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Where this applies

Only half of what this licence covers is fully traced. Netting for salmon and migratory trout is settled: the 2010 Order specifies compass, haaf, draft, hand, trammel, wade, coracle, drift, gill and seine nets as licensable means of fishing for those species. Eel netting, trawling and trapping is not: s.25(1) names eels expressly, and the Environment Agency demonstrably fixes eel net and fixed-engine licence duties under s.25 and Schedule 2, but no order under s.25(1A)(c) specifying eel instruments could be located — so that layer appears to rest on Agency byelaws and authorisations and on the Eels (England and Wales) Regulations 2009 instead. Extent is England and Wales; Scotland runs a wholly separate regime, and a Scottish operation needs the landowner's permission rather than this licence.

What this covers

You need a licence to net for salmon and sea trout or fish for eels using nets, trawls or traps

It applies in England and Wales. Other UK nations run their own regimes — check the equivalent for the nation you trade in.

Fisheries

Why you need it

This licence is not an administrative preference — it exists because Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

Enabling legislation

Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 Enabling 1975 The Licensable Means of Fishing Order 2010 Operative SI 2010 · art 2 and the Schedule

Provision anchor: s.25(1) (offence at s.27(1))
Worth knowing: If you net salmon or migratory trout you must hold a licence, and fishing without one is an offence. Eel fishing is licensed too, but partly through Environment Agency byelaws rather than the Act — check the current rules with the Agency.

Read it on legislation.gov.uk legislation.gov.uk

What the Act carries

These are the duties, penalties and exemptions our graph holds for Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves. They show what sort of instrument you are dealing with.

Duties on businesses: 4
Penalties: 2
Exemptions: 0

Duties on businesses under the Act

Misuse of fishing licence by entering extra names or false dates Schedule 2 para.14
Pay the agreed sum for a general licence Schedule 2 para.8
Record date of entry in licence and send copy to agency within 24 hours Schedule 2 para.11
Fail to surrender fishing licence after court order Schedule 4 para.10

What happens if you get it wrong

Fail to surrender fishing licence after court order
Misuse of fishing licence by entering extra names or false dates

Read our full dossier on Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975

Who issues it

This one does not go to your council. It is issued by Environment Agency, which handles it nationally.

Environmental protection in England. Regulates waste, emissions, water quality, flood risk, and environmental permits for industrial activities. Enforces environmental law and issues permits for regulated activities.

Where to apply

Our guidance on this

Everything below is written out in full elsewhere on Guvnor — this page points at it rather than repeating it.

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Duty, penalty and exemption labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the enabling instrument, not the instrument itself. Fees, forms and conditions are set by the issuing authority — always check the linked source.

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