Closed season starts for coarse anglers
THE CLOSED season for fishing in rivers, streams and drains began in Sussex this week on March 15.
It is designed to protect fish during their breeding season and will run until June 15.
Anglers will have to hold a new fishing licence by the start of the season, or face hefty fines.
Anyone over the age of 12 years old fishing in freshwaters in England and Wales is required by law to purchase a rod licence .
Anglers planning to fish through the close season on still waters will still need to purchase a new style licence by April 1.
The new credit card sized licences are water resistant and feature few personal details on them, to help reduce the risk of identity theft.
They include barcode technology, making it possible for Environment Agency Officers to verify licences on the riverbank.
Fisheries technical specialist for Kent and East Sussex, Charles Bacchus, said : "This year's close season starts on Sunday so, for a few weeks, anglers will not be able to go coarse fishing in rivers, streams and drains across the region.
"The system is now cheaper and quicker to administer - which allows us to spend more licence money on habitat improvements and encouraging more people to take up angling."
Every year over one million people in the UK buy a rod licence from the Environment Agency, costing between 3.75 for one day's coarse fishing to 72 for a year's salmon fishing.
The money used to fund the upkeep of the sport comes directly from the anglers themselves through the licence system, another 25m from anglers' licences will be ploughed back into improving fisheries this year alone.
Buying a new rod licence is easy - around 15,000 Post Offices and other outlets sell them.
They can be bought by phone on 0870 166 2662, by direct debit or online at www.environment-agency.gov.uk/rodlicence.
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Saturday 26 May 2012
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