2014 No. 3342

River, EnglandSalmon And Freshwater Fisheries

The Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (England) (Amendment) Order 2014

Made

Laid before Parliament

Coming into force

The Secretary of State has, in accordance with section 1(2) of the Import of Live Fish (England and Wales) Act 19801 consulted Natural England and the Natural Resources Body for Wales and such other persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate, and is of the opinion that the species of live fish to which this Order applies might compete with, displace, prey on or harm the habitat of certain species of freshwater fish, shellfish or salmon in England and Wales.

The Secretary of State makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1(1) of that Act2.

Title and commencement1

1

This Order—

a

may be cited as the Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (England) (Amendment) Order 2014; and

b

comes into force on 19th January 2015.

Amendment2

1

The Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (England) Order 20143 is amended as follows.

2

After article 1(2), insert—

3

This Order does not apply to the keeping or release of live fish in inland waters

3

After article 1, insert—

Interpretation1A

In this Order—

  • “freshwater fish” means any fish living in, or able to live in, fresh water;

  • “inland waters” means any water of a kind specified in section 221 of the Water Resources Act 19914 except that it does not include—

    1. a

      the River Tweed, or

    2. b

      garden ponds less than 0.4 hectares in area, which are not fished, have no links to other waters and are located within the curtilage of a residential property

4

For article 2(1), substitute—

1

No person may, except under the authority of a licence granted by the Secretary of State, keep or release any live freshwater fish, or the live eggs of any freshwater fish, which—

a

belongs to a taxonomic order specified in the first column of the table in Part 1 of the Schedule; and

b

is not native to England and Wales

5

For Part 1 of the Schedule, substitute the table and the heading that appears in the Schedule to this Order.

George EusticeParliamentary Under Secretary of StateDepartment for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

SCHEDULE

Article 2(5)

Taxonomic orders to which any species of freshwater fish that is not native to England and Wales belongs that may not be kept or released without a licence

Taxonomic Order

Common name

Acipenseriformes

Sturgeons, Paddlefish

Amiiformes

Bowfin

Anguilliformes

Eels

Atheriniformes

Silversides

Batrachoidiformes

Toadfish

Beloniformes

Needlefish, Flyingfish

Ceratodontiformes

Lungfish

Characiformes

Tetras, Characins, Headstanders

Clupeiformes

Herrings, Anchovies, Shads

Cypriniformes

Carps, Loaches, Minnows

Cyprinodontiformes

Killifish, Pupfish

Esociformes

Pike

Gasterosteiformes

Sticklebacks

Gonorynchiformes

Shellears

Gymnotiformes

Knifefish

Lepidosyreniformes

South American and African Lungfish

Lepisosteiformes

Gar or Garpike

Myliobatiformes

Stingrays

Osmeriformes

Smelt, Noodlefish

Osteoglossiformes

Arapaima, Bonytongues

Perciformes

Perches, Butterflyfish, Cichlids, Tunas

Percopsiformes

Trout-Perch, Cavefish

Petromyzontiformes

Lampreys

Pleuronectiformes

Flounders and Sole

Polypteriformes

Bichirs

Salmoniformes

Salmon, Trout, Whitefish

Scorpaeniformes

Scorpionfish, Sculpins

Siluriformes

Catfish

Synbranchiformes

Spiny Eels

Syngnathiformes

Pipefish, Seahorses

Tetraodontiformes

Pufferfish

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order amends the Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (England) Order 2014 (“the principal Order”) by limiting the application of that Order in two ways. Firstly, the effect of the amendment made by article 2(2) is that the principal Order no longer applies to the keeping or release of fish in “inland waters”. The waters to which the principal Order still applies include water such as certain garden ponds, aquariums and some fish farms. Secondly, the effect of the amendment made by article 2(4) is that the requirement to obtain a licence only applies in relation to freshwater fish. This excludes the marine species belonging to the taxonomic orders listed in the Schedule from the application of the Order.

Article 2(5) of this Order replaces the table in Part 1 of the Schedule to the principal Order. The new table makes technical corrections to the common names of certain fish that are listed in the second column.

The Explanatory Memorandum is available on the Defra website at www.gov.uk and is published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.