Written By: Press Office
On Date: 21/9/2009
Should anglers be allowed to remove the coarse fish they catch? Taking stock? We want to hear from anglers and fishery owners about our proposals to reform the law on fish removal by rod and line. Within the angling community there is a wide range of opinion about whether anglers should be allowed to take the coarse fish they catch.
“Does coarse fish removal by rod and line damage stocks?”
“Should anglers be able to take some coarse fish to eat?”
"Are specimen fish being taken to stock other waters illegally?” Our existing local byelaws are inconsistent and we propose to replace these with new byelaws that will apply across England and Wales. In developing our proposals, we need to balance the need to protect fish stocks with the rights of fisheries owners and managers to decide how their fisheries should be managed. In particular, we need to consider the differences between river and stillwater fisheries. We are also proposing that all rod-caught eel and shad are returned. The number of young eel or elvers migrating into our rivers has crashed by over 95 per cent and we need to protect adult eel to increase their spawning potential. Allis and twaite shad are rare and protected — mandatory catch and release will help protect these fish.
We want to hear from anglers and fishery owners to help inform our proposals. Our consultation runs until 14 September.
You can view our proposals for the removal of coarse fish and respond online. If you do not have internet access or prefer to respond by post, please call 08708 506 506 (Monday to Friday, 8.00am-6.00pm) quoting “fish removal consultation" to receive a paper copy.
Removal of coarse fish