Conger eel fishing accident?

Question

me and my freind went congering at brixham and i thought i had a huge conger on and i couldnt handle it so i gave it to my freind geoff and he started to pull it in and it turned out it was a diver which i had to turn away laughing but it hooked on his leg and he asked for my freinds number and keeps ringing him saying if you dont give me 5000 pound he will take us to court.

could he take us to court over this because we didnt know they were there

any help would be kindly appreciated

thanks

Answer 1

Tell him to take you to court.  Unless you were fishing in an area where there were signs posted that said NO FISHING, I'd say you're okay.  You might want to ask a lawyer for an opinion but I think you're safe.

Answer 2

In the U.S., divers are trained to stay away from fishing boats and places where people are fishing because those on the surface can't see a diver. If the diver is there first, he's supposed to show a red-and-white flag to keep boats and fishermen away. Basically, any diver who's swimming around under water with nothing on the surface to keep people away is just asking for trouble. I would check for the regulations in your part of the world. The link below is for Alabama (it's the one which came up on the Yahoo search) but the regulations are about the same everywhere in the U.S.

To me, demanding 5000 pounds of "hush money" sounds like extortion. Even if you go to court and the judge rules against you (though I can't imagine why), I can't believe the penalty would be nearly as severe.