Register a fishery, cropping water or aquaponic system
Use this service to register your fishery, cropping water, or aquaponics system, or register as a sole transporter with the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI).
Applies to England and Wales
This service enables you to apply to the Fish Health Inspectorate to register your fishery, cropping waters, aquaponics system or to register as a sole transporter, as required under The Aquatic Animal Health (England and Wales) Regulations 2009.
You do not need to register rivers and canals.
New owner and operators
If you’re a new owner or operator and you’re not part of the same organisation as the existing owner or operator, we’ll ask you to provide supporting evidence after you’ve applied.
Evidence can include:
- minutes from a fishing or angling club meeting that documents the new owner or operator
- a copy of a lease
- a copy of ownership documents such as those provided by HM Land Registry
Before you apply
To register a fishery, cropping water or aquaponic system, you’ll need to provide:
- your contact details
- the address of the site you want to register
- the size of each site in acres and hectares
- the names of the species you keep or plan to keep on the site
- a map marked with the boundaries of the site and names of the surrounding roads
How to mark locations on a map
The map can be:
- a scan or photo of a paper map
- a screenshot from an online map tool such as MAGIC Maps or OS Maps
If you’re using Microsoft Windows 10 or 11, find out how to use the snipping tool to take a screenshot and mark the boundaries of the site.
If you’re using an Apple device, find out how to take a screenshot using an Apple Mac or iPhone.
Register online
Other ways to apply
To apply by email or post, request a form by email: fish.health.inspectorate@cefas.gov.uk
After you’ve registered
The FHI will process your registration and send you a response within 15 working days as outlined in our service charter.
Once you’ve registered, you can apply to the Environment Agency to remove or introduce fish.
Operators must notify the FHI of any suspicion or knowledge that a listed disease is present in the fishery. Check the list of listed diseases.
Changing your existing registration
Once you’ve registered, you can make a change to a registered fishery, cropping water or aquaponic system online.
This includes relinquishing your registration and providing the contact details of the new owner or operator in your organisation. You cannot transfer your registration to someone in another organisation.
Get help
For help using this service email: fish.health.inspectorate@cefas.gov.uk
Updates to this page
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Added a link to the new 'Make a change to a registered fishery, cropping water or aquaponic system' service.
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First published.