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Fishing licences and permits in South Africa

South Africa has two separate systems: a national permit for the sea and estuaries, and provincial licences for dams and rivers. Some places add their own rules. A few minutes of checking before each trip prevents fines, confiscated tackle and a criminal record.

Limits and rules change from time to time, so always check the current position before you fish.

The sea and estuaries: the marine recreational fishing permit

Anyone who fishes or collects bait in the sea or an estuary for recreation needs a marine recreational fishing permit from the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE).

• It covers catching fish with a rod and line or a hand line, with no more than 10 hooks.
• The catch is for your own use only. Recreational catches may not be sold or traded.
• Spearfishing, cast nets, bait collecting and rock lobster each need the right permit or endorsement. Choose every activity you will do when you buy.

How to buy one: online on DFFE's recreational fishing permit platform, or at the Post Office. Permits are sold for different periods, usually monthly or annual.

Every person who fishes needs a permit, and it cannot be lent to anyone else. Carry it, with your identity document, whenever you fish.

Dams and rivers: provincial licences

Inland fishing is controlled by the provinces.

• Public waters: most provinces require an angling licence from the provincial conservation authority, such as CapeNature in the Western Cape or Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife in KwaZulu-Natal. In the Western Cape, for example, anyone over the age of six needs one.
• Private waters: you need the owner's permission, and the owner may set fees and rules.
• Club waters: members only, or a day ticket.
• Nature reserves and parks: ask at the gate. Fishing may be limited to certain spots or not allowed at all.

A marine permit does not cover inland waters, and a provincial licence does not cover the sea.

Marine Protected Areas

The coast has more than 40 Marine Protected Areas. Many have no-take zones, where no fishing or collecting of any kind is allowed, and controlled zones with special conditions.

• Check the official maps from DFFE, SANParks or the provincial authority before you go.
• Look for signboards and beacons on the shore.
• Ask a ranger or the park office.

Fishing in a no-take zone is a serious offence, even by mistake. An empty, perfect-looking spot on a protected coast may be empty for a reason.

Species you may never keep

Some species may never be kept. The list includes the following, and it changes, so check the current one. If you hook one by accident, release it at once:

• great white, whale and basking sharks;
• the coelacanth;
• sawfishes;
• seventy-four, brindle bass, potato bass and Natal wrasse;
• pipefish and seahorses.

Abalone (perlemoen) may not be taken by recreational fishers at all. Rock lobster needs its own permit, in the open season, within strict limits.

If an officer asks to inspect

Fishery control officers may ask for your permit and ID, inspect your catch, bait, cooler box and vehicle, and measure and count your fish. Be polite, show what is asked for, and ask about any rule that you do not understand.

Common offences are fishing without a valid permit, keeping undersized fish, exceeding the bag limit, fishing in a closed season or a no-take zone, selling a catch, and filleting fish on the shore so that they cannot be measured.

This guide is based on Chapter 2 of Freshwater and Coastal Fishing for Beginners. The next chapter covers size limits, bag limits and closed seasons.