Men who illegally fished for glass eels were before the court in Nantes (Loire-Atlantique) this Friday morning. The glass eel is the baby eel, a protected species, whose fishing is highly regulated. But there is a black market: the glass eel is very expensive. Several hundred euros per kilo, or even more.
Of the twelve poachers, only one appeared at the hearing. The court judged four different facts. All between early and mid-February. The arrests took place at night, Canal Saint-Félix in Nantes or Canal de la Martinière in Pellerin. During the hearings, the suspects, aged between 20 and 40 and from the Traveler community, denied any notion of trade. Some mentioned personal consumption.
Up to three suspended sentences or day-fines
The sentences pronounced satisfy the associations present such as the agents of the French office for biodiversity, the environmental police. Contrary to usual, the sanctions are not simple fines of a few hundred euros, rarely paid. There, the court decided on a suspended prison sentence: it goes up to 3 months. Day-fines were requested for some defendants. Basically, these poachers now have a Damocles sword above the head. If they reoffend, if they don’t pay, it will be the “jail” box.
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“We had to send a strong signal” says the OFB. It was OFB agents who caught these poachers in the act in February. The fishing season is between December and April. There had not necessarily been large quantities: once a hundred grams, another 3-4 kilos, but it is a protected species and the number of glass eels decreases from year to year to reach a dangerously low level.
Next month, the Nantes court will judge other facts of the kind, dating back to mid-February/early March. Among the defendants, there will be men already sentenced this Friday, October 7.
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