ALLEGED FISH poachers have walked free after the collapse of cases brought by fisheries boards.
Prosecution witnesses for the Eastern Regional Fisheries Board failed to attend cases at Castleblayney District Court against eastern Europeans who were allegedly caught illegally netting fish in Co Monaghan.
Lithuanians and Latvians were caught allegedly using prohibited equipment to catch fish at a number of lakes in the Castleblayney area, close to Co Armagh.
The illegal netting of the lakes led to Castleblayney Anglers' Association appointing members last year to act as water bailiffs. But when the first two cases were called at a sitting of the District Court in Castleblayney, Judge John Coughlan struck out the charges because there were no prosecution witnesses.
A spokesman for the Co Monaghan anglers' body said yesterday: "The outcome sends out a very bad message to people who think they can remove fish from local lakes without any regard for the regulations."