For more information on British record rod
caught fish
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1. PROCEDURES
1. (a) The claimant
should contact the Committee Secretary by telephone.
(b) Advice will then be given concerning preservation,
identification and claims procedure.
2. Claims must be
confirmed promptly in writing to the Secretary stating:
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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,
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The date and place of
capture, the tackle used, and in the case of sea fish whether shore
or boat caught.
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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).
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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.
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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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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A Weights and Measures
Certificate must be produced certifying the accuracy of the scales
used and indicating testing at the claimed weight.
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In the case of species weighing less
than one pound the claimed weight must be submitted in grammes.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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 FISHES.
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).
IF YOU CATCH A RECORD
FISH
1. The Claimant should
contact the Secretary. Telephone: +44 (0) 1364 644489; Fax: +44 (0)
1364 644486, or by post to BRFC c/o NFSA Head Office, Level 5, Hamlyn
House, Mardle Way, Buckfastleigh, Devon. TQ11 0NS. E-mail:
dr@nfsa.org.uk
2. Advice will then be
given on identification, the claims procedure and if appropriate
preservation. If the office is closed a message should be left on the
answerphone.
3. The Secretariat will
record the date and place of capture, the species of fish and if a
game fish whether natural or cultivated or in the case of a Rainbow
Trout whether a cultivated, resident or wild fish. The weight and
details of the scales used to weigh the fish and request that a clear
coloured photograph be forwarded so that identification can be
confirmed,
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The claimant will be
advised to keep the fish if available pending identification. Medium
sized fish can be preserved for considerable periods by
refrigeration (deep freeze), If a fish is to be sent by post it
should be wrapped in a cloth, placed in a sealed plastic bag, and
wrapped in stout brown paper or jiffy bag. The name and address of
the sender, and whether the fish should be returned - if so the
postage should be enclosed. The fish should be weighed before
freezing.
4. Claims must be
confirmed in writing to the Secretary stating the date and place of
capture, the species of fish and if a game fish whether a natural or
cultivated or in the case of a Rainbow Trout whether a cultivated,
resident or wild fish. The weight and details of the scales used to
weigh the fish and a clear coloured photograph be forwarded so that
identification can be confirmed,
5. Once the photograph
has been received, and its identity established, the claimant will be
informed and issued with the claim forms, he/she will then have 56
days to complete the forms and provide the necessary evidence for the
claims.
6. Once the completed
forms have been returned, the Secretary will acknowledge them, make
copies and forward by post to the Members of the Record Committee for
their consideration and if acceptable their endorsement of a new
record.
7. Once the Committee
have agreed the claim, the clamant will be issued with confirmation of
the Record in the form of a letter.
8. All claims will then
be brought to the next BRFC meeting, which takes place annually,
normally in October of each year to officially ratify the claims and
to conduct all the business of the BRFC.
9. A Certificate to
commemorate the record will then be printed and circulated to the
claimant.
10. Press Releases
informing of the new accepted claims will be issued by the secretariat
bi-monthly or as and when necessary.
11. A current list of the
records will be lodged on the NFSA Web-site, and a Booklet printed as
and when agreed by the Committee.
12. The representatives
of the disciplines are as follows:- STA; NFA/SAA; NFSA and a
representative of the Environment Agency
WORLD RECORD FISH
World record marine and freshwater fishes are the concern of the
International Game Fish Association, 300 Gull Stream Way, Dania Beach,
Florida, 33004-9968, USA Tel: (954) 927 2628.
World record claims for
sharks should be made through the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain,
Looe, Cornwall. Shark records on the British List are for the heaviest
fish of each species, irrespective of the strength of line used; for
records of sharks caught on different breaking strains of line please
refer to the Shark Angling Club of Great Britain.
EUROPEAN SEA FISH
The address of the Hon. Fish Recorder of the European Federation of
Sea Anglers is 27, Beaver Close, Horsham, West Sussex, RH12 4GB.
IRISH, SCOTTISH AND
WELSH RECORDS
The British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee has in membership both
the Scottish Federation of Sea Anglers and the Welsh Federation of Sea
Anglers. Scottish and Welsh sea records which are also British records
are submitted either direct to the BRFC or by the respective
organisation to which the initial claim is made.
Claims for fish caught in
Northern Ireland are dealt with by the British Record (rod-caught)
Fish Committee, but claims for fish caught in Eire should be made to
the Secretary, Mr. K. Lennane, Irish Specimen Fish Committee,
Balnagowan House, Mobhi Boreen, Glasnevin, Dublin 9. (Tel: 01 8379206)
http://www.nfsa.org.uk
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