How to claim a record:
BRITISH RECORD (rod-caught) FISH COMMITTEE AIMS AND OBJECTS
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, and
aims:
1.To provide an adjudicating body to which marine and
freshwater anglers may submit claims for record fish taken
by fair rod and line angling.
2.To investigate all such record claims to the fullest
possible extent and maintain a permanent record of such
investigations.
3.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,
c/o NFSA Head Office, Hamlyn House, Level 5, Mardle Way,
Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0NS Tel: 01364 644643. Fax:
01364 644486
PROCEDURE
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:(a) 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,(b) the date and place of capture,
the tackle used, and in the case of sea fish whether shore
or boat caught .(c) 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).(d)
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.
Chairman: Mr. R.W. Page Secretary: Mr. D. Rowe Scientific
Adviser: Mr. A. Wheeler
METHODS OF CAPTURE
(a) Fish caught at sea will be eligible for consideration
as a record 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 without 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 must be in accord with the rules of
the respective angling discipline Coarse, Game or 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 no touch any part of
the tackle other than the leader.
WEIGHT.
(a) 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
(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 case 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.
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.
Claims can be made for species not included in the Committee
Record Fish List.8. The Committee will issue at regular
intervals its list of British Record (rod-caught) Fish
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.
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
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 alosaBurbot
Lota lotaSchelly, powan or gwyniad Coregonus lavaretus
Sturgeon Acipenser sturioVendace Coregonus albulaNo 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
If an angler catches a potential British record fish
he/she should make the claim in the first instance to
the BRFC Secretariat c/o NFSA Head Office, Hamlyn House,
Level 5, Mardle Way, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0NS Tel:
01364 644643. Fax: 01364 644486 . (Tel/24 hour answer
phone 01626331330; fax also). 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. The representatives
of the disciplines are as follows:- STA; NFA/NASA; NFSA.Medium
sized fish can be preserved for considerable periods by
refrigeration (deep freeze), or immersion in formalin.
If a fish is to be sent by post or rail it is best immersed
in a solution of one tablespoon of formalin (40% solution
of formaldehyde) to a pint of water. For despatch, the
fish should be wrapped in a cloth wrung out in the solution,
placed in a plastic bag sealed as far as possible, and
wrapped in stout brown paper; please enclose the name
and address of the sender and whether the fish should
be returned - if so the postage. The fish should be weighed
before being placed in preserving liquids.
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 FISHThe address of the Hon. Fish Recorder
of the European Federation of Sea Anglers is 27, Beaver
Close, Horsham, West Sussex, RH 12 4GB.
IRISH. SCOTTISH AND WELSH RECORDSThe 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.The British Record (rod-caught) Fish Committee
has in membership both the Scottish Federation of Sea
Anglers and the Welsh Record (rod-caught)fish Committee.
Scottish and Welsh records which are also British records
are submitted by the respective organisation to which
the initial claim is made.Please Note: The Record List
is the copyright of the B.R.F.C., and that the NFSA acts
as their Secretariat and therefore all enquiries etc should
be made to B.R.F.C. - c/o NFSA Head Office, Hamlyn House,
Level 5, Mardle Way, Buckfastleigh, Devon, TQ11 0NS Tel:
01364 644643. Fax: 01364 644486
