Control of Fishing for Salmon Order 2020

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 63/2020
• Year: 2020

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 13th March, 2020.

I, SEÁN CANNEY, Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 29 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1962 (No. 31 of 1962), the Fisheries (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1977 ( S.I. No. 30 of 1977 ) (as adapted by the Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2016 ( S.I. No. 421 of 2016 )) and the Communications, Climate Action and Environment (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2018 ( S.I. No. 472 of 2018 ), hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Control of Fishing for Salmon Order 2020.

2. (1) In this Order -

“draft net” has the meaning assigned to it by the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 ;

“IFI” means Inland Fisheries Ireland;

“illness or injury” means illness or injury other than illness or injury that renders a person totally incapacitated by physical or mental infirmity from maintaining himself or herself;

“snap net” includes a single wall of netting attached to a head rope and a weighted ground rope, designed to suspend between two boats and into which the catch is drawn, for the purpose of taking or fishing for, or attempting to take or to fish for salmon.

(2) In this order a reference to a fishing engine is a reference to a fishing engine for the taking of salmon.

3. This Order applies to -

(a) the waters of the fishery districts referred to in column (1) of Schedule 1, and

(b) fishing licences for any kind of fishing engine, except for fishing licences in respect of a rod and line.

4. (1) A person who has formally accepted an offer under the Salmon Hardship Scheme is not eligible to apply for a fishing licence under this Order.

(2) In this Article “Salmon Hardship Scheme” means the scheme established by the Government Decision of 1 November 2006 to assist salmon commercial fishermen who previously fished in areas that have been closed for conservation reasons and commercial salmon fishermen who cease to fish for salmon.

5. (1) Subject to paragraph (3), the maximum number of fishing licences which IFI may issue in any year for the fishery district specified in column (1) of Schedule 1, for the kind of fishing engine specified in column (2) of that Schedule opposite that entry in column (1), shall not exceed the number specified in column (3) of that Schedule opposite that entry in column (1).

(2) IFI shall not issue a fishing licence for a fishery for any kind of fishing engine which is not specified in column (2) of Schedule 1 opposite the entry in column (1) of that Schedule.

(3) (a) Subject to paragraph (b), the maximum number of fishing licences for any kind of fishing engine issued in respect of a fishery district in any year shall not exceed the average number of fishing licences issued for that fishery district in the previous 3 years when such licences were issued for that fishery district where the average number is the total number of such licences issued in those 3 years divided by 3.

(b) The maximum number of fishing engines referred to as draft net (special tidal waters) in column (2) of Schedule 1 opposite the reference to the fishery district of No. 102 or Bangor District in column (1) of Schedule 1, issued in any year shall be based on the average number of fishing licences taken out and fished in the previous 3 years in which fishing licences were issued for the Owenmore River and Owenduff River in the No. 102 or Bangor District.

(4) IFI shall not issue a fishing licence, for any kind of fishing engine -

(a) to the person paying the licence duty on such engine, or

(b) if the licence operates to authorise the use of the engine to which it relates by any person named in the licence, to the person so named,

unless the person referred to at paragraph (a) or, if applicable, paragraph (b)-

(i) has attained the age of 18 years on the date on which the application is made, and

(ii) provides satisfactory evidence of his or her date of birth.

6. IFI, when considering applications for fishing licences for any kind (other than a snap net) of fishing engine specified in column (2) of Schedule 1 opposite the fishery district specified in column (1) of that Schedule, shall consider the applications, and, if satisfied having regard to its functions that it is appropriate to do so, shall issue the licences in the following order, that is to say -

(a) first, to persons who –

(i) have held a fishing licence, for the kind of fishing engine and to fish the waters in respect of which the application is made, for all of the 3 years prior to the year in which the application for the fishing licence is made, and

(ii) have fished in accordance with the fishing licence themselves and did not permit fishing to take place in any of those years under the authority of their fishing licence by any other person,

(b) second, to persons –

(i) who have held a fishing licence, for the kind of fishing engine and to fish the waters in respect of which the application is made, for all of the 3 years prior to the year in which the application for the fishing licence is made,

(ii) who have failed to be present during all of the fishing operations to which the fishing licence applied in any or in any part of the fishing seasons in those 3 years due to illness or injury, in respect of which illness or injury the holder of the fishing licence has furnished satisfactory written evidence to IFI, and

(iii) whose fishing licence operated to authorise the use of the engine to which it relates by a person named in the licence and who nominated the person so named to fish in accordance with the licence, and the person so nominated fished in accordance with the fishing licence,

(c) third, to persons who –

(i) have held a fishing licence, for the kind of fishing engine and to fish the waters in respect of which the application is made, for all of the 2 years prior to the year in which the application for the fishing licence is made, and

(ii) have fished in accordance with the fishing licence themselves and did not permit fishing to take place in any of those years under the authority of their fishing licence by any other person,

(d) fourth, to persons –

(i) who have held a fishing licence, for the kind of fishing engine and to fish the waters in respect of which the application is made, for all of the 2 years prior to the year in which the application for the fishing licence is made,

(ii) who have failed to be present during all of the fishing operations to which the fishing licence applied in any or in any part of the fishing seasons in those 2 years due to illness or injury, in respect of which illness or injury the holder of the fishing licence has furnished satisfactory written evidence to IFI, and

(iii) whose fishing licence operated to authorise the use of the engine to which it relates by any person named in the licence and who nominated the person so named to fish in accordance with the licence, and the person so nominated fished in accordance with the fishing licence,

(e) fifth, to persons who –

(i) have held a fishing licence, for the kind of fishing engine and to fish the waters in respect of which the application is made, for all of the year prior to the year in which the application for the fishing licence is made, and

(ii) have fished in accordance with the fishing licence themselves and did not permit fishing to take place in that year under the authority of their fishing licence by any other person,

(f) sixth, to persons –

(i) who have held a fishing licence, for the kind of fishing engine and to fish the waters in respect of which the application is made, for the year prior to the year in which the application for the fishing licence is made,

(ii) who have failed to be present during all of the fishing operations to which the fishing licence applied in any or in any part of the fishing seasons in that year due to illness or injury, in respect of which illness or injury the holder of the fishing licence has furnished satisfactory written evidence to IFI, and

(iii) whose fishing licence operated to authorise the use of the engine to which it relates by a person named in the licence and who nominated the person so named to fish in accordance with the licence, and the person so nominated fished in accordance with the fishing licence,

(g) seventh, to persons who –

(i) did not hold a fishing licence, for the kind of fishing engine and to fish the waters in respect of which the application is made, in the year prior to the year in which he or she makes the application for a fishing licence but who did hold such a fishing licence for the 2 years prior to that year, and

(ii) have fished in accordance with the fishing licence themselves and did not permit fishing to take place in any of those years under the authority of their fishing licence by any other person,

(h) eighth, to persons –

(i) who did not hold a fishing licence, for the kind of fishing engine and to fish the waters in respect of which the application is made, in the year prior to the year in which he or she makes the application for a fishing licence but who did hold a fishing licence for the 2 years prior to that year,

(ii) who have failed to be present during all of the fishing operations to which the fishing licence applied in any or in any part of the fishing seasons in those 2 years due to illness or injury, in respect of which illness or injury the holder of the fishing licence has furnished satisfactory written evidence to IFI, and

(iii) whose fishing licence operated to authorise the use of the engine to which it relates by a person named in the licence and who nominated the person so named to fish in accordance with the...