52 illegal nets and traps seized during a pandemic The Environment Agency has seen an increase in the amount of illegal fishing devices found along East Anglian river banks. From: Fisheries enforcement officer with some of the illegal traps he has seized. In just nine months, from March 2020 to December 2020, 52 illegal fishing traps and nets were retrieved. 26 were found in Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire, 14 in Suffolk and Essex, and 12 in Norfolk. These figures show an increase compared to 2019 where a total of 30 traps were seized across East Anglia over the course of the whole year. The illegal instruments trap eels, crayfish, water voles, otters and coarse fish. They are a significant risk to wildlife and fish stocks.