Search Legislation

Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966

 Help about what version

What Version

 Help about advanced features

Advanced Features

More Resources

Changes over time for: [PART III

 Help about opening options

Version Superseded: 01/06/2009

Alternative versions:

Status:

Point in time view as at 01/06/2008.

Changes to legislation:

There are currently no known outstanding effects for the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966, [PART III. Help about Changes to Legislation

Close

Changes to Legislation

Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. At the current time any known changes or effects made by subsequent legislation have been applied to the text of the legislation you are viewing by the editorial team. Please see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ for details regarding the timescales for which new effects are identified and recorded on this site.

[F1PART IIIN.I.FISHING LICENCES

37Power to make byelaws respecting fishing licences.N.I.

[F2(1)]Byelaws made by the Board under subsection (1) of section 26 may (without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs ( g), ( h) and ( i) of that subsection or to the provisions of section 70(2)( a), ( c) or ( d)),—

(a)authorise the issue of different classes of fishing licence in respect of any one or more than one kind of fish, or any one or more than one description of fishing engine, specified in the byelaws;

(b)prescribe different forms, periods of duration, territorial limitations, terms and conditions, or duties, in respect of different classes of licence and, in the case of different classes of licence, provide that reduced duties may be paid by[F3 persons of such class or description as is specified in the byelaws];

[F2(c)limit, subject to subsection (2), the number of licences which may be issued to authorise the use of fishing engines for the taking of fish;]

(d)prescribe the records to be kept and the returns to be made by the holder of any licence to fish with rod and line or hand line;

(e)provide for an appeal to the Ministry against the revocation by the Board of, or the refusal of the Board to issue or renew, any fishing licence;

(f)provide for the exemption of persons who have not attained the age of sixteen, or such other age as may be prescribed by the byelaws, from the requirement to hold a fishing licence to fish for, take or kill fish of any kind so prescribed by rod and line or hand line.

[F2(2)Nothing in byelaws made under subsection (1)(c) shall affect the lawful use by any person of—

(a)a rod and line or a handline in the freshwater portion of any river or lake,

(b)a draft net in the circumstances specified in section 71(2)(d),

(c)a fishing weir or fixed engine in the circumstances specified in section 73(1).

(3)In subsection (1)(c)—

  • “licences” means licences of any class specified in the byelaws, and

  • “fish” does not include eels.]

38Arrangements for the issue of certain licences.N.I.

The Board may make arrangements for the issue through agents of fishing licences of such classes as may be prescribed.

39Angling licences to be non-transferable.N.I.

A fishing licence to fish with rod and line or hand line shall be used only by the person to whom it is issued and shall not be transferable.

40Effect of fishing licences.N.I.

A fishing licence shall operate in accordance with the terms of the byelaws under which it is issued and of the licence but shall not be construed—

(a)as conferring on any person using any fishing engine any right of fishing in any place, being a right which he does not otherwise possess; or

(b)as affecting the rights of any person other than the licence-holder or, in the case of a licence to which section 39 does not apply, the person using the fishing engine; or

(c)as making legal any fishing engine that would otherwise be illegal, or as implying any recognition of the legality of any fishing engine; or

(d)as rendering lawful anything which is unlawful by virtue of any enactment other than this Part.

41Prohibition of unlicensed fishing.N.I.

(1)Unless expressly empowered to do so under any provision made by or under this Act or any other enactment for the time being in force, a person shall not fish for, take or kill salmon, eels or any freshwater fish except under the authority of a [F4fishing licence] issued pursuant to byelaws made under this Act and in accordance with the terms and conditions of that [F4fishing licence] and of the byelaws relating to it.

(2)Unless expressly empowered as mentioned in subsection (1), a person shall not have in his possession in or near any fishing place any fishing engine for the taking or killing of salmon, eels or freshwater fish which is erected or in fishing order, unless there is in force a fishing licence by or by virtue of which he is authorised to use that fishing engine at that place.

(3)Subject to section 43, any person who acts, or causes or permits any other person to act, in contravention of subsection (1) or (2) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding—

(a)where such contravention consists only of the unlicensed but otherwise lawful use or possession of a rod and line or hand line, [F5 £200]; and

(b)in any other case, [F5 £500].

[F6(4)Nothing in this section shall apply to a person—

(a)who fishes lawfully by rod and line in a production pond at a fish farm operated by the holder of a fish culture licence granted under section 11; or

(b)who has for that purpose in his possession a rod and line at or near a fish farm.

(5)In subsection (4)(a) "production pond" means a pond—

(a)used for the artificial propagation and culture of fish, and

(b)designated for the purposes of this subsection as a production pond in a fish culture licence granted under section 11.]

[F7(6)In this section “fishing licence” means a fishing licence issued under Part III or a fishing licence issued by the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission under regulations made by the Commission under the Foyle Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1952.

(7)In relation to a fishing licence issued by the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission, the reference in subsection (1) to byelaws shall be construed as a reference to regulations made by the Commission under the Foyle Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1952.]

42Charging of certain offences under s.41.N.I.

In charging an offence under section 41 by reason of a contravention of subsection (1) of that section it shall be sufficient—

(a)where the offence is one to which section 41(3)( a) applies, to describe the offence as “unlicensed angling contrary to section 41 of the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966[1966 c.17] ” ; and

(b)in any other case, to describe the offence as “fishing by unlicensed and unfair means contrary to section 41 of the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966” .

43Defences to charges under section 41.N.I.

(1)Where a person is charged under section 41 with an offence which consists of taking fish which he is not licensed to take, it shall be a good defence for him to prove that, at the time when that fish was taken, he was engaged in lawfully fishing for another kind of fish and that the first-mentioned fish was taken unintentionally and, immediately upon being taken, was returned to the water without any avoidable injury.

(2)Where a person is charged under section 41 with an offence which consists of having a fishing engine in his possession as mentioned in subsection (2) of that section, it shall be a good defence for him to prove that he had the fishing engine in his possession as manufacturer or seller thereof and not for the purpose of using it.

44Complimentary licences.N.I.

The Board may by resolution authorise the issue to a person not ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland of a complimentary licence to use a rod and line and, where they do so, nothing in this Act or in any byelaws made by the Board thereunder shall require that person to pay any licence duty in respect of that licence.

45Falsification, etc., of licences.N.I.

[F8(1)]A person who—

(a)uses or, with intent to deceive, presents a fishing licence for any time, date, period, place or purpose other than that for which that licence is valid; or

(b)uses or presents, as being a fishing licence of which he is the holder, a fishing licence issued in the name of any other person; or

(c)uses or presents a fishing licence that has been to his knowledge either in any manner altered (otherwise than by a person duly authorised by the Board) or fraudulently counterfeited;

shall be guilty of an offence.

[F9(2)In this section “fishing licence” means a fishing licence issued under Part III or a fishing licence issued by the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission under regulations made by the Commission under the Foyle Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1952.]]

Back to top

Options/Help

Print Options

You have chosen to open The Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open The Whole Act as a PDF

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download.

Would you like to continue?

You have chosen to open the Whole Act

The Whole Act you have selected contains over 200 provisions and might take some time to download. You may also experience some issues with your browser, such as an alert box that a script is taking a long time to run.

Would you like to continue?

Close

Legislation is available in different versions:

Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.

Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.

Point in Time: This becomes available after navigating to view revised legislation as it stood at a certain point in time via Advanced Features > Show Timeline of Changes or via a point in time advanced search.

Close

See additional information alongside the content

Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.

Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.

Close

Opening Options

Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once

Close

More Resources

Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:

  • the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
  • lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
  • confers power and blanket amendment details
  • all formats of all associated documents
  • correction slips
  • links to related legislation and further information resources
Close

Timeline of Changes

This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.