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Environment Agency gov.uk

with Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science

Introduce or keep non-native fish, lobsters and crayfish

Imported from official source

It’s an offence to introduce and keep controlled non-native fish, lobsters and crayfish without a licence.

If you introduce and keep non-native fish, lobsters and crayfish without a licence you could get a fine and a criminal record.

You may need more than one licence, permit or permission before you can introduce and keep non-native fish or crayfish. All licences and permits are free.

  • introduce and keep non-native fish, crayfish and lobsters
  • farm (aquaculture) non-native species, or those not found locally

    • Licence to introduce and keep non-native freshwater fish (ILFA licence)

    You must apply for a licence from the Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) if you want to keep non-native freshwater fish for:

    You need a different licence if you want to keep non-native freshwater fish for farming (aquaculture).

  • rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss, other than anadromous steelhead)

    • You do not need a licence to keep grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) or sturgeon (Acipenser and Huso) in:

  • ornamental wholesale and retail premises
  • garden ponds (discrete bodies of water, no bigger than an acre, on private residential premises with no risk of fish escaping into the wild)

    • You do not need a licence to keep certain species in an indoor aquarium or if kept for ornamental, scientific research or conservation purposes (including trade, zoos and public aquariums). See the list of Freshwater fish that can be kept for ornamental, scientific research or conservation purposes (MS Excel Spreadsheet, 56.2 KB).

    Licence to introduce and keep non-native crayfish

    You must get a permit or licence from Natural England or Natural Resources Wales if you plan to introduce, hold, keep or sell any of the following crayfish species covered by the requirements of the EU Invasive Alien Species Regulation:

  • signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus)
  • spiny cheek crayfish (Orconectes limosus)
  • red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii)
  • marbled crayfish (Procambarus fallax f. virginalis (Procambarus virginalis))

    • This is an extract. The publication continues at the source.

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Licence

    Read the original at the source: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/introduce-or-keep-non-native-fish-lobsters-and-crayfish

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    Provenance

    Organization
    Environment Agency — imported from official source
    Official source
    https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/environment-agency.atom ATOM
    Imported
    October 15, 2026 08:00
    Versions
    1 recorded
    Identity
    https://www.gov.uk/guidance/introduce-or-keep-non-native-fish-lobsters-and-crayfish#202...

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