Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations, 2007

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 849/2007

CONTENTS

Regulation

1. Citation and commencement

2. Definitions

3. Tagging of lawfully taken wild salmon and sea trout — gill tags

4. Distribution of blue tags to anglers

5. Additional tagging for anglers in certain rivers — brown tags

6. Distribution of brown tags to anglers

7. Notice to distributors relating to brown tags

8. Restrictions on issue to distributors of brown tags

9. Fishery district committees

10. Total allowable catch — fishing licences

11. Quotas — commercial fishing licences

12. Cessation of commercial fishing and surrender of untagged fish where tags are exhausted

13. Safety days

14. Performance of CEO’s functions by other persons

15. Log cards

16. Logbooks

17. Entries of events into logbooks

18. Surrender of completed logbooks and unused tags to CEO

19. Reporting lost or destroyed logbooks

20. Distributors of blue and brown tags and logbooks

21. Dealers

22. Persons engaged in catering

23. Prohibitions

24. Non-application to certain matters

25. Forfeiture of fishing licence and consequential disqualification order

26. Revocations

SCHEDULE 1

Gill Tags — blue tags and commercial tags

SCHEDULE 2

Rivers

Total Allowable Catch

SCHEDULE 3

Brown Tags

SCHEDULE 4

Fishery districts and rivers to which brown tags apply

SCHEDULE 5

Logbooks

SCHEDULE 6

Tags Issues Register

SCHEDULE 7

Tags Removals Register

SCHEDULE 8

Tail Tag

SCHEDULE 9

Dealer’s Record Book

S.I. No. 849 of 2007

WILD SALMON AND SEA TROUT TAGGING SCHEME REGULATIONS 2007

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 29th January, 2008.

I, EAMON RYAN, Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 24 (as amended by section 3(a) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2000 (No. 34 of 2000)) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1999 (No. 35 of 1999), after consultation with the National Salmon Commission, and section 90(3)(a)(v) (inserted by section 4 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2000 ) of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 (No. 14 of 1959), the Fisheries (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 1977 ( S.I. No. 30 of 1977 ) (as adapted by the Communications, Marine and Natural Resources (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2007 ( S.I. No. 706 of 2007 )), and having complied with the requirements of Regulation 31 of the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 94 of 1997 ), hereby make the following regulations:

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations 2007.

(2) These Regulations come into operation on 1 January 2008.

Definitions

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“Act of 1980” means the Fisheries Act 1980 (No. 1 of 1980);

“Act of 1994” means the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1994 (No. 23 of 1994);

“Act of 2000” means the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2000 (No. 34 of 2000);

“angling season” means the period of time in any year during which it is permitted to fish in any river in accordance with Bye-Laws made under section 9 of the Principal Act;

“authorised agent” means an authorised agent (within the meaning of section 70(1) of the Principal Act) of a regional board;

“blue tag” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 4(7);

“brown tag” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulations 5(4);

“CEO” means Chief Executive Officer;

“commercial gill tag” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 11(8);

“commercial fishing engine” means a draft net, snap net or any other lawful fishing engine (other than rod and line);

“commercial fishing licence” means a licence authorising the use of a commercial fishing engine for the taking of salmon or sea trout;

“dealer” means the holder of a salmon dealer’s licence;

“dealer’s record book” means a record book in the form set out in Schedule 9;

“distributor” means the Central Board, a regional board or an authorised agent or owner, occupier or a manager of a private or several fishery;

“document” includes a dealer’s record book, a tags issues register or a tag removals register;

“draft net” includes a single wall of netting attached to a floating head rope and a weighted ground rope, designed so that a bag is formed into which the catch is drafted or hauled, for the purpose of taking or fishing for, or attempting to take or to fish for, salmon or sea trout;

“farmed salmon or sea trout” includes salmon or sea trout reared entirely in captivity under an aquaculture licence and salmon or sea trout produced by means of aquaculture and imported from outside the State;

“fishing licence” means a commercial fishing licence or a rod licence or both, as the case may be;

“holder of a fishing licence” includes a person who is authorised under section 67(9) (inserted by section 67 of the Act of 1980) of the Principal Act to use the fishing engine which is related to the licence;

“holder of a logbook” includes a person who is a holder of the fishing licence to which the logbook relates;

“length” in relation to a sea trout, means the distance measured in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail;

“logbook” means a salmon and sea trout commercial fishing logbook or a salmon and sea trout angler’s logbook;

“Principal Act” means Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 (No. 14 of 1959);

“relevant board” in relation to—

(a) a fishing licence or a salmon dealer’s licence, means the regional board which issued the licence, or

(b) a commercial gill tag, means the regional board from which the tag was issued;

“rod and line” means any rod and line capable of being used for the purpose of taking or fishing for, or attempting to take or fish for, salmon or sea trout;

“rod licence” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 4(7);

“salmon and sea trout angler’s logbook” means a logbook in the form set out in Part 2 of Schedule 5;

“salmon and sea trout commercial fishing logbook” means a logbook in the form set out in Part 1 of Schedule 5;

“salmon dealer’s licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 154 (inserted by section 20 of the Act of 1994) of the Principal Act;

“salmon” means fish of the species Salmo salar (Atlantic Salmon);

“sea trout” means a sea trout over 40 centimetres in length and does not include a farmed sea trout but does include a sea trout which has been released from, or has escaped from, captivity;

“snap net” includes a single wall of netting attached to a floating 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 or sea trout;

“tag” means a gill tag or a tail tag;

“tags issues register” means a register in the form set out in Schedule 6;

“tag removals register” means a register in the form set out in Schedule 7;

“tail tag” means a tail tag as described in Schedule 8;

“total allowable catch” has the meaning assigned to it by Regulation 10(3);

“wild salmon” does not include a farmed salmon but does include a salmon which has been released from, or has escaped from, captivity.

Tagging of lawfully taken wild salmon and sea trout — gill tags

3. (1) Where a person lawfully catches and retains a wild salmon or sea trout by rod and line, he or she must attach to the fish in accordance with paragraph (3) a blue tag issued to him or her under Regulation 4.

(2) The holder of a commercial licence must ensure that any wild salmon or sea trout caught and retained, in accordance with a quota decided under Regulation 11(1) applicable to the licence, by a commercial fishing engine has a commercial gill tag, issued under Regulation 11(3), attached to it in accordance with this paragraph (3).

(3) A gill tag attached to a wild salmon or sea trout under this Regulation must—

(a) be in colour—

(i) blue, where the fish is caught by rod and line,

(ii) green, where the fish is caught by draft net,

(iii) white, where the fish is caught by snap net, or

(iv) orange, where the fish is caught by any other lawful fishing engine,

(b) have the correct year code in which the fish was caught indicated on it,

(c) other than where the fish is caught by rod and line, have the code for the fisheries region and the fishery district (other than in the Shannon Region) in which the fish is caught indicated on it,

(d) where the fish being a salmon or sea trout is caught by rod and line, if required by the CEO of a regional board of the fisheries region in which the fish is caught, have the name of that fisheries region indicated on it,

(e) bear the correct tag code and number as specified in the logbook to which the tag relates,

(f) be in such a condition, that it is capable of being read, and

(g) upon landing the fish, be firmly fastened and securely locked to the fish by attaching it through the gill opening and mouth of the fish and locking it around the gill cover so that—

(i) the code and number of the tag face outwards, and

(ii) it cannot be removed without tampering with the lock, breaking or cutting the tag or without cutting or tearing any part of the fish.

(4) This Regulation applies to a wild salmon or sea trout caught in a river mentioned in column (2) of Schedule 2.

Distribution of blue tags to anglers

4. (1) The holder of a salmon rod (annual) ordinary, juvenile or district licence shall be issued by a distributor on receipt of licence duty with 10 blue tags for the angling season concerned.

(2) The holder of a salmon rod (twenty-one day) ordinary licence shall be issued by a distributor on receipt of licence duty—

(a) in respect of the period from—

(i) 1 January to 11 May, with 3 blue tags, and

(ii) 12 May to 30 September, with 10 blue tags, or

(b) where the licence is in force...