THE net is closing in on smugglers who bring live fish into the country, writes Roland Batten.

Tonnes of carp and catfish are stolen each year from European waters and brought into the UK in vehicles with purpose-built water tanks or the fish are wrapped in wet sacks for the short Channel crossing.

These two species are in demand because British carp and catfish seldom grow to the size found on the continent.

In 1999 for example a carp weighing 20 kilos was sold in England for £5,000 having been bought in Eastern Europe for just £100.

But as well as bringing in illegal fish the smugglers - and the unscrupulous fishery owners who buy the fish - are also introducing unknown deadly diseases and parasites into the UK.

The result can be devastating for our native fish and for an entire fishery not to mention the possibility of anglers spreading disease to other fisheries.

Now the Environment Agency has joined forces with other government agencies responsible for enforcing environmental laws to launch a special database to end the illegal trade.

The database will enable all the agencies to check that fish have been obtained legally and help detect movements from fictitious sources and monitor fish allegedly removed from source waters.