A PROFESSIONAL salmon fisherman whose catch was slashed by the Environment Agency (EA) says he has made a net loss –despite winning £187,278 in compensation.

Forest pensioner Nigel Mott, who has fished near Lydney with putcher baskets for half a century, said the cost of taking the case to the highest courts in the land far outweighed the damages awarded.

The long-running case dates back to 2012 when the EA cut Mr Mott’s annual permitted catch by 90 per cent, from 300 fish to just 30, ruining a livelihood that supported two families.

The EA said its decision was made to protect salmon stocks in the River Wye which were under threat, and subsequently cut his quota even further, to 24 fish.

But the 76-year-old from Stroat, who has held a Severn estuary putcher licence since 1968, told the High Court in Birmingham his baskets were 15km upstream of the Wye estuary and posed no threat to the neighbouring river’s stocks.

Judge David Cooke initially heard the case in 2015, when he ruled that the EA’s decision violated Mr Mott’s human rights.

And after further hearings in the Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court, Mr Mott secured his victory and damages for his business losses.

The pensioner has described it as a bitter-sweet victory, but revealed there is more legal discussion to come about the issue.

“It has taken a long time and there has been a lot of unrecoverable costs,” he said this week.

“The costs of the case have far outweighed the damages awarded, but once you start, you have to see it through.

“Myself and my legal advisers now have to consider the implications of this judgement.

“There are other issues to consider, but we have to see where we go from here.”

Mr Mott, who has now become a beekeeper, added: “It is obviously very satisfying to have some compensation, but the Enviornment Agency seemed determined not to allow a viable buisness from getting salmon on the river.

“It was my principle source of income to support two families.

“Most people who fish do not depend on it for their livelihoods.”

Putchers have been used for centuries to trap adult salmon on the Severn, but Mr Mott said the EA’s decision made his 20-year lease to fish the estuary ‘worthless’.

Before the limit was introduced, the quota of 600 fish a year at about £100 each gave an annual income of around £60,000.

And Court of Appeal judges ruled in 2016 that just because catch limits were imposed on environmental grounds did not mean that Mr Mott’s human rights could be ignored.

The Supreme Court later ruled that the agency had given no consideration to the “severe” impact on his livelihood.

In response to the damages award, an Environment Agency spokesperson said: “Salmon numbers are at an all-time low and it’s the Environment Agency’s duty to protect them where they are at risk.

“We will continue to work to preserve this iconic species for future generations.”