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PROCEDURES FOR CLAIMING A BRITISH
RECORD FOR A ROD CAUGHT FISH
1. Procedures
E-mail:
brfc@anglingtrust.net
(b) Advice will then be given concerning
preservation, identification and claims
procedure.
2. Claims must be confirmed promptly in
writing to the Secretary stating:
The species of fish, the weight and if a
game fish whether a natural or cultivated
fish or in the case of the Rainbow Trout
whether a cultivated, resident or wild
fish.
The date and place of capture, the tackle
used, and in the case of sea fish whether
shore or boat caught.
The names and addresses of witnesses,
preferably two, both as to the capture by
the claimant and the weight, who will be
required to sign the forms supporting the
claim. (If no witnesses to the capture
are available, the claimant must verify
his claim by affidavit).
Photographs of the fish must be made
available which should be good quality
and preferably in colour. They should
include shots of the angler, holding the
fish in a normal manner, or in the case
of a very large fish, standing alongside
it, and also the fish lying on the ground
on or next to, an identifiable object.
3. No claim will be accepted unless the
Committee is satisfied as to species,
method of capture and weight. The
Committee reserves the right to reject
any claim if not satisfied on any matter,
which the Committee may think in the
particular circumstances to be material.
The Committee requires a high degree of
proof in order to safeguard the integrity
of the list. As a high degree of proof is
required rejection of a claim imports no
reflection on the bona fides of the
claimant. All costs of submitting a claim
must be met by the claimant.
4. Methods of Capture
Fish caught at sea will be eligible for
consideration as a record if the boat
used has set out from, and returns to, a
port in England, Wales, Scotland,
Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, the
Channel Islands or any port in the United
Kingdom without having called at any port
outside those countries. Fish caught in
the territorial waters of other countries
will not be eligible
Claims can only be accepted in respect of
fish that are caught by fair angling with
rod and line. Fair angling is defined by
the fish taking the baited hook or lure
into its mouth, and must be in accord
with the rules of the respective angling
discipline Coarse, Game & Sea.
Shore fishing shall mean fishing from any
land mass or fixed man-made structure. In
cases of doubt the Committee will
classify a claim on the information
provided.
Fish must be caught on rod and line with
any legal hook or lure and hooked and
played by one person only. Assistance to
land the fish (i.e. gaffing, netting) is
permitted provided the helper does not
touch any part of the tackle other than
the leader.
5. Weight
The fish must be weighed on land using
scales or steel yards, which can be
tested on behalf of the Committee. Where
possible commercial or trade scales which
are checked regularly by the Weights and
Measures Department should be used. The
sensitivity of the scales should be
appropriate to the size of the fish, i.e.
small fish should be weighed on finely
graduated scales and the weight claimed
for the fish should be to a division of
weight (ounce, dram, gramme) not less
than the smallest division shown on the
scales.
A Weights and Measures Certificate must
be produced certifying the accuracy of
the scales used and indicating testing at
the claimed weight.
In the case of species weighing less than
one pound the claimed weight must be
submitted in grammes.
The weight must be verified by two
independent witnesses or one and a sworn
affidavit who, for example, should not be
relations of the claimant.
6. Identification of Species
The Committee is required from time to
time to consider claims for fish of
species which cannot be determined to its
satisfaction without inspection. For this
reason and others, claimants are strongly
advised not to liberate or otherwise
dispose of a fish for which it is
intended to enter a claim until an
inspection of the body, dead or alive,
has been made by a representative of the
committee and permission given for
disposal.
While claimants should recognise that
failure to produce the fish for
inspection may prove prejudicial to the
acceptance of a claim, the Committee does
not bind itself to reject a claim solely
because inspection has not been made.
All carriage costs incurred in production
of the fish for inspection by the
committee must be borne by the claimant.
7. Claims can not be made for species not
included in the Committee Record Fish
List other than sea fish species.
8. The Committee will issue at regular
intervals its list of British Record
(rod-caught Fish).
9. No fish caught out of season shall be
accepted as a new record.
10. A fish for which a record is claimed
must be normal and not obviously
suffering from any disease by which the
weight could be enhanced.
11. All species of freshwater fish listed
in the Record List are regarded as native
or as established aliens and a Section 30
Consent (under the Salmon and Freshwater
Fisheries Act 1975) will not normally be
required, unless the established alien
specie has not previously been caught in
the water of capture.
In the case of a specie which is an
established alien not known to have been
caught in the water of capture before or
is a specie for which no previous record
has been awarded, the Committee reserves
the right to request the production of a
Section 30 Consent and a MAFF Consent to
introduce a non-native species of fish
(under the Wildlife and Countryside Act
1981). The possibility of freshwater fish
close to, or above the British Record
Weight being imported into the UK and
claimed as a British Record has been
considered by the Committee, which is of
the mind that such claims should not be
considered.
Protected Fish
The following are rare or threatened
species in Great Britain and are
protected under the provisions of the
Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981) and
later Orders. This protection results in
it being an offence to capture any of
these fishes intentionally. Anglers who
believe that they may have captured a
specimen of any of these species are
advised to unhook and release the fish
unharmed as soon as possible after
capture.
Allis shad (Alosa alosa)
Burbot (Lota lota)
Schelly, powan or gwyniad (Coregonus
lavaretus)
Sturgeon (Acipenser sturio)
Vendace (Coregonus albula)
No claims for records for these species
will be entertained by the BRFC. (The
entries for Allis shad and Schelly in the
List of Records are given as historical
records only).
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