Ornamental carp at Princes Quay in Hull are being increasingly fed fast food scraps, with reports the fish have been ‘fattening up to 20lb’ – and now poachers are seizing them for their size
Fish in a city centre marina have been fattened up by shoppers chucking fast food into the water – as illegal fishers poach the 20lb beasts.
The ornamental carp have been happily swimming in Princes Quay in Hull city centre for over 30 years after they were introduced to the waters at the former dock in 1991, which is frequented by thousands of shoppers at the adjacent shopping centre. But now Brits’ love of fast food appears to be having a knock-on effect.
It’s thought poachers illegally fishing the carp have been making use of the fattened fish, which are reported to weigh as much as a portly 20lb (9kg) each. Passers-by at the dock, which is also lined with cafés and restaurants, have been spotted throwing in waste scraps of food such as chips and sausage rolls.
One café owner told the BBC he regularly sees fishing lines presumably left by poachers on the railings. “We sometimes come in on a morning and there will be a line attached to one of the railings with a barb [hook] on the end that’s just sat in the water,” Mark Bayston said.
Poaching in the marina is currently illegal, with the surrounding railings signposted to prevent unlawful fishing. But it appears the rule is flying under the radar to a few.
One post in a Facebook anglers group showed comments revealing some were flouting the ban, writing that people would have “a quick dabble until security moves you on”. Some even offered tips on how to catch the “big lumps”.
Princes Quay Shopping Centre has said it was aware of cases of illegal fishing, and that while “it doesn’t happen very often”, anyone removing the carp from the water was committing “theft and trespass”. Sarah Smith, the centre’s manager, said the dock had been supplied with enough natural food to keep the fish fed.
According to the Angling Trust, carp are renowned for their appetites and have “telescopic mouths” which are “packed with taste buds”. “Carp eat many different things but, as any carp angler knows, they can be frustratingly selective when the mood takes them,” the Trust said.
A spokesperson for Humberside Police said that, while the force hadn’t received any reports of illegal fishing in the Quay, their neighbourhood policing team was “continuing to work closely with all businesses in Hull City Centre”.
