In order for us to protect nature and her beauty, there are fishing licences and permits in South Africa that you have to have before you are allowed to fish at marine resources. You cannot just go fishing in freshwater dams or rivers, nor in the sea; angling is not an option if you don’t have a licence and permit. There is a limit as to how many fish you may catch with your licence and the fish may not be bigger than a certain size. Yes that’s true, fish have rights too! If there were no laws regarding this subject, imagine how many people would fish on a daily basis and clear out as many as they could, it would be disastrous.
Private farms will have to have a licence too, and no one will be allowed to fish on that property without the owner’s consent and not unless they have the fishing licences and permits in South Africa that is required. If you aren’t sure where to apply for these documents, go into one of the tackle shops in your area and ask them what they can recommend as every city may not be the same, they may have different rules and regulations when it comes to fishing in that particular area. So whether you are angling on a river bank, out on a boat in freshwater off one of the private farms or out at sea, the laws still apply to you.
You won’t be able to actually obtain a licence or permit from any tackle shops, but they could give you information as to where this can be done. There are certain rights that apply to this activity, to ensure that people don’t take advantage of our fish, so make sure you stick to that if you want to stay out of trouble. Find out how to get fishing licences and permits in South Africa so that you know you are fishing legally.