Powys man found guilty of illegal salmon fishing after posting photos on social media

A man from Powys has been ordered to pay £984 after being found guilty of illegal fishing offences, after posting photos of his catch on social media.

The investigation was triggered by a report of illegal fishing on the River Banwy by a member of the public.

Rolands Bartkevics form the village of Meifod, near Welshpool, was subsequently identified as a suspect.

A search warrant was executed under police powers at Mr Bartkevics’ address, which was attended by both Natural Resources Wales (NRW) Enforcement Officers and the Dyfed-Powys Police (DPP) Rural Crime Team.

The search resulted in evidence of handling salmon illegally being obtained.

During the investigation, Mr Bartkevics was presented with pictures from his own social media account of him holding salmon.

He conceded that he had caught the fish in the pictures but contended that the date of the posting of the images was not the date of when the fish was caught.

However, these pictures were posted before he had ever held a valid licence to catch salmon.

The pictures also showed him handling salmon in suspicious circumstances.

After a prosecution carried out by NRW, Mr Bartkevics was found guilty of an offence under the Salmon Act 1986, and an offence under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 at Welshpool Magistrates Court.

Mr Bartkevics failed to attend the court hearing and the case was proven in his absence.