Can I keep fish that I catch?
In the UK, Coarse fishing is the most widely participated type of fishing. Coarse fishing, known as freshwater fishing outside of the UK, is a type of fishing whereby anglers catch and release the fish they catch.
While Coarse fishing is widely accepted as being ‘catch and release’, there are certain circumstances in which you can keep some types fish that are of a specific size.
In this article I’ll look at the types of fish you are allowed to keep and from what waters you’re allowed to keep them.
The laws not only differ in different countries of the UK, but also different regions of each country.
Fishing laws in the UK are quite comprehensive, below is information which is only relevant to the fish you can or cannot keep; you should ALWAYS familiarise yourself with all the national and regional fishing laws before fishing any waters.
Salmon and Trout fishing generally has different byelaws to Coarse fishing. I may touch on Salmon and Trout fishing in the article, but you should seek further clarification within each regional Byelaw.
*Always check for updates to the byelaws*
England – Regional Environment Agency Byelaws
In England the Environment Agency Statutory Rod Fishing Byelaws are there to protect fish stocks. These byelaws, or rules by any other name, apply to all waters in England, irrelevant of whether the water is privately owned, owned by local angling clubs or owned by local councils.
Owners of waters, i.e. private, council or angling clubs; can impose more stringent rules, but at a minimum, the byelaws must apply. Anyone failing to comply with the byelaws are likely to face prosecution and a fine of up to £50,000.
Regional byelaws are set out for six regions of England:
Anglian Region
On rivers, you may take no more than:
- one Pike of less than 65 cm per day
- two Grayling of between 30 and 38 cm per day
- a total of fifteen Barbel, Chub, Common Bream, Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Dace, Perch, Pike, Roach, Rudd, Silver Bream, Smelt or Tench (including any hybrids of these species) of less than 20cm per day.
All lengths are measured from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.
These restrictions also apply on all the waters in the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads that are subject to the coarse fish close season. There are no restrictions on the number of other coarse fish you may take.
On stillwaters and canals, you may only take freshwater fish with the written permission of the fishery owner or occupier. NB. Canals are defined as those canals where the coarse fish close season has been removed.
There are no restrictions on the number of other coarse fish you may take.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-rod-fishing-byelaws-anglian-region
Severn and Trent Catchments
You must not take or kill trout under the following size limits.
The size of the fish is measured from the tip of the nose or snout to the fork or cleft of the tail.
- Trout (Except Rainbow Trout) – All waters size limit: 20 centimetres
- Rainbow Trout – The waters of the Rivers Derwent and Amber, including their tributaries, Size limit: 20 centimetres
On rivers, you may take no more than:
- one Pike of less than 65 cm per day
- two Grayling of between 30 and 38 cm per day
- a total of fifteen Barbel, Chub, Common Bream, Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Dace, Perch, Pike, Roach, Rudd, Silver Bream, Smelt or Tench (including any hybrids of these species) of less than 20cm per day.
All lengths are measured from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.
These restrictions also apply on all the waters in the Severn and Trent catchments which are subject to the coarse fish close season.
There are no restrictions on the number of other coarse fish you may take.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-rod-fishing-byelaws-midlands-region
North East Region
The byelaws for the North East Region are exactly the same as the byelaws for Anglian Region (above).
The North East Region encompasses the Northumbria and the Yorkshire area.
There are some differences with regards to trout and salmon fishing, so you should familiarise yourself with the byelaws relevant to the area you’re fishing.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-rod-fishing-byelaws-north-east-region
North West Region
The byelaws for the North West Region are probably the most comprehensive of all regions, however, with regards to Coarse fish that are not Salmon or Trout, there are no specific byelaws. This, however, does not mean that there are no laws regarding fish that can be kept.
The National Byelaws (below) still apply when no specific regional byelaws are stated.
In the North West Region, the byelaws regarding Salmon and Trout differ on different rivers so you should certainly check the byelaws if you intend to keep ANY fish.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-rod-fishing-byelaws-north-west-region
South East Region
On rivers, you may take no more than:
- one Pike of less than 65cm per day
- two Grayling of between 30 and 38cm per day
- a total of fifteen Barbel, Chub, Common Bream, Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Dace, Perch, Pike, Roach, Rudd, Silver Bream, Smelt or Tench (including any hybrids of these species) of less than 20cm per day.
All lengths are measured from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.
These restrictions also apply on all other waters that are subject to the coarse fish close season (see above).
There are no restrictions on the number of other coarse fish you may take.
You must not remove any salmon, alive or dead, from any waters before 16 June of any year. Any salmon caught before this date must be returned to the water with least possible injury.
If you hold a salmon and sea trout rod fishing licence, you must send a catch return to the Environment Agency by 1 January in the following year, stating where, when and how many salmon or sea trout you caught.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-rod-fishing-byelaws-south-east-region
South West Region
The same rules for the South West Region as what apply for the South East Region (above).
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/environment-agency-rod-fishing-byelaws-south-west-region
England – National Byelaws
You’re only allowed to keep a certain amount of the fish you catch.
These fish must also be of a certain size.
You must return fish you can’t keep to the water unharmed.
Whether you can keep a fish depends on:
- the type of fish
- where you’re fishing
the regional byelaws as stated above
You must measure fish from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail.
There’s a daily limit on the number of fish you can take.
Each day you can only take from rivers:
- 1 pike (up to 65cm)
- 2 grayling (30cm to 38cm)
- 15 small fish (up to 20cm) including barbel, chub, common bream, common carp, crucian carp, dace, perch, rudd, silver bream, roach, smelt and tench
Any eels you catch (except conger eels) must be released alive.
You can also take:
- minor or ‘tiddler’ species, such as gudgeon
- non-native species
- ornamental varieties of native species like ghost or koi carp
https://www.gov.uk/freshwater-rod-fishing-rules/fish-size-and-catch-limits
Rules in Scotland
In Scotland you do not need a rod license for general Coarse fishing. However, Scotland does operate with the rule of ‘Permission to Fish’. This rule makes it illegal to fish any water without obtaining the consent of the owner of the water.
The way this is typically managed is by the sale of tickets for a day, monthly or annual pass. The smartest way to find out how to get permission to fish a water in Scotland is to check with local tackle shops.
Because Scotland operates with the ‘Permission to Fish’ rule; the rules on what fish can be taken are entirely dependent on the owner of the water. If you want to take any Fish from Scottish waters you would need the owner’s permission.
In Scotland it has recently been made a criminal offence to sell a salmon or sea trout, so always put your fish back unless you intend to eat it yourself and then only do so if the conservation rules of the river allow it.
Rules in Wales
In Wales you do need to purchase a rod license in order to fish legally.
The byelaws for Wales are somewhat similar to England:
No live or dead fish may be removed from any waters except legally by rod & line, other than with special written permission obtained in advance from Natural Resources Wales.
On all rivers, streams, drains and canals, any salmon or trout hooked other than in the mouth or throat shall be returned to the water immediately.
Rivers
When fishing rivers anglers may take no more than:
- 15 small fish (up to 20cm) per day of native species listed below (other than grayling).
- 1 pike per day up to 65cm.
- 2 grayling per day of 30 to 38cm.
The list of native species includes barbel, chub, common bream, common carp, crucian carp, dace, grayling, perch, roach, rudd, silver bream, smelt and tench. The byelaw excludes ‘tiddler’ (e.g. gudgeon and bullhead) and non native species and ornamental varieties of the listed species (e.g. Koi and ghost carp).
These limits are subject to the permission of the fishery owner or occupier (who may set tighter limits).
Stillwaters
When fishing stillwaters (including canals in Wales) anglers may remove freshwater fish only with the written permission of the owner or occupier (normally through fishery rules printed on permits or day tickets). Note: Llyn Tegid and Llyn Maelog because they have multiple ownership are treated in the same way as rivers.
Eel and shad
Removal of eels and shads (Twaite and Allis) by rod and line from any water (out to 6 nautical miles) is prohibited.
Rules in Northern Ireland
Like in England, North Ireland requires you to have a rod license to fish. The licenses available in NI or for either Game or Coarse fishing.
- Brown Trout – In the ‘Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs’ (DAERA) public fisheries there’s no minimum size for brown trout. In general, a daily bag limit of four brown or four rainbow trout (or a combination of both) may be taken from the DAERA stocked fisheries.
- Salmon and Sea Trout – Catch and Release applies to call DAERA fisheries with the exception of:
- Lough Melvin*
- Glenarm River*
- Clady River*
For these waters, you can get two salmon tags for the season from local angling clubs and this allows you to keep two salmon. Anglers can continue to fish after reaching their bag limit but all fish must be returned immediately alive and unharmed to the water.
- Pike – In DAERA fisheries all pike weighing 4kg or more must be returned alive and unharmed to the water. You can keep one pike per day under 4kg.
In Loughs Agency fisheries a bag limit of two pike under 4kg applies. However, anglers can also keep one pike per day for a pike over 9kg in a river and over 13.6kg in a lake.
- Other Coarse Species – Other coarse species of fish include bream, roach, perch, carp, tench and rudd. There is a daily bag limit of four coarse fish (except pike). If you catch more than four coarse fish (except pike) in a day you must return the fish to the water from which it was taken, alive and unharmed.
- Anyone who catches a coarse fish (except pike) which is greater than 25cm – measured from the tip of its snout to the fork or cleft of its tail, must return it to the water from which it was taken alive and unharmed.
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/fish-size-and-catch-limits
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