The early history of salmon and freshwater fisheries law

Those of us of a certain vintage like to reminisce about the glories of bye-gone eras. How much better things were back in the good old days. When we fished as youngsters, we recall the idyllic sunny mornings when we landed fish a plenty. Our selective memories skip those more frequent rain soaked trips that ended with little or nothing being placed in the keepnet.

Likewise, we may have selective memories when considering the state of our fisheries. Once a little research is undertaken, it quickly becomes apparent that all was not rosy in times gone by. The numerous modern challenges that beset our fisheries are not entirely new.

King John and obstruction to migratory fish

Sows and piglets

In 1402, it was written ‘they (weirs) destroy the young fry of fish and against reason fish become wasted and thus given to swine to eat, contrary to the pleasure of God and to the great damage to the King and to the people’. The county of Cumberland was ahead of the game with their local statute dating from 1278, whereby ‘weirs on the Eden, Esk and Derwent should have a gap of such size that a sow with her five little piglets can enter’.

Close seasons

In 1285, during the reign of Edward I, the Statute of Westminster declared that ‘it is provided that the waters of the Humber, Ouse, Trent, Done, Arre, Derewent, Wherfe, Nid, Yore, Swale, Tese and in all other waters wherein salmon be taken shall be in defence of taking salmon from 8th September until 11 November. The statute continued to protect young fish by ‘prohibiting fishing for young salmon between the middle of April and 24 June. It wasn’t until the 1870s that a close season for coarse fish was introduced.

Henry VIII, the caring monarch?

In 1538, Henry VIII passed into law ‘an act against killing of young spawn or fry of eels and salmon’. A close season for the fry of eels (elvers) was introduced covering the period from 1 February until 31 July. Shortage of fisheries staff was as much of an issue in times gone by as it is today, for the elvering laws were not greatly enforced and consequently largely ignored on the ground. This dramatically came to a head in the Victorian Elver Wars of the 1870s, many of the prisoners sentenced for elver fishing being employed by the canal company at Gloucester Docks.

Henry VIII’s salmon close seasons ran from 1 May to 1 September for young salmon and from 14 September to 11 November for spawning salmon.

Good Queen Bess

In 1558, Henry’s daughter Elizabeth I, the last of the Tudor monarchs, took a great interest in fisheries and extended the protection of immature fish to all kinds and specified some early size limits. Maybe that’s why she never found time to hunt down a suitable husband.

Species

Pike (luce)	10
Salmon	16
Barbel	12
Trout	8

Restriction of improper netting

Fish theft

Managing to find time between arranging various marriages, keeping mistresses happy, beheadings and endless disagreements with the pope in Rome, Henry VIII brought in an act making it an offence to take fish from ponds, stews and moats without the owner’s consent. His daughter, good Queen Bess, went on to pass law punishing the crime of fish theft with three months imprisonment. Harsh of Elizabeth you might think, but not as harsh as subsequent legislation passed in the reign of George III. For this increased the penalty for the offence of fish theft to transportation to the colonies for seven years. There are some fisheries owners who would like to see this on the statute books today.