• You need to be a registered member of Barbel Fishing World to post on these forums. Some of the forums are hidden from non-members. Please refer to the instructions on the ‘Register’ page for details of how to join the new incarnation of BFW...

Clubs and fishing licences

Anthony Pearson

Anthony Pearson

Senior Member
Steve Lewis makes a good point on the 'Have you had your licence checked by the EA?' thread. Perhaps clubs should insist on seeing your licence each year before renewing your membership. Snapping a photo of it on a phone camera (or similar) and emailing/Facebooking/Whatsapping etc. it to the secretary wouldn't be too onerous, would it?

What do people think?
 
Anthony Pearson said:
Steve Lewis makes a good point on the 'Have you had your licence checked by the EA?' thread. Perhaps clubs should insist on seeing your licence each year before renewing your membership. Snapping a photo of it on a phone camera (or similar) and emailing/Facebooking/Whatsapping etc. it to the secretary wouldn't be too onerous, would it?

What do people think?
Click to expand...

One of my bigger clubs made it a rule that all members should have a current rod license when fishing on it's venues at last weeks AGM Anthony.
(Most clubs seem to request that members buy one in an advisory capacity.)
I personally haven't a problem with that except that it blurs the boundaries between a private enterprise and a government quango, perhaps encouraging fewer EA bailiffs.
Depending on one's opinion on the EA, ..I imagine that some will feel that it shouldn't be within a clubs remit to force a member to buy a rod license to fish it's waters, but it's the law of the land ,..end-of I guess.
 
There's no real harm in it, but it rather depends on how tickets are sold/distributed. Many clubs rely on third parties to sell tickets, some of which will be non-angling outlets. It may not be reasonable to expect such outlets to check rod licences. Many wouldn't have a clue about what they are looking at. There's also a question about the legality of actually doing so. Whilst a club can refuse to sell a ticket to anyone that doesn't voluntarily show a licence if it chooses to do so, a licence holder has no legal obligation to produce a rod licence to anyone other than a police officer or EA officer.
 
Chris Jones said:
There's no real harm in it, but it rather depends on how tickets are sold/distributed. Many clubs rely on third parties to sell tickets, some of which will be non-angling outlets. It may not be reasonable to expect such outlets to check rod licences. Many wouldn't have a clue about what they are looking at. There's also a question about the legality of actually doing so. Whilst a club can refuse to sell a ticket to anyone that doesn't voluntarily show a licence if it chooses to do so, a licence holder has no legal obligation to produce a rod licence to anyone other than a police officer or EA officer.
Click to expand...

Quite so Chris,... but I think the ' voluntary bailiff scheme ' softened the path for removing all the emphasis being on pucker EA bailiffing.
As you rightly point out, .... does a club bailiff, or tackle shop provider of day tickets have a right to inspect a rod license?
That would also apply to online sales as well of course.
I'm not convinced that all the legalities have been sorted for this recent trend.
 
There's also the point that some clubs renewal dates are before the license renewal date, so you could produce a license with a week or two left before expiration, then not bother.

Personally I think it's the responsibility of the individual to make sure they have a license. At present, controlling clubs can't be prosecuted for their members failing to hold a license so they shouldn't really add it their usually long and tiresome list of rules.
 
Chris, if you want to be in my club, voluntarily show me your licence...or you're not in. Simples.

Bob, a spreadsheet recording the date of expiry of licences could be used as a trigger for reminders to be sent email/text etc. if it was deemed a worthwhile exercise. I would suspect that the vast majority of anglers have licences running from March to March at present.

Clubs holding such records that have private waters/stretches could then be exempt from EA bailiff visits, enabling them to visit more day ticket venues. This may be a more efficient use of resources. Just a thought.
 
Anthony Pearson said:
Chris, if you want to be in my club, voluntarily show me your licence...or you're not in. Simples.
Click to expand...

I said exactly that in my post! However, my point still stands, it rather depends on how a club sells or distributes their tickets. That's before the legality of anyone other than a police or EA officer being able to demand production of a licence comes into play. I certainly wouldn't produce my licence to an assistant in a garage or corner shop. Plenty of clubs still use such places as outlets. Yes, as I said before, nothing to stop a club asking, and refusing to sell a book to anyone that refuses to show a licence. However, I remain unconvinced that it's in the remit of a club to police EA licences or, with the advent of rolling licences, that checks would be that effective.
 
I am a bailiff of a club that has it in its rules that members & day tickets anglers must hold a valid rod licence. When patrolling the banks we will ask to see the angler's licence along with their season book which this year for the first time we have added space for a photograph.

We don't ask tackle shops who sell our books to check licences as it is not part of their job although I suspect they do get offered.

I am also a member of the VBS and on a recent joint patrol with an EA Officer and a Police Officer we checked 44 anglers for licences and 5 of those did not possess a licence. At over 11% I see this as totally unacceptable and unfair on those anglers who do buy a licence.

I have no problem with showing my licence to anyone because I am proud that I am contributing to angling development. Our club has received a number of grants that have been funded through money generated by rod licence sales.
 
I suspect that most would not have a problem with the morales of buying a rod license, ... I looked for some clarification on the legalities from a club's standing.
The A.T. says the following....... quote

Section 35 of the Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 empowered anglers in possession of a rod licence to check another’s. This, however, was repealed by the Marine & Coastal Access Act 2009. Since then, only Environment Agency fishery enforcement officers and the police are empowered to demand and inspect rod licences. Fishing without a rod licence is an offence under Section 27(1) (a) (i) of the Salmon & Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.

In an attempt to circumnavigate this loss of power, some angling clubs have written into their rules that a valid rod licence must be produced to a club bailiff upon demand. This, however, is potentially problematic in practice – because should an angler refuse to do so there are no offences committed in law, just an internal disciplinary matter. That an angler failed to produce a valid rod licence in these circumstances would still require reporting to the Environment Agency in the normal way – and it may well be that they do have a licence but simply object to producing it to a club official not empowered under law to demand same. There may also be negative Health & Safety implications. All of these things require careful consideration by any club considering adding this to their rules.
 
John Newman said:
I have no problem with showing my licence to anyone
Click to expand...

Ditto. After all, I've bought both club tickets and a rod licence so I have nothing to hide and am above board. I'm always curious as to why others, who have also furnished themselves with the necessary licences and are fishing legitimately, always moan about being asked to check. Weird.

I didn't make it clear in my post in the other thread, but I actually offered to show my rod licence to the club bailiffs in both cases - the club has their own rules, whilst a rod licence is a national law, so I thought it was a no-brainer - but they both shook their heads and said no.

I also didn't mention that the EA guy who gave me a hard time for having a third rod just made up also asked to see my club permit, which some on here didn't think was right. Again, I have no problem with the EA checking that as well, even if it isn't in their job description, but this guy was a proper nob jockey about the third rod. But that's going off topic.

Anyway, the way I look at it is if you refuse to produce one or both to whomever is acting in an official or semi-official capacity on behalf of the club or the EA, then you are the one being a bad egg. Either that, or you're fishing illegally in some capacity. Not cricket either way.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top