Warning issued after Nottinghamshire man caught setting traps to catch crayfish

One of the crayfish traps
-Credit:Environment Agency


A man from a Nottinghamshire village has appeared in court after setting up eight illegal crayfish traps on the River Derwent. Armands Rukmanis, of Rawson Street, Selston, pleaded guilty at Derby Magistrates' Court on Monday, January 13.

He committed the offence near Beeley in Derbyshire on July 13, 2023. Rukmanis was stopped by a riverkeeper who recognised him from previously setting crayfish traps, the court was told. The 36-year-old told officers that he had not started setting the traps, later admitting he had already set eight of them.

He then told officers that he was aware the activity is illegal, adding that he had a licence for another location. The traps were seized by the police.

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Rukmanis was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay costs of £300. The Environment Agency regulates crayfish fishing to protect native white-clawed crayfish.

Licences can be granted for commercial reasons, fisheries management and scientific research. A one-day licence costs from just £7.10 and an annual licence starts from £35.80.

Commercial trapping of crayfish for human consumption is not permitted, because it can cause the spread of disease (known as the crayfish plague) from invasive signal crayfish to native white claw crayfish. This is fatal to native white claw crayfish.

Trapping also results in an increase in the population of signal crayfish, because it removes the larger crayfish which naturally predate on the smaller ones.

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A spokesperson for the Environment Agency said: "This case shows how seriously the courts take these offences and we hope the penalty will act as a deterrent to anyone who is thinking of fishing for crayfish. Anyone wanting to fish for crayfish must contact the Environment Agency to apply for a permit first.

"Fishing illegally can incur an unlimited fine and offenders can also have their fishing equipment seized." Anyone with information about illegal fishing activities can contact the Environment Agency Incident Hotline 24/7 on 0800 80 70 60 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.