Digging bait laws

[BigLoada]

I searched the forum but couldnt quite find the exact answer to this. Its been a long time since I dug bait, at least 22 years and back then you could dig just about anywhere. My usual place was up at Hadston, but I was wondering what the law is now on digging? Is digging the shore for lug still okay or is it banned now in some places? And how can I find out if it is allowed or not?

I want to dig for lug again but I don't want to break any laws and end up in trouble.

Not asking for digging locations as I know quite a few places to go but I was just concermned about whether its still allowed or not. And would using a bait pump not be considered as "digging" and therefore allowed?

Cheers for info help guys

Dean

[Castaway]

As far as I know, Don't go near Budle Bay at Bamburgh. Anywhere else was ok but they're in the process of setting up these Marine Conservation Zones (MCZ's). I think Flamborough Head was the first but I may be mistaken. Keep an eye on the forum, Alan Charlton has posted several threads on this issue. Its heavy stuff but its on the forum.

[BigLoada]

As far as I know, Don't go near Budle Bay at Bamburgh. Anywhere else was ok but they're in the process of setting up these Marine Conservation Areas. I think Flamborough Head was the first but I may be mistaken. Keep an eye on the forum, Alan Charlton has posted several threads on this issue. Its heavy stuff but its on the forum.

Thanks mate. I will stay away from Budle Bay then! Its a bit too far North for me anyway as I know places closer. Do they always put up signs to say its banned I wonder?

[Castaway]

Thanks mate. I will stay away from Budle Bay then! Its a bit too far North for me anyway as I know places closer. Do they always put up signs to say its banned I wonder?

I'm not sure but I think its the RSPB mob who prosecute anyone digging in Budle Bay. I think they're trying to stop the commercial men moving in. A sledgehammer to crack a walnut.

[gav123]

you cannit dig in parts of holy island it is classed as a nature enviroment site the warden chucks you off

[BigLoada]

you cannit dig in parts of holy island it is classed as a nature enviroment site the warden chucks you off

Thanks mate, another one to avoid! My areas are between Hadston and Tynemouth anyway so I wont be getting as far north as that. Guess it wont harm to give it a go, if I get asked to leave then fair enough I will. I just dont fancy getting fined thats all.

[davey g]

digging

hi there u will not have any problem digging between hadston and tynemouth iv dug from hauxley all the way down as far as whitley bay and never had any problems and am down quite regular hope this helps m8

[BigLoada]

hi there u will not have any problem digging between hadston and tynemouth iv dug from hauxley all the way down as far as whitley bay and never had any problems and am down quite regular hope this helps m8

Thanks Davey, thats good news. Thats the areas I used to dig, wasn't sure what the deal was these days. Cheers for the info.

[Charlton]

you cannit dig in parts of holy island it is classed as a nature enviroment site the warden chucks you off

the warden has no right to chuck you off, if you are digging in the permitted area, if he continues to chuck you off, let me know. the only area where bait digging is banned is Budle Bay

[gav123]

i was diggin on the island next to where the lighthouse thing is and he telt us to leave decent worm from their as well

[g-force]

I was up at Boulmer on saturday for the sweepstake match - I noticed a sign in the car park which featured a map, stating "no digging for any kind of bait within the shaded areas" or words to that effect. So looks like parts of Boulmer are a no-go too, although as Alan has said the only area I now it to be banned for sure is Budle Bay. Not sure who's responsible for the sign at Boulmer though.....

Gary

[BigLoada]

Looks like I will be fine in my local area then. Cheers for all the help folks

[Charlton]

I was up at Boulmer on saturday for the sweepstake match - I noticed a sign in the car park which featured a map, stating "no digging for any kind of bait within the shaded areas" or words to that effect. So looks like parts of Boulmer are a no-go too, although as Alan has said the only area I now it to be banned for sure is Budle Bay. Not sure who's responsible for the sign at Boulmer though.....

Gary

Budle Bay is the only area where bait digging is completely banned, Boulmer has the area restriction on it. Should maybe have mentioned that.

[sfj21]

Would you class picking willicks (winkles to you posh one's) as 'digging for bait?'

Go to Boulmer quite a lot to do this.

[kela66]

a report from from the independent newspaper , maybe of some interest to you

Court sets legal right to dig for worms on shore
Tuesday, 22 December 1992

the right dig in the foreshore for worms to use as bait has been established for the first time in English law. The right had existed since time immemorial, Lord Justice Evans and Mr Justice Macpherson said yesterday in the Court of Appeal, but it had never been defined before.

Their judgment went back to Magna Carta (1215) for its authority. Before 1215 the Crown granted fishing rights to individuals, but the barons regarded this as an abuse and it was ended by Magna Carta. After that a private right to fishing could only be justified by reference to an earlier Royal Grant. Where no such right exists, which is the case around most of the coastline of England and Wales, there is a public right to fish and also to dig for bait, which is ancillary to the right to fish. The case arose from an appeal by Tony Anderson, a fisherman from Whitley Bay, Northumberland, who was fined pounds 50 by magistrates for digging for bait in Boulmer Haven, Northumberland, contrary to a by-law passed by Alnwick District Council.

Mr Anderson's conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal judges yesterday on technical grounds. In their judgment a map which had been attached by the local authority to the by-law defined the area where bait digging was forbidden. The area went only as far as the mean (average) low water mark and Mr Anderson was digging on the seaward side of that line.

Lord Justice Evans said that the law allowed a fisherman to take small fish or crabs from a seaside pool to use as bait for a larger fish, but if Alnwick council was correct, he may not take or use a single ragworm for the same purpose without permission. He said that an explicit right to dig for worms had not been established previously, but there was also no indication that the activity had ever been challenged before.

'The most likely explanation is that no one doubted that the right to take fish from the sea included the right to dig worms from the foreshore as bait,' Lord Justice Evans said. But the judgment was based on wider grounds. 'To restrict the use of worms as bait . . . would itself have been a restriction on the right (to fish). We hold therefore that a public right to take worms from the foreshore is recognised by the common law and may properly be described as ancillary to the public right to fish.'

However, it did not follow that the right to dig for bait was unrestricted. 'This means, in our judgment, that the taking of worms must be directly related to an actual or intended exercise of the public right to fish. Taking for commercial purposes such as sale is not justified in this way,' Lord Justice Evans said.

Councils will now have more difficulty in enforcing by-laws intended to regulate or prohibit bait digging. Magistrates will have to balance a person's right to dig for bait for personal use against the reasons of the council for forbidding the activity.