Is it illegal to take home coarse fish and eat them

I am a keen angler and fish throughout the entire year. I'm a big
believer in returning fish as quickly as possible with the minimum
amount of disruption and distress towards the fish. But...
A work college asked if i ever took my catch home to eat, which i
replied absolutely not. He then asked is it against the law, and i
said, well..

So i started to do some research on the subject and i can't find
anything which states you can or can't take fish home to eat. From
rivers that is. The only thing I've found out is that it's illegal to
fish using crayfish as bait, and you can't take fish from private
waters, i.e. poaching.

Maybe there are byelaws for particular areas? Maybe you can take
certain types of fish home, perhaps eels? What about live bait? Can you
fish for say, small roach on rivers and use them in the same area for
live/dead bait? If you can take fish home then what about clubs who
"own" that section of water. Do they have rights to stop people
taking fish home to eat? If anyone can point me in the right direction
then please let me know.

I would like to point out that i'm not advocating or trying to promote
the idea for taking fish home. I'm just curious.

"Russ" wrote in message
oups.com...
I am a keen angler and fish throughout the entire year. I'm a big
believer in returning fish as quickly as possible with the minimum
amount of disruption and distress towards the fish. But...
A work college asked if i ever took my catch home to eat, which i
replied absolutely not. He then asked is it against the law, and i
said, well..

So i started to do some research on the subject and i can't find
anything which states you can or can't take fish home to eat. From
rivers that is. The only thing I've found out is that it's illegal to
fish using crayfish as bait, and you can't take fish from private
waters, i.e. poaching.

Maybe there are byelaws for particular areas? Maybe you can take
certain types of fish home, perhaps eels? What about live bait? Can you
fish for say, small roach on rivers and use them in the same area for
live/dead bait? If you can take fish home then what about clubs who
"own" that section of water. Do they have rights to stop people
taking fish home to eat? If anyone can point me in the right direction
then please let me know.

I would like to point out that i'm not advocating or trying to promote
the idea for taking fish home. I'm just curious.

I for one would also never consider taking a fish home to eat, it is
probably covered by By-laws.

I'm sure most coarse fishermen in the UK take the catch and release policy.

John H
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uk_fishing

In message .com, Russ
writes

Maybe there are byelaws for particular areas? Maybe you can take
certain types of fish home, perhaps eels? What about live bait? Can you
fish for say, small roach on rivers and use them in the same area for
live/dead bait? If you can take fish home then what about clubs who
"own" that section of water. Do they have rights to stop people
taking fish home to eat? If anyone can point me in the right direction
then please let me know.

There is no law against eating coarse fish. What you require is the
consent of the owner of the fishing rights, which is unlikely to be
forthcoming in a managed coarse fishery. The attitude of the manager of
a game fishery to taking coarse fish may be entirely different...

Taking fish (coarse or otherwise) from private water without consent is,
as far as I know, treated as theft.



--
Steve Walker

"Steve Walker" wrote in message
...
In message .com, Russ
writes

Maybe there are byelaws for particular areas? Maybe you can take
certain types of fish home, perhaps eels? What about live bait? Can you
fish for say, small roach on rivers and use them in the same area for
live/dead bait? If you can take fish home then what about clubs who
"own" that section of water. Do they have rights to stop people
taking fish home to eat? If anyone can point me in the right direction
then please let me know.

There is no law against eating coarse fish. What you require is the
consent of the owner of the fishing rights, which is unlikely to be
forthcoming in a managed coarse fishery. The attitude of the manager of a
game fishery to taking coarse fish may be entirely different...

Taking fish (coarse or otherwise) from private water without consent is,
as far as I know, treated as theft.



--
Steve Walker

Hi Steve,

I agree with that ........... 4 main 'boundaries', namely commercial coarse,
river coarse (in the main) game fishing and sea fishing ............ and of
course (if you extend the discussion beyond the UK) other countries 'local &
accepted' habits/behaviour.

Richard

So if you are fishing a, "free" water, i.e. a stretch of water which
isn't owned by a club/sole owner etc, then theoretically you can take
home any fish you catch. Or would you have to contact the environment
agency instead as i would assume they become the default owner?

In message .com, Russ
writes
So if you are fishing a, "free" water, i.e. a stretch of water which
isn't owned by a club/sole owner etc, then theoretically you can take
home any fish you catch. Or would you have to contact the environment
agency instead as i would assume they become the default owner?

I would guess that most free fishing is technically owned by local
councils.

--
Steve Walker

In article .com, Russ
wrote:
So if you are fishing a, "free" water, i.e. a stretch of water which
isn't owned by a club/sole owner etc, then theoretically you can take
home any fish you catch. Or would you have to contact the environment
agency instead as i would assume they become the default owner?

Ianal

Paraphrasing from "Anglers' Law", Millichamp, Black. 1987.
(I don't know whether any more recent legislation applies)

Fish in a completely enclosed water in single ownership belong to the owner
of the water. Taking them without permission is theft.

Fish in a water that is not completely enclosed - eg, a river, a lake
connected to a river without a fish-proof barrier, the sea - belong to
no-one, even if stocked they become creatures released into the wild.

As they have no owner it is impossible to steal them. They belong to the
captor. Laws, bylaws and local regulations may restrict what you can do
with your property just as they restrict what you can do with your car.

When you are given permission to fish you agree a civil contract with the
proprietor and that will include further restrictions - breach of these is a
civil law matter.

/Ianal

As far as eating coarse fish goes - about the only one's I'd bother with now
are gudgeon.

Cheerio,

--

"Russ" wrote in message
oups.com...
So if you are fishing a, "free" water, i.e. a stretch of water which
isn't owned by a club/sole owner etc, then theoretically you can take
home any fish you catch.

snip

No, I didn't say or mean to imply that. I'm not sure what the legal position
is in the UK regarding for example the removal of coarse fish from the types
of water you mention. However, the UK culture for coarse angling is catch
and release so it hasn't really been a major issue in the past .... whether
it will become one in the future is another question.

Richard

In message , Derek.Moody
writes
In article .com, Russ
wrote:
So if you are fishing a, "free" water, i.e. a stretch of water which
isn't owned by a club/sole owner etc, then theoretically you can take
home any fish you catch. Or would you have to contact the environment
agency instead as i would assume they become the default owner?

Ianal

Paraphrasing from "Anglers' Law", Millichamp, Black. 1987.
(I don't know whether any more recent legislation applies)

Fish in a completely enclosed water in single ownership belong to the owner
of the water. Taking them without permission is theft.

Fish in a water that is not completely enclosed - eg, a river, a lake
connected to a river without a fish-proof barrier, the sea - belong to
no-one, even if stocked they become creatures released into the wild.

As they have no owner it is impossible to steal them. They belong to the
captor. Laws, bylaws and local regulations may restrict what you can do
with your property just as they restrict what you can do with your car.

When you are given permission to fish you agree a civil contract with the
proprietor and that will include further restrictions - breach of these is a
civil law matter.

/Ianal

Hmm. Interesting. It looks to me as if taking fish from an enclosed
water is treated as theft, but as if there is an additional provision
within the act covering taking fish from "private waters". From
http://www.defra.gov.uk/paw/publications/law/4_1_10.htm :

"In England and Wales the Theft Act usually applies to fish in enclosed
waters and breeding tanks where they can be classed as property and not
as wild creatures. Under section 32 of and Schedule 1 to the Theft Act,
however, it is an offence unlawfully to take or destroy or attempt to
take or destroy any fish in private waters. Any person may arrest anyone
who is committing such an offence unless they are using rod and line in
daytime. In all cases conviction for an offence may lead to the
forfeiture or seizure of the fishing tackle involved."


--
Steve Walker

Local councils will have by-laws covering stretches of water that they
are responsible for. These in conjunction with Water authorities which
may have additional laws. I would suspect that taking fish away would
be prohibited and the angler who does so without permission or on
assumption it might be ok should not be allowed to own a rod.

http://piscatorialtimes.blogspot.com/