What to fish ?

→ Totally protected species

→ The European eel, critically in danger species

→ The minimum catching sizes

→ The maximum number of shots that can be stored


WARNING

The legislation has been modified since March 2021. Please consult the French version of the site, for the latest updates before full translation of the site to be sure to have the correct information

Totally protected species

Fishing some species is totally forbidden in Wallonia !

 

 

 Photographie d'un saumon atlantique capturé à Lixhe (Meuse)

 

This is the case of :

 

Asp Bitterling Sturgeon
Aspe Bouvière Esturgeon
European flounder European river lamprey Sea lamprey
Flet Lamproie fluviatile Lamproie marine
Spined loach Weatherfish Burbot
Loche de rivière Loche d'étangs Lotte de rivière
Ocean trout Atlantic salmon Redclaw
Truite de mer Saumon atlantique

 

The European eel, critically in danger species

 

Anguille européenne

Since June 15th 2006, every eel caught must be returned to the water regardless of its length. This arrangement is motivated by the food security following the analyzes carried out and revealing a too high rate of PCB's in the flesh of eels.

 

The minimum catching sizes

 

Photographie de la capture d'un ombre commun

 

 

For other species fishing is authorized but…


…only during the opening periods, and the captured of these species is submitted to a regulation. Certain fish hand all the crawfish must be immediately returned to the water if their length is inferior to :

 


Taille légale du brochet Taille légale du sandre Taille légale du barbeau
for pike jack for pike perch for barbell
Taille légale de l'ombre Taille légale de la carpe Taille légale de la truite fario
for grayling for the carp, the tench, the chub, the orfe and the nase carp for the brown trout*, the rainbow trout, brook charr and the whitefish
Taille légale de la perche Taille légale du rotengle Taille légale du silure
for the perch
No sizes are applicable to the Brabant and Hainaut channels and the Nisramont lake
for the rudd 80 cm for the catfish

 

*ATTENTION, in the navigable watercourses and the channels, the length for the brown trout is elevated to 24 cm.

 

Code of Practice

Handle your captures with sensitivity and wet your hands first. If the fish has swallowed the bait too deeply, cut the line.


The length is measured:

For fish: from the mouth tip to the tailfin tip

Mesure de la taille d'un poisson

 

For crayfish: from the eye to the tip of the stretched tail.

Mesure de la taille d'une écrevisse

 

As such, during the fishery it is forbidden to keep fish or crayfish whose head or tail have been cut.

 

The maximum number of shots that can be stored

 

The fisherman must not keep in a fishing day more than a certain number of fish :

Pike (2)

Nombre maximum de brochets conservés par jour

Carp (2)

Nombre maximum de carpe conservé par jour

Grayling (4)

Nombre maximum d'ombres conservés par jour

Brown trout (5)

Nombre de truites conservées par jour

Gudgeon (30)

Nombre maximum de goujons conservés par jour

Minnow (50)

Nombre maximum de goujons conservés par jour

 

Code of Practice

If you don’t intend to catch your fish, no need to keep it in a basket, returned it into the water directly, it guaranteed a better survival of your catch.

 

 

You’ll also be interest by :     

 

→ The Walloon fishing license

→ The opening fishing periods in Wallonia

→ How to recognize the fishes in Wallonia

→ Fishing crayfish in Wallonia

→ Allowed equipment and techniques

→ Listen to the sequence “Allo the fisherman, is fishing simple?”

 

Downloadings

 

→ Download the brochure « Fishing is simple » (pdf file - 600 Ko)

→ Download the memory aid edited by the Walloon Public Service (pdf file - 1,3 Mo)

→ Consult the officious coordination (pdf file - 100 Ko) 

 

Links

 

→ Surf on http://wallex.wallonie.be to obtain the complete legislation about fishing in Wallonia 

(Thematic access – Nature and Woods – Fishing)

 

 

Voir aussi :

→ Podcast saumon atlantique
→ Les poissons de nos rivières
→ Les frayères artificielles
→ Stages de pêche
→ La pêche au féminin