The reasons for the fishing permit
The hobby you like, the permit you need...
A permit for amateur fishing.
Fishing rights (banks, shores) belong either to the State (rivers, canals) or private owners (rivers, lakes and streams).
Authorized angling associations (AAPPMA) and the federations that represent them buy or rent these rights to help anglers enjoy their hobby.
The fishing permit allows them to access and use fishing areas.
Various permits are available (see the List of fishing permits).
A permit helping to protect our natural heritage.
In buying a fishing permit, you are helping to finance the general interest missions of the AAPPMA, federations at département level, their unions at regional level and the Fédération Nationale de la Pêche et de la Protection des Milieux Aquatiques et de leur Patrimoine Piscicole.
The associative network’s missions include undertaking maintenance and restoration, as well as protecting aquatic ecosystems.
Your membership fee is also used to support a range of information, management and surveillance activities and environmental education.
Finally, a proportion of the fee goes to France’s water agencies, which are responsible by law for financing water-related policy throughout the country. This part of the fee is called the redevance milieu aquatique.
Every permit holder has to follow the guidelines below: :
| Heading | First category waters | Secondary category waters |
| Number of rods | One line on a rod with no more than two hooks or three artificial flies. It must be placed alongside the user. | Four lines on a rod, each with no more than two hooks or three artificial flies. They must be placed alongside the user. |
| Other equipment | Weigh-in baskets, jugs, bottles and/or other equipment appropriate to local. | Weigh-in baskets, jugs, bottles and/or other equipment appropriate to local conditions. |
| Fishing seasons | Fishing is permitted from the second Saturday in March to the third Saturday in September. | Fishing is permitted from 1 May to 31 January of the following year. |
| Fishing times | Fishing is permitted ½ hour before sunrise and up to ½ hour after sunset. | |
| Areas where fishing is not permitted | – In fishways facilitating fish migration in structures built on the bed of watercourses; – In dams and locks as well as within a distance of fifty metres from their exterior, except for angling; – In fishing reserves. | |
This table summarizes the main fishing guidelines. You are advised to refer to the documents provided by your authorized angling association.
*Water categories :
To reflect the biology of species and promote responsible fishing, waters are divided into two categories:
- The first category includes rivers, reservoirs and lakes primarily with trout stocks as well as those where special protection of these fish species is recommended (salmonids dominant).
- The second category covers all other watercourses, canals and stretches of water (cyprinids dominant: pike, zander, etc.).
