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Will night fishing be generally possible in Baden-Württemberg soon?
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Photo: Robert Niedring / Getty Images
The Stuttgart Administrative Court has overturned the night fishing ban, which is unique in Germany, for six plaintiffs.
For them, this means that they are allowed to catch fish around the clock, provided that the judgment that has not yet been issued is final.
Baden-Württemberg is the only state that prohibits fishing between one hour after sunset and one hour before sunrise.
Only eels, catfish and crabs can be caught until midnight and in summer until 1 a.m.
The six anglers complained against this.
The state of Baden-Württemberg now wants to repeal the relevant ordinance.
"We accept the decision of the administrative court and will implement it by promptly adapting the standard," said the Ministry for Rural Areas in Stuttgart on Wednesday.
"The night fishing ban is not generally lifted," the court had previously announced.
It continues to apply to all other anglers.
That should now be obsolete.
Night's sleep for the fish?
The plaintiffs had alleged encroachments on property and fundamental rights. The Ministry of Rural Areas had emphasized that the ban took into account the need for fish and other animals to sleep. An appeal can still be made against the judgment if it is admitted by the Administrative Court of Baden-Württemberg.
Immediately after the verdict, the successful plaintiffs saw the way paved for lifting the ban for all 150,000 anglers in the southwest. "With the right decision by the administrative court in Stuttgart, the ban is no longer tenable from our point of view," says Reinhart Sosat, managing director of the Baden-Württemberg State Fisheries Association. The association had five high-ranking representatives sued as private individuals. The chairman of the Wuerttemberg fishing club, Hans-Hermann Schock, had sued.
The organizations had criticized the fact that they were being tamed as quiet nature lovers, while others bathed dogs, partied or barbecued on the banks of the river at night without restriction.
Anglers could even perform a positive supervisory function on the water at night and, unlike other nocturnal nature users, would have special training in the form of the official fishing test, explained the state fishing association.
bbr / kha / dpa / AFP