Fishing permits in 2025.

The New Year greeted anglers with an atmosphere of nervousness. News about new rules for granting fishing permits appeared in the media. In fact, as of December 31, 2024, Wody Polskie ended the Our Fisheries program, which allowed amateur fishing on the basis of a single, nationwide fee. What does this really mean for anglers?

The end of Our Fisheries – rzgw take responsibility

Recall that until the end of last year, amateur anglers were allowed to pay a single fee, which entitled them to fish in 130 fishing districts and two special fisheries administered by the Polish Waters. According to Order No. 71/2024 of the President of the Polish Waters, the program is no longer in effect, and the issuance of angling permits from 2025 is to be handled by regional water management boards (rzgw).

Thus, whoever wants to fish in a particular region must obtain a permit from the relevant government and pay an adequate fee. The latter is determined at the regional level. In connection with a major uproar among anglers, which was also reflected in social media, the Polish Waterways issued a communiqué calling for an end to the dissemination of false information. The communiqué stressed that the change in the rules applies only to fisheries managed by the Polish Waters. Most fisheries in the country, meanwhile, are managed by so-called users (e.g., fish farms or individuals), who set their own pricing policies.

How much will we pay for fishing permits?

In 2024, when the Our Fisheries program was still in effect, the cost of a permit for amateur fishing in all 130 national fishing grounds of the Polish Waters was PLN 250. This year, the annual fee for fishing from the shore in individual rivers is:

• RZGW in Bialystok PLN 250 per year, PLN 15 for 1 day, PLN 70 for 7 days;
• RZGW in Bydgoszcz PLN 250 per year, PLN 30 for 1 day, PLN 90 for 7 days;
• RZGW in Gdansk PLN 250 per year, PLN 90 for 7 days, PLN 140 per month;
• RZGW in Krakow operates three fisheries, and in each of them the annual fees are different (from 140 to 260 zlotys), while for a 1-day permit you will pay 40 zlotys;
• RZGW in Lublin PLN 200 per year, PLN 25 for 1 day, PLN 100 for 14 days;
• RZGW in Poznań PLN 300 per year, PLN 30 for 1 day, PLN 120 for 14 days.

The cost of a permit for fishing from a vessel is on average PLN 50 more per year. The fee is paid by bank transfer to the bank account of a given rulgw. Subsequently, confirmation of payment should be sent online (or by traditional mail) to the given régime.

Will it be more expensive and more difficult?

Thus, an angler who limits himself for the whole year to fisheries located in the area managed by the RZGW in Bialystok or Gdansk will not pay more than before. The problem arises when we want to fish in different regions of the country – then the annual costs may increase even several times. In addition, it will be necessary to obtain separate permits for fishing in the directorate of each selected district. The situation is not made easier by the fact that each region has slightly different rules for calculating fees.

According to Polish Waters, the regulations, including lists of provided fishing circuits and rules for the sale of angling permits, should be searched for on the websites of individual district governments. As of January 9, unfortunately, some of them lacked information on prices and how to pay fees, and an attempt to contact them by phone did not solve the problem.