AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The Committee exists:

• To recognise and publish record weights of both fresh and salt water fish caught on rod and line by fair angling methods in the waters of England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands;

• To provide an adjudicating body to which marine and freshwater anglers may submit claims for record fish taken by fair rod and line angling;

• To investigate all such record claims to the fullest possible extent and maintain a permanent record of such investigations;

• To establish and maintain accurately a list of British fish, marine and freshwater, of record size and to publish this list ­frequently and make it readily available to all interested persons.

The activities of the Committee are voluntary, and claims are considered and adjudicated upon, only on the basis that the Committee shall be under no obligation whatsoever to claimants that its decisions shall be final, and it shall not be obliged to give reasons for its decisions.

Issued by the British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee

NFSA, Hamlyn House, Mardle Way, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0NS.
(Tel. 01364 644643, Fax 01364 644486)

 © British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee 1995-2002

THE BRITISH RECORD (rod-caught) FISH COMMITTEE

1.   PROCEDURES

Click here for new procedures introduced on 1 June 2003

The claimant should contact the Committee Secretary or his agent, advice will then be given concerning preservation, identification and claims procedure.

2.    Claims must be confirmed promptly in writing to the Secretary stating:

(i)   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,

(ii)   The date and place of capture, the tackle used, and in ­the case of sea fish whether Shore or Boat-caught,

(iii)  The names and addresses of preferably two witnesses 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),

(iv)   Photographs of the fish must be made available which should be of 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 incurred in submitting a claim must be met by the claimant.

4.    METHOD OF CAPTURE

(a)   Fish caught at sea will be eligible for consideration as records if the boat used has set out from a port in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the isle of Man or the Channel Islands and returns to a port in the United Kingdom with out having called at any port outside the United Kingdom.   Fish caught in the territorial waters of other countries will not be eligible.

(b)   Claims can only be accepted in respect of fish, which 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 also be in accord with the rules of the respective angling discipline, Coarse, Game and Sea.

(c)   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.

(d)   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

(a)   The fish must be weighed on land using scales or steelyards, 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.

(b)   A Weights and Measures Certificate must be produced certifying the accuracy of the scales used and indicating testing at the claimed weight.

(c)   In the cases of species weighing less than one pound the claimed weight must be submitted in grammes.

(d)   The weight must be verified by two independent witnesses who, for example, should not be relations of the claimant.

6.   IDENTIFICATION OF SPECIES

(a)   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.

(b)   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.

(c)   All carriage costs incurred in production of the fish for inspection by the Committee must be borne by the claimant.

7.    Claims can be made for species not included in the Committee's Record Fish List.

8.    The Committee will issue, at regular intervals, lists of British Record (rod-caught) Fish.

9.    No fish caught out of season shall be accepted as a new record.  Where a closed season or a ban on fishing is in force, for whatever reason, a fish from these specific areas cannot be considered as a claim for a British 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 1995-1996 Record List are regarded as native or as established aliens and a Section 30 consent (under the Salmon and Freshwater fishers 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 a 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 B.R.F.C. (The entries for Allis shad and Schelly in the List of Records are given as historical records only).

IF YOU CATCH A RECORD FISH

If an angler catches a potential British record fish he/she should make the claim in the first instance to the BRFC Secretariat at Hamlyn House, Level 5, Mardle Way, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0NS. (Tel/24 hour answer phone 01626 ­331330; fax 01364 644486).  The Secretariat will advise accordingly and, where appropriate, forward to the claimant or his/her agent, the necessary claim forms.  Once completed the forms should be returned to the Secretariat who will forward them to the respective discipline for their consideration and endorsement.  The claim will then be brought to the next BRFC meeting which takes place as and when necessary but normally in April and October each year.  

The representatives of the disciplines are as follows 

GAME FISH
The Salmon & Trout Association, Fishmonger's Hall, London Bridge,
London, EC4R 9EL
Tel: 0171 283 5838

COARSE FISH
National Federation of Anglers, Halliday House, Egginton Junction,
Derbyshire, DE65 6GU
Tel: 01283 734735
All coarse fish claims are scrutinised by a committee comprised of NASA and NFA members.

SEA FISH
National Federation of Sea Anglers, Hamlyn House, Mardle Way,
Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0NS
Tel:01364 644643

 All three disciplines have a 24 hour answer phone facility.

Medium sized fish can be preserved for considerable periods by refrigeration (deep freeze).  If a fish is to be sent by post or rail it should be wrapped in a cloth, placed in a plastic bag, sealed as far as possible, and wrapped in stout brown paper or a jiffy bag; please enclose the name and address of the sender and whether the fish should be returned - and if so the postage.  The fish should be weighed before being frozen.

WORLD RECORD FISH

World record marine and freshwater fishes are the concern of the International Game Fish Association, 300 Gulf Stream Way, Diana Beach, Florida 33004 U.S.A. - Telephone (035) 941-3474.

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 Mr. D. Wood, 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

Claims for fish caught in Northern Ireland are dealt with by the British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee.  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)

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.

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