After claiming that he didn't have any money, the leader of a poaching gang was ordered to pay more then PS61,000. He has now paid just PS1 back.
Emlyn Rees of Cenarth in Ceredigion admitted to illegal fishing and was sentenced by Swansea Crown Court.
Rees kept seven-year records of 373 catches. These included details of numbers and weights for fish such as 989 sea trout or 302 salmon.
He was one of eight men to have admitted illegal fishing. These crimes were called "staggering".
Other names were:
The illegal fishing by men resulted in the loss of 686,534 salmon eggs between 2013 and 2020 and 2,285,164 trout eggs.
Rees was required to pay PS61,791.50. Any money or assets he possesses will be taken away from him. Rees was also given a PS1,600 fine and ordered to pay PS1,000 fees.
Natural Resources Wales (NRW), which discovered an illegally-set gillnet in River Teifi, near Cenarth, initiated the investigation.
Rees has been convicted of illegal fishing three times before being caught on camera returning to the net one morning.
Dyfed Powys Police arrested him after he tried to escape by jumping into the river. Police searched his home and found a "vast amount" of evidence.
Ann Weedy, NRW operations manager, called the gang's crimes "staggering".
She stated that the sheer number of fish caught had undoubtedly led to a substantial and unsustainable loss in breeding potential.
"All salmon and large sea trout captured in Wales since 2020 must be returned to the river alive to protect these endangered stocks."
Dyfed-Powys Police Sergeant Esther Davies stated that poaching was a serious problem on the River Teifi over many years. I hope this investigation, as well as the sentence handed down today, will demonstrate our commitment to investigating wildlife crimes."
Gentle, Phillips Rago, Dafydd and Dafydd were all ordered to pay fines and victim surcharges as well as NRW costs totalling PS8,370 and PS4,516, respectively.
Davies, Pearson, and Lewer all accepted cautions.
