know personally a couple of the fisheries officials that operate in the eastern region of the country and they tell me time and again that the biggest problem with regards poaching is the lack of willingness of anglers to report incidents. they have told me that they are glad of any info that they can get. the staff are spread thin on the ground and they can't react to individual cases if they are not made aware of them. Fisheries and NPWS staff rely on out calls to help stop activities like this. by not calling them you are doing your sport a disservice and even if you are only calling with a suspicion, the officials can then decide whether or not they have enough to investigate. there's no smoke without fire.....

[JimH]

If you knew, like many in the 'industry' did, you simply sat and waited and were patient because you also knew the IFI were doing their best in this situation.

It was explained to me many times by many people.

Like I said earlier patience is a virtue, "...but at the length the truth will out".

[beachbuddy]

Proof!dont make me laugh just as recently as the past winter information regarding a boat from ballycotton was passed on to the relevant authorities only for the information to be ignored as the boat was according to authorities tied up at the pier yet a "ghost" identical twin was pulling a net a few miles away at the exact time .
This is a typical example why people who genuinely know whats going on have given up chasing the gold at the end of the rainbow a "proper prosecution".The ironic thing is a certain part of me feels slightly sorry for the man due to the FACT that he got caught red handed with a few "salmon" whereas other scumbags are hammering "bass" stocks with miles of nets not too far away year in year out and just laughing all the way to the bank like most big time charlies!
Oh one other thing that's puzzling myself,where are all the high five and back slapping cortaz fans from this site gone in the mans hour of need ?

[razor2]

"courtaz" Revenue might be interested in that guiding service....this aint over yet!

This guiding was free

[JAKES]

gobshite!

[bigsod]

I'm with beachbuddy on a lot of what he says, all I can think about is the saying "let he who is without sin cast the first stone"

[seanie35]

This thread will never get as many views as the predictable fishing thread thats for sure!. Not at all condoning poaching !but anyone who knows arthur knows hes a sound enough fella and also had a large input into this forum for many years. Mike and bigsod i agree. Also strange the "kickers" coming out of the woodwork . Im sure arthurs fine is punishment enough!

[patk]

Netting bass at sea or salmon in a river is same thing. As salmon spawn in the river and if they don't get to do that no salmon and and a net in a river like the colligan can span it fully its like a bass net being able to net the full sea. The commercials and bass poachers will be delighted with this as it gives them moral high ground when a high profile so called angler is caught doing this.

[danbrosnan]

Not into name calling from behind a keyboard, he got a good fine a lot more then most people get which I can't understand, in my eyes it's still not enough, if a person recommits a crime again and again that means the punishment wasn't enough...

Poaching is very misunderstood in this country, in most coast areas it's seen as a Devine right, the majority of anglers will talk a big talk on blogs and on the riverbank but in reality will never do anything about it, the same goes for politicians, actually I believe the 'it's a Devine right mentality' far outweighs the 'against poaching mentality' that's why most politicians couldn't give a rats arse about the marine habitats we have inherited...

I have had my whole childhood and life damaged by family members trying to stop poaching, and in the end we realised even the powers that by couldn't give a f*ck...

I am not gonna call this man names or judge him, I just hope he understands that there is no skill in setting a net and killing fish, there is no loyalty in it, I kill fish a lot, for the freezer, have never sold a fish and believe me there has been many times when I needed the money, there has been many times when I have taught that there is money it and you can see people and hear of people making a fortune, but one thing I do know that I can guarantee if I went poaching I might as well burn every bit if tackle I have...

I lose a lot more fish then I kill especially freshwater fish and you know what there is better feeling then losing a fish on the riverbank, seeing a fish swim off, they life a far more dangerous then we do, a salmons life is noting short of magical...

To have a few greed ridden lads with a net across a river not realising that the two salmon they killed just travelling thousands of miles back to where they where born to reproduce, I feel sorry for the salmon not the idiot on the bank...