Youngsters put their lives at risk by illegal fishing at River Taff weir

The dangers of illegal fishing in the River Taff at Blackweir have been highlighted after three youngsters were spotted standing on the weir with their fishing rods.

Natural Resources Wales Fishing has said that fishing at Blackweir contravenes byelaws that does not permit fishing immediately upstream or downstream of the majority of weirs on the River Taff. Anyone caught contravening these byelaws could face a substantial fine.

A concerned angler caught the trio on camera and sent the picture to Natural Resources Wales (NRW) – formally the Environment Agency Wales.

The dangerous act comes just weeks after adults were spotted pushing children in buggies across the Blackweir in an attempt to sit alongside the salmon jump.

Illegal fishing has the potential to damage the amount of fish in the Taff as one salmon can lay up to 6000 eggs.

For more information read the article on Fishing in Cardiff and Cardiff Bay fishing where there is a map so you can avoid illegal fishing.

River Taff Fishing License

If you want to avoid illegal fishing Glamorgan Anglers Club have details of where to fish the Taff legally and a license that covers many more areas than just the Taff for Juniors is £27.00

SENIOR £65.00

HUSB/WIFE £88.00

JUNIOR [Under 16] £27.00

OAP/DISABLED £45.00

SENIOR Game£116.00

JUNIOR [Under 16] Game £47.00

OAP/DISABLED Game £73.00

An officer from NRW said: “We want to thank this vigilant angler for taking action and reporting this offence to us. Illegal fishing damages fish numbers in our rivers and spoils angling for others.

“These young people are not only breaking the law, they are also putting themselves in danger as weirs can be extremely dangerous if they were to fall in.

“We patrol areas on a regular basis but we do need the support of legitimate anglers or anyone who is out and about to call our incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 so we can investigate.”