Rod licence duties, temporary and general fisheries licence duties, and lock and weir fishing permits.
We have specific responsibilities for the design, management and administration of commercial and non-commercial fishing licences. These licences apply to all rivers, waterways and estuaries which, by default, fall under our control. Money from the sale of licences helps to fund our work managing fisheries.
Rod licence prices 2013/14
Any angler aged 12 years or over, fishing for salmon, trout, freshwater fish or eels in England (except the River Tweed), Wales or the Border Esk and its tributaries in Scotland must have an Environment Agency rod licence.
| Licence Type |
Non-Migratory Trout and Coarse Fish |
Salmon & Sea Trout |
| Full |
£27 |
£72 |
| Junior |
£5 |
£5 |
| Concessionary |
£18 |
£48 |
| 8 Day |
£10 |
£23 |
| 1 Day |
£3.75 |
£8 |
| NB. Licences came into effect on 1 April 2013 and are valid for up to one year. The above prices do not include any online purchasing surcharges |
Temporary and general fisheries licence duties 2013/14
General licences
General licences are issued to the owner/manager of the water and relieve authorised people from the need to own a rod licence when fishing on water covered by the licence.
The cost of a general rod licence is calculated by multiplying the number of angler visits by the appropriate day duty. (An angler day visit is an individual one-day visit by an angler over the age of 12 that does not own an individual rod licence. For example, if 30 anglers fish for 2 days each there would be 60 angler day visits).
| Licence |
Charge (daily rate per angler) |
Minimum Charge |
| Salmon & migratory trout |
£8 |
£250 |
| Non-migratory trout & coarse fish |
£3.75 |
£125 |
Temporary licences
Temporary licences are issued to relieve groups of people from the need to own a rod licence when fishing at a specific event or events over a short period of time.
The purpose of the temporary rod licence is to cover short-term fishing at convenience to the organiser not to alleviate the angler of the need to purchase a rod licence. Furthermore it will be cheaper for the angler to purchase an individual rod licence if he intends to use a temporary rod licence for more than a few days.
The cost of a temporary rod licence is calculated by multiplying the number of angler visits by the appropriate one-day duty (either Trout and Coarse or Salmon and Sea Trout). (An angler visit is one day of adult fishing). A minimum fee is applicable to temporary rod licences to cover administration fees.
| Licence |
Charge (daily rate per angler) |
Minimum Charge |
| Salmon & migratory trout |
£8 |
£50 |
| Non-migratory trout & coarse fish |
£3.75 |
£25 |
| The fee for the temporary licence can be wavered where appropriate. Please contact our Rod Licensing Team on 0370 8506506. |
2013/14 Lock and weir fishing permits (River Thames)
Charge: £28.50 for Full or £18.90 for Juniors (to 16 years) and Senior Citizens
Sites Included: Bell Weir, Benson, Buscot, Clifton, Days, Eynsham, Grafton, Hurley, Marsh, Molesey, Pinkhlll, Penton Hook, Radcot, Rushey, Sandford, Shepperton, Shifford, Shiplake.
Application information
Note: all of the above permits run from 1 April until 31 March and are subject to national close season byelaws.
Fisheries authorisations
Anyone wishing to fish for:
- Eel and elver
- Smelt
- Lamprey
- Crayfish
- Chinese mitten crab
with a net or trap in England and Wales will need to apply for an authorisation. Visit these pages for more information:
Further information
The fishing section under "At Home and Leisure" you can:
In the fishing and aquaculture section under "Business and Industry" you can find out more about how we regulate net and trap fishing for eel, elver, smelt, lamprey, crayfish and Chinese mitten crab.
