Take care when buying your fishing licence online

River

The Environment Agency has advised the public to beware of third party websites offering to buy fishing licences on behalf of anglers.

The Environment Agency has received reports from anglers who have used third party websites and been charged up to double the price for a licence. There have also been instances of anglers being charged a fee but not receiving a licence as quickly as they would expect.

These websites are not endorsed by the Environment Agency and anyone wanting to buy a fishing licence should go direct to the gov.uk website.

Make sure you have the right website if you use a search engine to find gov.uk.

Kevin Austin, Deputy Director of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, Environment Agency said: “For complete peace of mind, make sure you visit gov.uk to buy your fishing licence.

“Money from fishing licences is used when we respond to fish kills, improving habitats for fish and facilities for anglers; plus fish restocking, invasive species eradication and working with partners to encourage people to take up fishing for the first time.”

When a licence is purchased from the gov.uk site a reference number is sent allowing fishing immediately.

Users of third party sites may not get this number immediately and will be considered to be fishing illegally if they go without a valid reference number or licence.