sea and river divide

[farlap 19]

as sea fishers we have never had to have a rod license, but in this inclemment weather we have thought about taking our boat up the river instead of putting to sea, but need to know at what point up the river does it ceace to be sea fishing (ie where the river and sea meet) and start to require a license? is there a set rule or is it different for every river?

[aaronpigeonplucker 32]

stick your finger iin the water and if you taste no salt then youv'e goe to far. you start to need a licsence when it stops being brackish.

[farlap 19]

stick your finger iin the water and if you taste no salt then youv'e goe to far. you start to need a licsence when it stops being brackish.

LOL is it really that simple?

[Malt 379]

stick your finger iin the water and if you taste no salt then youv'e goe to far. you start to need a licsence when it stops being brackish.

LOL is it really that simple?

Can't be, can it?

[Malt 379]

Just cross posted this question on a Sea Fishing forum, and here's one of the answers I got:

 

Not definative, but my understanding is, it is not where you fish, but what you are targeting. As long as you are in an area where sea fish exist and you use the appropriate bait tackle, you do not require a licence.

 

This year I would like to tackle mullet and have concerns myself about using bread/mall hooks. I suppose, the safe option is to buy a licence to make sure. I dont think they are that dear.

[Malt 379]

Here's a more detailed answer from the same site:

 

The accurate answer is that it depends on exactly where you are.

 

The inland waterways (lakes, rivers, canals etc.) are divided into different fishery regions. The coastal sea is also divided into different regions -- sea fisheries -- up to a certain distance out from the shore.

 

Fishing on rod-and-line in the sea fishery regions does not require a license provided you abide by that sea fishery's bye laws. Fishing in the inland fishery regions requires a rod license and possibly (often ...) another license from the landowner giving permission to fish that stretch of water.

 

Where a river (inland fishery jurisdiction) officially meets the sea (sea fishery jurisdiction) depends on the river in question. The boundaries are strictly defined for most rivers and, in some cases, may move depending on the time of year.

 

You can usually find the boundary definitions for a given river in the byelaws for your region at the Environment Agency's website:

 

http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk...sion=1&lang=_e

 

But give your local water authority or sea fishery a ring if you want the cast-in-stone version. It's also worth checking the byelaws for your local sea fishery, as they may contain the information and probably have a lot more you need to know besides. Links to all the sea fisheries can be found here:

 

http://www.asfc.org.uk/

 

Important Note: Be careful, as there are slight issues when it comes to sea-going "game fish" -- namely salmon and sea trout. You will almost certainly need a license to catch these even if you're technically fishing "in the sea", and there are long periods of the year (again differing depending on local byelaws) where it's illegal to take them full-stop.

 

Added:

 

The jurisdiction of any given Sea Fishery technically ends at the "mean high tide" mark, which usually means that if you're seaward of this point you only need to abide by the SFC byelaws and don't need a rod license. BUT: you still need to check the inland water byelaws as their boundaries don't necessarily coincide with "mean high tide".

 

On top of this, the Marine Bill currently being batted around in Parliament may mean we all have to have rod licenses for the sea anyway in the fairly short-term future, but this won't happen (if it does ...) for another year or two at the earliest.

 

And another useful link here:

 

http://www.sacn.org.uk/Articles/Do_I...A_Licence.html

[comanche 3,045]

Just consulted my book on this one .Angling & The Law by S Payne . Seems that as long as you stay in a section of river where the tide "in the regular course of things flows and reflows" you have rights of navigation and free fishing . As long as you only catch sea species you won't need a licence . According to Justice Grove in a 1882 case it matters little if the water is salty or not but other cases have suggested that "where freshwater prevails " is the defining limit . Best to remember though that while you can probably navigate and fish several miles from the sea quite legally you might find that you have no right to come ashore or moor -up as the land may be private or access leased by an angling club which might cause a bit of bad feeling . Hope this helps a bit at least .

Edited April 12, 2009 by comanche