"Buyer Beware" 10 point
code
What is buyer beware?
We are reminding you as a fish purchaser that any fish stocking carries
with it risks, and it is in your best interests to minimise those risks. If
you don't minimise the risks, your entire fishery could be at stake.
How can I use Buyer Beware?
The following 10 point code has been designed to help you reduce the risks
associated with fish stocking.
1. Do you need to stock?
2. Make sure all relevant paperwork is in order
- Personally make sure that all the Section 30
consents have been obtained. In law, the introducer must possess the
Agency's written consent before the stocking takes place.
3. No supplier is Environment Agency or DEFRA recommended
- Although there are many reputable suppliers of fish, no fish farms or
dealers are recommended or approved by the Agency or DEFRA. Anyone
claiming to be recommended is giving false information.
4. Only buy from reputable farms or dealers
- Follow the recommendations of fishery owners you know who have had a
good service. Ask your supplier for customers references and contact them.
Beware of bogus customers. Shop around and always think "Quality
first: Cost second".
5. Be a careful buyer
- Buying fish is just like buying anything else. Protect yourself by
paying by cheque, obtain a receipt, and keep copies of all of the
paperwork.
6. If possible attend the removal
- Try to be present when fish are collected from the source water. Make
sure that the fish are delivered straight to your fishery and not held or
mixed together with fish from different sources in transit. Make sure that
health checked fish are not mixed with un-checked fish.
7. Be there on stocking!
- Always be present when the fish are stocked into your fishery. Insist on
a delivery date and time which gives you time to prepare for the arrival
of your fish.
- Don't accept things you, the customer, are not happy with, no matter
what the supplier says. Don't put your entire fishery at risk.
- Never accept fish in a poor condition
- Never accept species you have not ordered
- Never accept fish at night - darkness can hide quality and quantity
- Don't be pressurised by the supplier - remember you are the customer
8. Never accept fish unless you are satisfied that they are healthy
- You can't tell if a fish is healthy just by looking at it. Health checks
are the best way of ensuring that fish are healthy.
- Do the fish you are stocking have a valid health check? Was the health
check produced by a competent person (A recognised fish health expert)?
- If you are not sure or confused then contact your local Agency Fisheries
Officer, before you introduce the fish.
- Remember: a health check only applies to the fish species checked. If it
is for carp, then it only covers carp!
- Health checks don't guarantee the fish are healthy, but they do provide
the best protection possible.
9. Make sure you are the boss!
- Ensure that the supplier is willing to comply with your requests.
- If the supplier is not willing to comply - then ask why not? You are the
customer. You can always take your business elsewhere.
10. Ask!
- Ask The Environment Agency for help and advice.
- Contact your local Agency Fisheries Officer who
will treat your enquiries in confidence. He or she will always be pleased
to advise you.
The diseases you are trying to prevent represent a real and significant
threat to your fishery. Once they are present they are nearly impossible to
eradicate - prevention is the only method of protecting your fishery.
