Free Wild Loch Fishing There is a body of thought that there is free loch fishing for wild brown trout in Scotland, in some cases there is. However, be prepared for the full force of the law to be taken against you by the riparian land owner bordering onto the lochs. Unlike other countries (including England and Wales) Scotland at the present moment in time has no State licensing system for fishing. It is however a criminal offence to fish for salmon without legal right or written permission and generally it is a civil offence to fish for other fishes. Details of the most significant statutes that apply are given below. Much of this information was derived from "The Law of Game, Salmon & Freshwater Fishing in Scotland" by Stanley Scott Robinson*. It is not be taken as a definitive description of the laws. Relevant Acts should instead be consulted. * The Law of Game, Salmon & Freshwater Fishing in Scotland. Stanley Scott Robinson. Published by Butterworths and the Law Society of Scotland, 1990.
Salmon Definition: Section 24(1) of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Protection) (Scotland) Act 1951 defines salmon as: "Salmon" includes all migratory fish of the species Salmo salar and Salmo trutta and commonly known as salmon and sea trout respectively or any part of any such fish" Ownership of and access to salmon fishing Ownership: Until captured, salmon are wild animals. Once captured, the salmon belongs at common law to the captor. However, numerous statutes forbidding the taking of salmon without right or written permission, and forfeitures imposed by statute, have made possession of salmon safe only where they have been taken by lawful means. Nevertheless, the basic position is that it is not the salmon but the right to fish for them that is owned. Thus, nobody may fish for salmon in rivers or estuaries or in the sea within territorial limits without permission of the Crown or the party vested in the Crown rights. In many cases in rivers, estuaries and in the sea, the rights have been granted to private individuals, companies, local authorities and others. Salmon fishing rights are heritable titles and may be held separately from ownership of the land or may have been given along with ownership of the land. Where the right is held separately from the land, the proprietor of the right has an implied right of access for the purpose of exercising his right to fish for salmon. The fishing right must be exercised in such a way that it causes the least prejudice to the rights of the riparian owner. The right to fish for salmon carries with it the inferior right to fish for trout but this right must not be exercised in a way that will interfere with the rights of the riparian owner. Access: Section 1 of the 1951 Act (as amended by the Salmon Act 1986) states:
