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
Fisheries
Why you need it
Parliament created it. The power to require it comes from Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 .
Enabling legislation
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 (opens in a new tab)
legislation.gov.uk
What the Act carries
What our graph holds for Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 as a whole — the Act behind this licence, not the licence conditions themselves.
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 .
Where to apply
Ask Guv
Do you actually need this one?
Describe what you do in plain English and Guv checks it against the duties and definitions behind this licence.
Ask Guv
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.