Scottish Legal Requirements
Fishing Legislation within Scotland can be a bit of a daunting experience but the main points to be aware of are as follows:
Permission to fish:
Please be sure to get the correct permissions before you go fishing, as otherwise you may be committing an offence. For salmon & sea trout, it is a criminal offence (the state can prosecute you) to fish without written permission from the owner of the fishing rights, or his agent.
For trout, it is a criminal offence to fish without permission where there is a Protection order in place, or where a loch is in single ownership. In all other cases, it is still a civil offence (the owner can prosecute you).
For other types of freshwater fishing it is a criminal offence to fish without permission on a single ownership loch and a civil offence in all other cases.
For more details see the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation) (Scotland) Act 2003.
For fishing in the sea, by boat or from the shore, no permission is required.
Rod Licences:
Unlike in England, Wales or Ireland you do not need to have a fishing licence from the Government.
The only exception to this is the Border Esk which flows into England and is therefore considered to be an English river for legal purposes, hence you need a current rod licence for it. The opposite is true on the Tweed, where the English part is considered to be Scottish for legal purposes, so even there you do not need a licence.
Closed seasons:
Salmon and trout fishing on rivers are subject to a close season during which it is illegal to fish. These vary from river to river.
The earliest Salmon River to open is the Helmsdale on January 11th and the latest to close is the Tweed on 30th November. However most salmon rivers open on 1st February and close sometime in October.
River trout fishing dates are 15th March to 6th October but many fisheries do not let outside the period from 1st April to 30th September.
There is no legal close season for rainbow trout, grayling, coarse or sea fishing, although some fisheries do not operate in the winter.
Sundays
For salmon or sea trout fishing in Scotland, Sunday is a closed time and it is illegal to fish then. For other fishing, it is not illegal and most commercial Stillwater fisheries operate on Sundays, although many river fisheries do not.
Keeping fish:
In Scotland it has recently been made a criminal offence to sell a salmon or sea trout, so always put your fish back unless you intend to eat it yourself and then only do so if the conservation rules of the river allow it; which some don't! There are no legal restrictions on keeping other fish types although many fisheries will impose limits.
Tackle:
The requirements vary according to species being fished for and the area of Scotland in which you are fishing. Fishing is legally restricted to rod and line only, but many rivers have extra legal restrictions, such as the Tweed where you can only fish by fly for much of the season. Other rivers have conservation codes which mean that fishery owners will ban the use of spinners, prawns, worms etc for all or part of the season
Scottish Outdoor Access Code
The Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 establishes a statutory right of responsible access to land and inland waters for:
· outdoor recreation,
· crossing land, and
· some educational and commercial purposes.
The Scottish Outdoor Access Code gives detailed guidance on your responsibilities when exercising access rights and if you are managing land and water. The Act sets out where and when access rights apply. The Code defines how access rights should be exercised.
The three key principles for responsible access apply to both the public and land managers:
· Respect the interests of other people: Be considerate, respect privacy and livelihoods, and the needs of those enjoying the outdoors.
· Care for the Environment: Look after the places you visit and enjoy. Care for wildlife and historic sites.
· Take responsibility for your own actions: The outdoors cannot be made risk-free for people exercising access rights; land managers should act with care for people’s safety.
The access legislation in Part One of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 aims to make it easier for people to enjoy the outdoors and to be clear about what they can and cannot do.
The access laws include a package of related measures:
· A clearer legal basis for access;
· Responsibility as the key principle for using access rights and managing land;
· Safeguards for privacy, land management and conservation;
· New duties and powers for local authorities and other public bodies;
and adequate resources to make the proposals work well.
In summary, some of the main features of the legislation are:
Your access rights
· Everyone has the statutory right of access
· Access rights apply to all land and inland waters, unless excluded (as below)
· Access rights are for outdoor recreation, for crossing land and water, and for some educational and commercial purposes
· Exercising access rights, and managing access land, must be done responsibly
Where you cannot go by access rights
· Non-residential buildings and associated land, and structures
· Houses and sufficient adjacent land to provide reasonable privacy
· Land around any school and used by the school
· Compounds, building sites
· Sports and playing fields when in use
· Land developed or set out for particular recreational purposes
· Grassland growing for hay and silage which is at such a
late stage of growth that it is likely to be damaged by exercise of access rights.
· Land in which crops have been sown or are growing (although please note that the headrigs, endrigs and other margins of fields where crops are growing are not defined as crops, whether sown or unsown, and are therefore within access rights)
What you cannot do by access rights
· Motorised access
· Hunting, shooting, fishing
· Having a dog not under proper control
What help is available for access officers and rangers
· The Scottish Outdoor Access Code
· Local authority powers and duties to uphold access rights
· Core paths systems
· Local access forums
· Rangers
· Procedures for judicial determination of access rights
· Safeguards for land managers and for the protection of the natural and cultural heritage
Other Legislation –
· Public rights of way will continue to exist and are unaffected by the Act
· Public rights on the foreshore and in tidal waters will continue to exist
· Liability - the Act makes clear that the extent of the duty of care owed by a land manager is unaffected
· Access rights do not extend to criminal activity which is defined by various statutory offences
2.14 Of the Reform (Scotland) Act 2003 excludes some other conduct from access rights14, including: hunting, shooting or fishing. These activities still require the permission of the relevant owner.
2.18 Of the Public rights on the foreshore and in tidal waters will continue
to exist. These have not been fully defined but include shooting wildfowl, fishing for sea fish, gathering some uncultivated shellfish, lighting fires, and swimming, playing on the sand and picnicking. Access rights also extend to these places.