Fisheries act, 1925

• Enactment Date: 11 July 1925
• Act Number: 32

Number 32 of 1925.
FISHERIES ACT, 1925.
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PRELIMINARY
Section 1. Short title, construction, and citation. 2. Commencement. 3. Definitions.
PART I
ELECTION AND MEMBERSHIP OF BOARD OF CONSERVATORS
4. Cesser of office of existing boards. 5. Minister may alter number of conservators. 6. Amendment of section 29 of Salmon Fishery (Ireland) Act, 1863. 7. Amendment of section 6 of Fisheries (Ireland) Act, 1848. 8. Scale of votes. 9. Conservators may resign. 10. Disqualification of members of boards of conservators. 11. Casual vacancies to be filled by co-option.
PART II
FINANCE OF BOARDS OF CONSERVATORS
12. Alteration of rates of licence duty. 13. Rates on fisheries. 14. Board of conservators to furnish annual estimate. 15. Audit of accounts of boards of conservators.
PART III
RESTRICTIONS ON THE SALE OF SALMON AND TROUT.
16. Prohibition of sale of salmon, etc., without licences. 17. Issue of licences. 18. Certificate of Justice to be obtained. 19. Form, effect, and duration of licences. 20. Revocation of licences. 21. Publication of licence. 22. Register to be kept by holder of licence.
PART IV
MISCELLANEOUS
23. Marking of packages containing salmon or trout. 24. Powers of inspection, examination, and detention. 25. Appointments of officers and servants to be subject to approval of Minister. 26. Power of Minister to dissolve boards of conservators. 27. Power of Minister to alter, etc., fishery districts and electoral divisions. 28. Power of making byelaws, etc., transferred to Minister. 29. Power of appointing officers transferred to Minister. 30. Notice of meetings and inquiries. 31. Prohibition of fixed engines not now certificated. 32. Exemptions for artificial propagation and scientific purposes. 33. Penalty on giving warning to persons fishing illegally. 34. Restriction on fishing for eels in close time. 35. Amendment of section 78 of Fisheries (Ireland) Act, 1842. 36. Regulations. 37. Prosecution of offences and disposal of fines. 38. Expenses.
FIRST SCHEDULE
Revised rates of licence duties
SECOND SCHEDULE
Enactments repealed
Acts Referred to Fisheries Act, 1924 No. 6 of 1924 Fisheries (Election of Conservators Postponement) Act, 1924 No. 43 of 1924 Courts of Justice Act, 1924 No. 10 of 1924 Criminal Justice (Administration) Act, 1924 No. 44 of 1924
Number 32 of 1925.
FISHERIES ACT, 1925.
AN ACT TO AMEND THE FISHERIES (IRELAND) ACTS, 1842 TO 1909, AND THE FISHERIES ACT, 1924 , TO MAKE PROVISION FOR THE CONTROL OF DEALERS IN SALMON AND TROUT, AND TO PROVIDE FOR OTHER MATTERS RELATING TO THE PRESERVATION OF THE FISHERIES OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN. [11th July, 1925.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS OF SAORSTÁT EIREANN AS FOLLOWS:—
PRELIMINARY.
	Short title, construction, and citation.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Fisheries Act, 1925.
	(2) This Act shall be construed as one with the Fisheries (Ireland) Acts, 1842 to 1909, and those Acts, the Fisheries Act, 1924 (No. 6 of 1924), the Fisheries (Election of Conservators Postponement) Act, 1924 (No. 43 of 1924), and this Act may be cited together as the Fisheries Acts, 1842 to 1925.
	Commencement.	2.—This Act shall come into operation on such day as shall be fixed by order of the Minister either generally or with reference to any particular Part of this Act, and different dates may be fixed for the commencement of different Parts of this Act.
	Definitions.	3.—In this Act—
	the expression “the Minister” means the Minister for Fisheries; the word “prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;
	the expression “fishery year” means a period of twelve months beginning on the 1st day of October and ending on the 30th day of September next following;
	the words “salmon” “trout,” and “fish” respectively include part of a salmon, part of a trout, and part of a fish.
PART I. ELECTION AND MEMBERSHIP OF BOARDS OF CONSERVATORS.
	Cesser of office of existing boards.	4.—On the first Monday in the month of October next after the commencement of this Part of this Act all boards of conservators existing at the passing of this Act shall cease to hold office and new boards shall be elected.
	Minister may alter number of conservators.	5.—(1) It shall be lawful for the Minister by order, from time to time when and so often as he shall think proper, to alter the number of conservators to be elected and returned for any electoral division, but the number of such conservators shall not by any such order be increased to more than nine or reduced to less than three.
	(2) Every order made under this section shall come into operation in respect of each electoral division to which the order relates at the election of conservators for that electoral division held next after the date of the order.
	Amendment of section 29 of Salmon Fishery (Ireland) Act, 1863.	6.—Section 29 of the Salmon Fishery (Ireland) Act, 1863, shall be construed and have effect as if the word “district” were inserted therein in lieu of the words “electoral division” now contained therein.
	Amendment of section 6 of Fisheries (Ireland) Act, 1848.	7.—Section 6 of the Fisheries (Ireland) Act, 1848, shall be construed and have effect as if the words “fifty pounds yearly or upwards” were substituted therein for the words “one hundred pounds yearly or upwards.”
	Scale of Votes.	8.—(1) The following scale of votes shall be substituted for the scale contained in section 9 of the Fisheries (Ireland) Act, 1848, that is to say if the licence duty paid as mentioned in the said section by the person voting shall not amount to three pounds, he shall have one vote, if such licence duty shall amount to three pounds and not to six pounds he shall have two votes, if such licence duty shall amount to six pounds and not to ten pounds he shall have three votes, and if such licence duty shall amount to or exceed ten pounds he shall have four votes.
	(2) In computing for the purpose of the scale contained in the foregoing sub-section the licence duty paid by any person the following sums shall not be taken into account, that is to say:—
	(a) any sum of ten shillings paid by such person for fishing in a district other than that in which he already holds a salmon rod licence, or
	(b) any sum of one pound paid by such person for a single salmon rod licence for a period not exceeding fourteen days.
	(3) So much of the said section 9 of the Fisheries (Ireland) Act, 1848, as authorises voting by proxy shall cease to have effect and voting under that section as amended by this section shall be in person only.
	Conservators may resign.	9.—(1) Any elected member of a board of conservators may at any time by notice in writing delivered to the clerk of the board resign his membership of the board, and in every such case the seat of such member on the board shall (unless the notice is previously withdrawn) become and be vacant at and from the commencement of the meeting of the board held next after the delivery of the notice to the clerk.
	(2) A notice of resignation under this section may be withdrawn by a notice in writing delivered to the clerk of the board before the commencement of the meeting of the board held next after the delivery of the notice of resignation to the clerk.
	(3) A notice under this section may be delivered to the clerk by leaving the same for him at his office or by sending the same by prepaid letter post in an envelope addressed to the clerk at his office, and in the last-mentioned case the notice shall be deemed to have been delivered to the clerk at the time when the envelope containing the notice would have been delivered at his office in the ordinary course of post.
	Disqualification of members of boards of conservators.	10.—(1) Any elected member of a board of conservators who during a period of six consecutive months absents himself from all meetings of that board and all meetings of the conservators for the electoral division which he represents shall be disqualified for continuing to be a member of such board and one fortnight after the expiration, of the period aforesaid his seat on such board shall, subject to the provisions of this section, become and be vacant.
	(2) Whenever a member of a board of conservators is about to become or has become disqualified under this section from continuing to be a member of such board the Minister may, not later than one fortnight after the expiration of the period aforesaid, and if in his opinion the special circumstances of the case justify him in so doing, extend the said period by such further period as he shall think proper, and thereupon the first sub-section of this section shall have effect in that particular case as if such extended period were substituted for the said period of six consecutive months, but no such period of six consecutive months shall be extended under this sub-section more than once.
	Casual vacancies to be filled by co-option.	11.—(1) Whenever during the term of office of any board of conservators the seat of any elected member of the board becomes vacant by death, resignation, incapacity, or disqualification, it shall be lawful for the other members of the board or such of them as shall be present by resolution duly passed at a meeting of the board to elect a person to be a member of the board during the residue of the term of office of the board in place of the member whose seat is so vacant...