Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 2003

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR No. 21/2003
• Year: 2003

Number 21 of 2003
FISHERIES (AMENDMENT) ACT 2003
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
PART 1
Preliminary and General
Section 1. Short title, collective citation and construction. 2. Interpretation.
PART 2
Licensing of Sea-Fishing Boats and Certain Sea-Fishing
3. Licensing authority. 4. Sea-fishing boat licences. 5. Licence application, licence and other fees.
PART 3
Independent Appeals System
6. Appeals Officer. 7. Right of appeal. 8. Oral hearings. 9. Notification of appeals to, and supply of documents, etc., by, licensing authority. 10. Submissions or observations by parties to appeal. 11. Submissions or observations by persons other than parties to appeal. 12. Power of Appeals Officer to request submissions or observations. 13. Appeals Officer to give copy of submissions or observations to appellant, etc. 14. Power of Appeals Officer to require submission of documents, etc. 15. Appeals Officer to give copy of documents, etc., submitted to appellant, etc. 16. Determination of appeals. 17. Time for appeals, etc., extended where office of Appeals Officer is closed. 18. Reference of certain questions of law to High Court. 19. Applications for judicial review. 20. Regulations (Part 3). 21. Offences and penalties.
PART 4
Conservation and Management of Fish Stocks
22. Interpretation (Part 4). 23. Party states. 24. Conservation areas. 25. Regulations relating to conservation and management of straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. 26. Sea fisheries protection officers. 27. Duty of master of sea-fishing boat in conservation area. 28. Forfeiture of sea-fishing boats in certain circumstances. 29. Suspension or cancellation of certificate of competency of master, etc., of Irish sea-fishing boat in certain circumstances. 30. Increase in certain fines. 31. Amendment of Schedule 3.
PART 5
Foreshore Application and Other Fees
32. Foreshore application and other fees.
SCHEDULE 1
Appeals Officer
SCHEDULE 2
United Nations Agreement on the implementation of the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the conservation and management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks
SCHEDULE 3
List of Highly Migratory Fish Species
Acts Referred to Civil Service Regulation Act 1956 1956, No. 46 European Communities Act 1972 1972, No. 27 European Parliament Elections Act 1997 1997, No. 2 Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1978 1978, No. 18 Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1983 1983, No. 27 Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1994 1994, No. 23 Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 1959, No. 14 Fisheries Acts 1959 to 2001 Foreshore Act 1933 1933, No. 12 Foreshore Acts 1933 to 1998 Local Government Act 2001 2001, No. 37 Mercantile Marine Act 1955 1955, No. 29 Merchant Shipping Act 1894 56 & 57 Vic., c. 60 Merchant Shipping (Certification of Seamen) Act 1979 1979, No. 37
Number 21 of 2003
FISHERIES (AMENDMENT) ACT 2003
AN ACT TO ENABLE EFFECT TO BE GIVEN TO THE UNITED NATIONS AGREEMENT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION ON THE LAW OF THE SEA OF 10 DECEMBER 1982 RELATING TO THE CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT OF STRADDLING FISH STOCKS AND HIGHLY MIGRATORY FISH STOCKS, TO PROVIDE FOR AN INDEPENDENT APPEALS SYSTEM IN RELATION TO THE LICENSING OF SEA-FISHING BOATS, TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE FORESHORE ACT 1933, THE FISHERIES ACTS 1959 TO 2001 AND THE MERCHANT SHIPPING (CERTIFICATION OF SEAMEN) ACT 1979, AND TO PROVIDE FOR RELATED MATTERS. [1st July, 2003.]
BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS FOLLOWS:
PART 1 Preliminary and General
	Short title, collective citation and construction.	1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2003.
	(2) The Fisheries Acts 1959 to 2001 and this Act (other than section 32 and section 2 in so far as it relates to section 32 ) may be cited together as the Fisheries Acts 1959 to 2003 and shall be construed together as one.
	(3) The Foreshore Acts 1933 to 1998, section 32 and section 2 in so far as it relates to section 32 , may be cited together as the Foreshore Acts 1933 to 2003 and shall be construed together as one.
	Interpretation.	2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—
	“Act of 1983” means Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1983 ;
	“Act of 1994” means Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1994 ;
	“appeal” means an appeal under section 7 ;
	“Appeals Officer” means a person appointed under section 6 as an Appeals Officer for the purposes of Part 3 of this Act;
	“licence” in Parts 2 and 3 of this Act, means a sea-fishing boat licence granted under section 222B(3) of the Principal Act;
	“licensing authority” has the meaning assigned to it by section 3 ;
	“local authority” has the meaning assigned to it by the Local Government Act 2001 ;
	“Minister” means the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources;
	“Principal Act” means Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 .
	(2) In this Act—
	(a) a reference to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or extended by or under any subsequent enactment including this Act when enacted,
	(b) a reference to a section or Schedule is a reference to a section of, or Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended,
	(c) a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is indicated that reference to some other provision is intended.
PART 2 Licensing of Sea-Fishing Boats and Certain Sea-Fishing
	Licensing authority.	3.—(1) The licensing authority in relation to sea-fishing boats shall be—
	(a) the Registrar General of Fishing Boats, or
	(b) acting under the superintendence of the Registrar General of Fishing Boats, the Deputy Registrar General of Fishing Boats.
	(2) The licensing authority shall be independent in the exercise of his or her functions under this Part subject to—
	(a) the law for the time being in force in relation to sea-fishing boat licensing, including, in particular, the legal obligations of the State arising under any law of an institution of the European Communities or other international agreement which is binding on the State, and
	(b) such policy directives in relation to sea-fishing boat licensing as the Minister may give in writing from time to time.
	(3) A policy directive given under subsection (2)(b) may require certain prohibitions or conditions to be imposed in relation to sea-fishing for the purposes of protecting, conserving or allowing the sustainable exploitation of living marine aquatic species.
	(4) Where the Minister gives a policy directive under subsection (2)(b), a notice of such directive and details of it (including reasons for giving the directive) shall, as soon as practicable after the directive is given, be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and published in Iris Oifigiúil.
	(5) Subsection (2)(b) shall not be construed as enabling the Minister to exercise any power or control in relation to any particular case or group of cases with which the licensing authority is or may be concerned.
	(6) (a) The licensing authority shall—
	(i) maintain a register of licences (which shall be known as the Register of Sea-fishing Boat Licences) in electronic form capable of being read in legible form and satisfying the requirements from time to time of any law of an institution of the European Communities, and
	(ii) give to the Minister such information relating to the performance of the functions of the licensing authority as the Minister may from time to time request.
	(b) The licensing authority may, on his or her own initiative, or at the request of the Minister, make submissions or recommendations to the Minister on any matter relating to the functions of the licensing authority or to licensing under section 222B of the Principal Act.
	(7) The licensing authority shall, as soon as practicable but not later than 6 months after the end of each financial year, report to the Minister on the performance of the functions of the licensing authority in that year and the Minister shall cause copies of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.
	(8) The licensing authority shall cause to be published by electronic means capable of being read in legible form details of—
	(a) all applications for licences received after 1 January 2003,
	(b) all decisions made after 1 January 2003 on any such application or to amend or revoke a licence.
	(9) (a) Anything commenced before the passing of this Act by or under the authority of the Minister under section 222B(3) of the Principal Act may be carried on or completed on or after such passing by the licensing authority.
	(b) Every licence granted by or under the authority of the Minister which is in force immediately before the passing of this Act shall be deemed to have been granted by the licensing authority under section 222B(3) (inserted by section 4 ) and references to the Minister in any such licence shall after the passing of this Act be construed as a reference to the licensing authority.
	(10) In this section, “the Registrar General of Fishing Boats” and “the Deputy Registrar General of Fishing Boats” mean, respectively, the Registrar General of Fishing Boats and the Deputy Registrar General of Fishing Boats...