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Inside Out South uncovers illegal fishing in Poole Harbour
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A ±«Óãtv investigation by Inside Out South will show how some fishermen have been catching potentially poisonous shellfish in Poole Harbour.
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The Inside Out programme secretly filmed 13 boats illegally fishing for clams in a prohibited part of the harbour.
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Taking shellfish from the Wareham Channel was banned in 2006 because of concerns about the cleanliness of the water.
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Inside Out presenter Joe Crowley and his team tracked several licensed fishing boats at they headed from Fisherman's Dock to the prohibited area.
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They also filmed unlicensed fishermen from Lytchett Bay taking shellfish from the channel.
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Joe Crowley said he was shocked by what he saw: "It was happening in broad daylight and it was so blatant. We have been told that they can make up to £2,000 per day from the clams, so that probably explains why so many fishermen are prepared to flout the law."
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Fisheries officer Ian Carrier tells the programme how policing the shellfish ban has led to regular clashes with some fishermen: "The building has been attacked, we have had bricks through the window, the boats have been sabotaged and our officers have been threatened."
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He continues: "We have been in hot pursuit of some clam fishermen and they have thrown a hail of clams. If you are doing 20 knots in a boat and you are met with a hail of clams, then not only is it dangerous, but it's very painful."
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Ian also says that he has now been forced to remove his patrol boat from Poole Harbour because it has been repeatedly vandalised.
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Councillor Don Collier, who is also a member of the Southern Sea Fisheries Committee, says that people could get seriously ill from the shellfish – and that would be very bad news for the harbour's reputation: "There is a fantastically clean harbour with a very good fishery. If people think I got those clams from Poole and they have really been taken illegally from the channel, then it does huge reputational damage to Poole."
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Since the programme carried out its filming, restrictions on fishing in the Wareham Channel have been changed.
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Fishermen can now catch shellfish as long as they purify them in clean water for eight weeks before selling them to the public.
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Inside Out South is on ±«Óãtv One South, at 7.30pm on Wednesday 24 September 2008, and is also available online via ±«Óãtv iPlayer.
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