Magistrates fine fish smuggler

Magistrates in Folkestone, Kent, imposed a fine and costs totalling almost £9,500 on a 53-year-old man from Thamesmead on 18 December for illegally importing nearly one tonne of live carp into the country from France.

The offence was committed in August by Anthony John Dovaston at Dover. He had attempted to import the carp without fish health certification.

Mr Dovaston was discovered by HM Customs and Excise officers, who called in Fish Health Inspectors from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas). Officers from the State Veterinary Service were also involved in dealing with the incident.

When stopped at the UK port, Mr Dovaston initially told officers that he had been on a short fishing trip to France and that his hired van was empty. However, upon searching the van, officers found 165 carp in tanks.

Many of the fish were found to be either dead or moribund. Fish Health Inspectors humanely slaughtered all of the cargo to prevent further suffering to the animals, and to safeguard against the spread of disease to native fish stocks.

A Cefas spokesman, welcoming the court’s decision, said: “Clearly the magistrates appreciated the significant threat of disease posed by such irresponsible and criminal behaviour. At a time when everyone is working so hard to prevent the introduction of disease into the UK, it is frustrating that a small minority seek to evade import rules and to smuggle fish into the country with no regard to the possible consequences.”

He went onto say: “Those who attempt to flout the law in this way should take note that the Fish Health Inspectorate are active in tracking them down, and that where they are brought before the courts they are likely be dealt with severely.”

Notes for editors

Cefas is an internationally renowned scientific research and advisory establishment, based at Lowestoft since 1902. It also has laboratories at Burnham-on-Crouch and Weymouth, and a number of other facilities around the UK. It became an executive agency of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) in 1997. For more detail see the Cefas website: http://www.cefas.co.uk/.
The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI), based at Cefas’ Weymouth laboratory, is dedicated to maintaining and improving fish and shellfish health in England and Wales. Its primary role is to act for Defra and the National Assembly for Wales, Agriculture Department (NAWAD) in undertaking statutory and inspection duties resulting from the EU Fish Health regime and other national legislation in the area of fish and shellfish health.
The Inspectorate is responsible for enforcing certification and licensing arrangements in respect of fish and shellfish from other countries and runs a programme aimed at preventing the illegal importation of these animals.
For more about movement controls and enforcement, see www.cefas.co.uk/news-and-events/press-releases/press-releases-2006/magistrates-fine-fish-smuggler.aspx . Carp were once a common food source in the UK. Now they are popular with the approximately 100,000 UK carp anglers, who “catch and return” millions of fish every year.

Press contact:
Anne McClarnon: 01502 52 4370 / anne.mcclarnon@cefas.co.uk