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collecting wild uk fish

In England, we have a pretty standard system, multiple licences for children, more than 2 rods, disabled, 65 years + (I think), and salmon and sea trout licences. Regions do have by-laws, which are relatively easy to research/find.

With fishing, unless using flies/baits out of season, it's tricky to do much wrong with a licence. Don't take fish you aren't allowed to (not that many have protection, but size restrictions are imposed + by-laws), no more rods than allocated and that's about it.

A fishing licence only covers fishing with rod and line; using special nets (crayfish traps/ throw nets) will require special permission, and or licence from the EA.

From my knowledge fishing with a hand net is legal, all year round. But I'm trying to clarify this as I'm now curious.

@dean i dont think catching them is the issue, it's whether you can then remove them from the catch site, keep them, then reintroduce them at a later date. As you can see from posts above it seems in some countries that would be banned. Here in uk its not clear.

It's very clear, it's illegal. You need written permission from EA to do this
 
It always was a little vague evrywhere i guess.. There are i guess in every country strickt inveronmental laws to protect wild life or flora and fauna. It is just who do you meet while you are doing it.. Most cops likely wont even know nor care much, tho they should know and care but its not directly their field of concern to take a guy with a net and a bucket for a ride. I never saw a cop controlling any park.. But if you get caught by a park ranger, than it will be a different story.. They know all about it and love a chance to preach and tell you all about it. In my country it is even forbidden to go into the woods and gather branches of wood to put in the stove. Or take plants home.. I'm not even allowed to go off the path into the bushes. I did and collected me some ferns from the woods, in my backpack, they are still in my garden.. :rolleyes::oops:.. And i know if the park ranger caught me, straying off the path and also diggin out ferns :eek: i could buy a ton of ferns for the cost of the fine i would have got. They don;t care for arguments "there are hundreds of ferns, nobody misses the 3 i dug out."

I guess there is some grey area, but it is just that inveronmental protection became an hotter issue the last decades.. And it is just that you realy need to know what and where you are going. And as a grown up man standing at the water front waving a net around.. Is standing a bit in the spot light..

I remeber a day when i wash fishing completely legal.. And a grumpy park ranger came by and he started nagging about that i stood with my bare feed knee deep in the water and pointed to a shield stating "No swimming allowed" :lol: But what do you do then? Just say sorry Sir. :rolleyes: Go out and demonstratively put back on your boots. :rolleyes:
 
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@castle I've no reason to doubt that you are right about it being illegal. But i can't see anything in the EA documents linked to earlier in this thread, or anywhere else on line that explicitly states this, or even partially address the issue. Do you have a definitive source for this guidance? It would be good to put the thread to bed
 
@castle I've no reason to doubt that you are right about it being illegal. But i can't see anything in the EA documents linked to earlier in this thread, or anywhere else on line that explicitly states this, or even partially address the issue. Do you have a definitive source for this guidance? It would be good to put the thread to bed

Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975

PART V ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT ...

30. A person shall be guilty of an offence if he introduces any fish or spawn of fish into an inland water, or has in his possession any fish or spawn of fish intending to introduce it into an inland water, unless he first obtains the written consent of the water authority within whose area any part of that water is situated.

http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1975/51/pdfs/ukpga_19750051_en.pdf
 
If fishing with one of those kids nets is illegal then why are they sold and why aren't there more kids in prison



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That's the grey area :) It's just a net i can sell as many nets to whom i like.. The buyer is responsible what he does with it.. And indeed i did do it as a kid as well and still see kids playing around at ponds and creecks etc. probably not always doing legal stuff.. Probably for kids this is normal nobody takes much notice, let them play.. Police isn't the organ responcible to watch out for this kinda actions.. Parkrangers are and these are in much less numbers around. But still it is ilegal, a kid gets a slap on the wrist, if a parkranger sees it, he likely will say something and tell the kids to stop and go away. If an adult who as law abiding citizen should know beter is caught doing kid stuff, i bet your bottoms on it, you likely will get fined.. It is simple as that.. :) Little kids ride their bikes on the pavement, we rather see them ride there instead in the trafic.. Adult riding their bike on te pavement? Thats a nono you should ride on the street..

But it also likely is different in every country.. In mine, if its not specified on the permit it is not allowed. And to go fishing i need one and is says 1 rod is allowed anything else is ilegal. Very simply that includes a net. Still also on the permit is a rule that i'm obliged to cary a landing net. There;s the grey area, i can also catch fish whit my landing net. You just should know it is not legal if you do.. But if nobody is looking no hamr is done. Till you get caught by a grumpy parkranger.. ;)

Another good argument to think about what castle points to.. Not only risking a fine catching them.. You risk a fine again when releasing them back.
 
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interesting topic, I imagine a lot of people probably just catch them and do what they want; with nobody being none the wiser. Even though it may be illegal? Bit of a grey area ethics wise, I would echo the sentiment of previous posters that mentioned not returning them to the wild from home aquaria
 
So i got a full response from the EA. Very informative... Short version, if you want to do this legally it'll be more hassle than its worth. Fair enough.

"Thanks for your email in relation to the removal of Minnows, Stone Loach and Bullhead. Can I ask what the purpose of keeping these fish in an aquarium is? Is it for pleasure or scientific interest / research? Any fish kept in aquaria will require an appropriate set-up to replicate their natural habitat and suitable filtration system to maintain adequate water quality and oxygenation (required under the Animal Welfare Act). If you wish to use a fishing instrument other than rod and line to catch fish, for example a hand net, you’ll require an authorisation from the Environment Agency for it’s use (Section 27 Authorisation). I’ve attached the required form. If you wish to return fish to the river, there are a number of permits you’ll need in order to do so; a site permit, a Teir 2 Supplier permit and any fish returned will require a health check. A health check is relatively expensive (can be as much as £300) and requires a sample of 30 fish. Given the number of fish you are thinking of keeping / returning, returning fish is not really feasible. Bullhead are also a Biodiversity Action Plan species so the EA are required to consult with Natural England should you wish to use a fishing instrument other than rod and line and it’s unlikely they would agree to the use of an instrument unless it’s for scientific purposes."
 
This has been a really interesting read. I just wanted to add something relating to the husbandry of these fish.

I've kept lots of native marine/rockpool tanks at work over the years, and the biggest problem we always have is temperature, and I can't see it being much different with native freshwater fish. Things really start to go pear shaped when the water temperature hits 17 degrees C or above, even with vigorous aeration.

I personally wouldn't consider keeping any native UK aquaria now without a chiller, which does tend to make the project prohibitively expensive. The Teco I currently have on a 4', 180litre rock pool tank cost about £500. There are DIY chillers, using small fridges and coiled garden hose, but I've never tried them, so not sure how effective they are.


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When I kept native marines I used a redundant beer cooler from a pub basement.With a small powerhead to pump the sea water through the food grade stainless tubing in the ice bank. It even worked on a 6' tank but they do generate a bit of heat themselves.
 
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