Fishing Fees & Licenses for Puck Bay in 2026

Fishing in Puck Bay in 2026 primarily involves three organizational tasks and one app on your phone. You need to pay the sea fee to the GIRM account (15 PLN for a week, 25 PLN for a month, 65 PLN for a year, 50 PLN annually with a Large Family Card), install the RecFishing app and register every catch in it, and also remember the basic protective sizes, including the ban on keeping cod and restrictions on salmon. The rest is pure pleasure.

2026 Price List and Large Family Card

Current rates for recreational sea fishing permits in 2026 are 15 PLN for a week, 25 PLN for a month, and 65 PLN for a year. Large Family Card holders pay 50 PLN for an annual permit, which is 15 PLN less. These amounts are set by the regulation of the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development of December 27, 2023, and useful guidelines are published on the website of the Chief Inspectorate of Marine Fisheries (GIRM) in Słupsk. From the perspective of a visitor to Jastarnia in the summer, two options are most often sensible: a week (if you are coming for 5-7 days and want two or three outings) or a month (if you plan a longer stay or a workation with morning trips to the water).

It is worth deciding on the duration of the permit in advance, as fees are not divisible and cannot be "extended" by a few days at a lower rate. The most common mistake is to buy a week, then extend the stay by three days and fish without a new permit, "because it's only three days." From the perspective of a GIRM inspector, this is exactly the same as fishing without a fee from day one.

How to make a GIRM transfer step by step

The fee is paid by bank transfer to the account of the Chief Inspectorate of Marine Fisheries (GIRM) based in Słupsk, maintained by the NBP Branch in Gdańsk. The current account number is published on the GIRM website (it is worth checking directly before making the transfer, as state institution account numbers can change). In the transfer title, enter two elements: "for recreational fishing for the period ... (week, month, or year)" and "First Name and Last Name". If you are using a Large Family Card, it is worth adding "KDR" and the card number.

The permit becomes valid from the date the payment is recorded. In practice, if you initiate the transfer the day before your trip, you have everything ready. GIRM has not issued paper permits for a long time, so your proof is the transfer itself. Save the confirmation as a PDF on your phone, take a screenshot, or print it out and leave it in your fishing backpack. One copy per person, each angler has their own fee.

In families with children, the question arises whether a child also needs a fee. According to GIRM's interpretation, a child who fishes under the supervision of an adult with one set (for example, holding a rod operated by a parent) is treated as an assistant, not an independent angler. However, if the child has their own rod and independently hooks fish, they are officially a separate angler and need their own fee. The simplest rule on the beach is: as many rods, as many fees.

RecFishing - installation and first catch registration

RecFishing is a free European Commission app available on Google Play and the App Store. You download it to your phone, create an account with your email address, set Poland as the country of fishing, and accept the terms and conditions. The entire installation takes a few minutes, but it's worth doing it at home, before your trip, so you don't have to struggle with account activation with weaker signal by the water.

Each outing begins with registering the start of fishing: date, time, location (the app suggests location from GPS), selection of tools (rod, spinning, surfcasting, two rods per person allowed). When you catch a fish subject to reporting, you add an entry: species, length, whether the animal was kept or released. A photo is optional but facilitates verification if an inspector asks for details. After finishing fishing, you close the outing and the app saves the history.

From the perspective of an angler who previously kept a "paper" log, RecFishing primarily accustoms them to one habit: registering the catch before the first cast, not after the fact. This is a good habit, especially if you plan short outings, such as a morning walk with a rod on the pier in Jastarnia. One click in the app, one photo of the landscape with water, and the formality is taken care of.

Protective sizes and daily limits 2026

In 2026, the most frequently verified regulations concern species massively caught in Puck Bay. Flounder has a minimum size of 23 cm and a limit of 5 pieces per day. Sea trout a minimum of 50 cm (confirm daily limit and conditions with GIRM). Salmon a minimum of 60 cm and 1 piece, but only with a clipped adipose fin, caught more than 4 nautical miles from the shore. For garfish, confirm the daily limit directly with GIRM. Bream a maximum of 5 pieces per day, perch up to 15. European eel is completely protected, as is cod, for which a complete ban was maintained for 2026 in accordance with Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2454.

From the perspective of someone fishing from the shore near Jastarnia, in practice, you most often need to remember four things. First, that a flounder under 23 cm is released, even if it's your first time trying surfcasting and it's your first fish. Second, that cod always goes back into the water, no questions asked. Third, that salmon caught from the beach or port is released, regardless of its size, because you are less than 4 miles out. Fourth, that spinning for pike in July heat in the bay is an idea that pike themselves most often regret - it's better to fish in the morning or evening when the water temperature is lower and the fish has a chance to survive after release.

GIRM inspection - what to have with you

An inspector from the Chief Inspectorate of Marine Fisheries (GIRM), and in some places the Border Guard or Water Police, has the right to ask for three things: an identity document with your first name, last name, and address, proof of payment (transfer confirmation), and in the case of those using discounts (for example, KDR), a document confirming eligibility. From 2026, an active RecFishing account with current entries from the day of the inspection is also expected.

Practice shows that most inspections are routine and end with checking documents and the contents of the net. The most common cause of fines, according to fishing portals, is not the lack of payment (most anglers consciously pay it), but minor infractions: keeping undersized fish, using a third rod, not registering a catch in RecFishing, or fishing with gear not permitted for the technique actually used. Treat formalities as part of equipment preparation, not something to be dealt with at the last minute on the shore.

Penalties for non-payment or exceeding limits

Fishing without a paid fee or keeping fish below the protective size is an offense and carries a fine, and in more serious cases, referral to court. The amount of the penalty depends on the circumstances and the inspector's decision, but in practice, it usually significantly exceeds the cost of an annual permit (65 PLN). If someone tries to save 25 PLN on a monthly fee, they risk a fine several times higher and a story that cannot be undone in the fishing community.

Another type of sanction is the risk of losing equipment or having the catch confiscated in case of more serious violations, such as using a net with an illegal mesh size, fishing during a protected period for a given species, or intentionally keeping cod despite the ban. The scale of consequences increases rapidly, so it is worth reading current GIRM announcements before the season and before longer stays. Most fishing portals, including regional editions of Hooking, Wędkarz Polski, or Władek, publish concise tables with limits and sizes that are easy to keep on your phone next to the RecFishing app.

How to integrate formalities into your stay in Jastarnia

The simplest scenario for a guest who is fishing in Puck Bay for the first time is as follows: a week before your trip, review the GIRM announcement, install RecFishing, make the transfer, and the day before your trip, save the confirmation as a PDF on your phone and check if the app works after logging in. Once there, all that's left is the physical trip to the water. This plan works well for both a weekend trip and a two-week stay with remote work.

If you plan to fish in Puck Bay all season, it is worth buying an annual fee at the beginning of the calendar year and adding a Large Family Card if you have one (15 PLN discount). For many anglers who visit the bay several times a year, this is simply one of the elements of fishing purchases, along with a set of rigs and leaders. We have described the biting season in more detail in the guide Puck Bay Fishing Calendar Month by Month, and the context of species, spots, and equipment can be found in Fishing in Puck Bay.

In practice, for a family or couple's stay, formalities are rarely a problem if you prepare them in advance. A greater art is to match the times of your outings to the rest of the day's plan, for example, morning spinning for garfish, and an afternoon with children on the beach, in the hotel pool, or on a tour of seven fish restaurants in Jastarnia. If you catch a fish and want to eat it, remember the short cold chain (it's worth having a cooling insert in your luggage) and the rules for storing it in an apartment with a refrigerator. Fresh flounder from a morning catch, eaten in the afternoon at one of the local fry shops, tastes completely different from the same fish bought in a store.

For those who want to try fishing in Puck Bay for the first time without buying full equipment, an alternative is to join an organized trip with a local guide or rent equipment at one of the points on the Peninsula. Some operators organizing garfish cruises provide sets, teach techniques, and supervise compliance with regulations, so all formal aspects are their responsibility. For accommodation, it's good to have a place where you can calmly dry your clothes after a morning outing and review your entries in RecFishing. Apartment Zdrojowy 323, a 36 m² studio in Hotel Dom Zdrojowy in Jastarnia, works well as a quiet base for fishing mornings.

During the fishing season, especially around garfish (May-June) and autumn pike bites, dates in Jastarnia can disappear quickly. It's worth checking availability for a specific fishing weekend two to three weeks in advance or looking at the full studio price list to synchronize the length of your stay with the biting calendar and the GIRM working days calendar (transfers are only processed on working days).

Sources and references

• Chief Inspectorate of Marine Fisheries - recreational fishing (GIRM)
• General information on recreational fishing (Gov.pl)
• RecFishing - application for registering recreational catches (Gov.pl)
• RecFishing app (Google Play)
• RecFishing app (App Store)
• Council Regulation (EU) 2025/2454 - Baltic Sea fishing limits 2026 (EUR-Lex)
• Baltic Sea: Council agrees on catch limits for 2026 (Consilium)
• Sea permit 2026 - fees (amatorskie-wedkowanie.pl)
• Current regulations and rules - sea zone (zpw.pl)
• Sea regulations - protected periods, fishing limits (wladek.pl)