How to start a fishery

If you’re an avid angler, you must have some point considered the possibility of owning your own fishery, and if you’ve made it to this blog, you’ve gone as far as to research how to start a fishery.

There’s no two ways about it, starting and owning a fishery can take a lot of hard work and should be treated with as much attention as owning any other type of livestock. 

That said, running a successful fishery can help you connect with your passion, meet other like-minded individuals, and create a decent revenue stream.

Read our blog below to find out what we believe are the key considerations you should make before starting your fishery, but first, we’ll go through what exactly a fishery is.

What is a fishery?

A fishery is a place where you can catch or harvest fish. This includes wild fisheries, where fish are found in natural bodies of water, and man-made fisheries.

How to start a fishery

With three million anglers throughout the UK, running your own fishery can be a sustainable business once you know where to get started. We’ve summarised some tips below, but please ensure you carry out your own research, too, and follow the guidance given by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

1.      Decide on the location

First things first, you’ll need ample land to start your fishery. Ideally, you’d already be in a position where you own a large amount of land with a water source, such as a farm. Running a fishery as a side business is a highly viable source of income for farmers (it’s even a topic covered in Farmers Weekly).

Then, you can consider converting a lake you already have into a fishery or building a lake on your land. Before you begin making changes to or creating any water source on your land, you’ll need to check the deed for your property to ensure you own the fishing rights for it. You’ll then need to consult a professional on the viability and best practice going forward.

A quick Google search of fishery and lake management experts will give you a host of results you can sort through to find the best option. Some may even offer development services if you’re looking to create or change a lake or river on your land.

Once you have an expert on board, they can advise you on the best location and approach to creating the right environment for your fish.

2.      Contact the relevant authorities

We’ve already mentioned contacting Defra, but you should also ensure that you contact the Environment Agency to check if you need a permit for the work you’ll need to do on your land.

You chiefly have to ensure you aren’t disturbing any existing wildlife in the process. If you work with a specialist, they may be able to do this on your behalf.

You’ll also need planning permission if you’re making any major changes to your land, which you should check with your local authority. In addition to the above, you should also check if you’ll need a water abstraction license for the work you’ll be doing.

To register your fishery, gov.co.uk has a form you can fill out to ensure you’re in accordance with The Aquatic Animal Health Regulations 2009.

3.      Choose the type of fishery you’ll run: Coarse fishing vs game fishing

Before filling your lake with fish, you need to decide what kind of fishing you would like to run from your fishery. 

Your main choices are coarse fishing or game fishing. The key difference between the two is that coarse fishing usually involves throwing the fish back in, whereas game fishing usually entails people taking the fish home with them for food.

Game fishing is generally less in demand. A survey of 10,000 fishing license holders by the Environment Agency in 2018 found that those surveyed accounted for 19 million days of coarse fishing compared to just 1.6 million days of game fishing over the course of 1 year.

Coarse fishing is far more popular, possibly due to its lower running costs and the lack of need for fishery owners to restock fish. 

The type of fishing you allow on your land is entirely up to you, but it’s worth researching the environmental conditions needed for certain types of fish, as this could well be a factor in your decision.

4.      Look at offering other amenities

Something else to consider as you look into starting your fishery is whether you’ll offer any other amenities on site. If you have the time and the resources to do so, having a café or small shop on site might be a way to get your customers to stick around for longer. 

It could even make you stand out from other fisheries in the local area if they don’t have something similar on offer. Of course, adding a café or shop into the mix is a big undertaking, so it might be something to think about more in the future as your fishery business expands.

5.      Market yourself

Once you’re all set up, you need to start advertising and marketing your fishery. Word of mouth may work well for your business amongst local anglers when you’re just starting out, but being vocal in the wider community and having an active social media presence can be invaluable, too.

Facebook, in particular, can be really useful, as it’s a great platform for customers to ask questions and share information with each other.

Specialist community insurance through Ripe

Running your own fishery can be a sizeable but profitable investment, but it can come with risks. Sporting club, leisure, and community insurance through Ripe is designed to safeguard against these risks.

There are many cover options to choose from through Ripe, including Public Liability, Products Liability, and Legal Costs cover for pursuing or defending a claim.

Click here to learn more about sporting clubs, leisure and community insurance coming soon to Ripe.