Permission to trap crayfish, eels, elvers, salmon and sea trout
Get permission or a licence to trap crayfish, eels, elvers, salmon, sea trout, lamprey and smelt in England. How to apply and rules to follow.
Applies to England
You need permission to trap or fish for:
- freshwater fish
- freshwater crayfish
- eels and elvers
- salmon
- sea trout
- lamprey
- smelt
Crayfish removal or trapping
You must have certain permissions before you trap or remove crayfish.
You could be prosecuted if you trap or remove crayfish without written permission.
Native crayfish
You must not trap or remove any native crayfish in England without written permission from the Environment Agency.
Native (white-clawed) crayfish are a protected species – you can only trap them for scientific purposes. It is an offence to harm or remove native white clawed crayfish.
You can register for a licence for activities affecting white-clawed crayfish with Natural England .
Non-native crayfish
You must not trap or remove any non-native crayfish in England without written permission from the Environment Agency.
You also need permission from the landowner and any relevant angling clubs.
In some areas you also need a licence to keep non-native crayfish alive after trapping. Find out more in the guidance on how to apply for a licence to keep non-native crayfish.
Crayfish trapping and removal rules
There are strict rules about the design and size of crayfish traps because they can harm other wildlife. If traps are the wrong size or design your application will be refused.
Traps must:
- be no longer than 600mm
- be no wider than 350mm at the widest point
- have an entrance no more than 95mm wide (unless fitted with an otter guard)
- have mesh no bigger than 30mm at its widest point
- have an Environment Agency issued trapping tag attached when in use
You must:
- return fish species not covered by your permission to the water they came from
- comply with the conditions of your issued permission
You must not transport or take live crayfish away from the location you caught them. There are 2 exceptions to this:
- if you have a licence, for example, to keep live crayfish for commercial processing on your premises in England
- if you have a permit to keep live specimens for research or conservation in England and Wales
Other crayfish removal methods that require permission
You must apply for permission to remove crayfish by any other method. For example:
- fyke nets
- drop nets
- hand net
- by hand
- artificial refuge traps
Protect water voles
Your application may be refused if there are risks to water vole populations.
Deliberately killing water voles is an offence.
You are breaking the law if you:
- recklessly allow water voles to drown in crayfish traps
- place traps in the entrances to water vole tunnels
You may be allowed to use baited drop nets in areas where water voles are present. Contact your local fisheries officer at the Environment Agency for more information.
Environment Agency: Area Fisheries team
Telephone: 03708 506 506 (ask for your local Fisheries Officer)
Email: enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk
Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm
Find out about call charges
Charges for crayfish trapping or removal permissions
There are no charges for permissions to trap or remove crayfish.
Apply for permission or find out more
Environment Agency: Fish Movements team
Telephone: 0208 474 5243
Email: fmapplications@environment-agency.gov.uk
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Eel and elver net and trap fishing
Permissions for yellow and silver eel fishing are only offered to those already authorised to fish.
Anyone can apply for permission to use an elver dip net, but fishing is restricted to certain locations.
Charges
Elver fishing with elver dip net
£85
Adult eels using fixed trap (eel racks)
£115
Adult eels using fyke nets (with or without leaders or wings), putcheons, pipe traps, criggs pots, baskets and hives
| Number of instruments covered | Charge |
|---|---|
| 1 to 10 | £60 |
| 11 to 20 | £70 |
| 21 to 50 | £80 |
| 51 to 500 | £160 |
| over 500 | £580 |
Apply for permission or find out more
Environment Agency: Fish Movements team
Telephone: 0208 474 5243
Email: fmapplications@environment-agency.gov.uk
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Applications take 10 working days (Monday to Friday, excluding bank holidays).
Salmon and sea trout net fishing
Licences for salmon and sea trout net fishing are only offered to those already licensed to fish.
Salmon and trout can be caught using the following methods, depending on the fishery:
- compass nets
- haaf nets
- draft nets
- hand nets
- trannel or whammel nets
- wade nets, including lave and dip nets
- coracle nets
- T and J nets
- drift nets
- gill nets
- seine nets
- putcher ranks, and other fixed engines
Apply for a net licence or find out more
Environment Agency: Fish Movements team
Telephone: 0208 474 5243
Email: fmapplications@environment-agency.gov.uk
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Lamprey and smelt net and trap fishing
Permissions to catch lamprey and smelt for commercial purposes are only offered to those already authorised to fish.
Charges
Smelt or lamprey fishing using fyke nets (with or without leaders or wings), putcheons, pipe traps, criggs pots, baskets and hives
| Number of instruments covered | Charge |
|---|---|
| 1 to 10 | £60 |
| 11 to 20 | £70 |
| 21 to 50 | £80 |
| 51 to 500 | £160 |
| over 500 | £580 |
Smelt fishing using a seine net
£85 for a maximum of 1 instrument.
Apply for permission or find out more
Environment Agency: Fish Movements team
Telephone: 0208 474 5243
Email: fmapplications@environment-agency.gov.uk
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm
Find out about call charges
Catch returns
You must send catch returns forms at the end of the season even if you do not catch anything.
For eels and elvers, you must submit catch returns within 30 days of your permission expiring.
For lamprey and smelt, you must submit catch returns within 30 days of your permission expiring.
For salmon and sea trout, you must submit catch returns within 14 days of your permission expiring.
You can use the catch return form or logbook you get when you are given permission.
If you do not send your catch returns you might not get permission to fish next season.
Updates to this page
Published 16 May 2014Last updated 13 January 2023 + show all updates
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Updated page to say the Environment Agency is processing applications for crayfish trapping in England again. Added links to the guidance for people in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
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Added a note under the section on crayfish trap authorisation: the Environment Agency is currently unable to process applications to trap crayfish. They will update this page when they restart the service.
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Updated CR1 Form
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Environment Agency fish movements team (authorisations) telephone number changed to 0208 474 5243.
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These charges are still applicable for 2016.
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Clarification of eel and elver net and trap fishing authorisation.
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First published.