Foyle Fisheries Act , 1952

PART I. Preliminary and General.

1 Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Foyle Fisheries Act, 1952.

2 Interpretation.

2.—(1) In this Act—

“the Advisory Council” means the Advisory Council for the Foyle Area established under section 22;

“authorised person” has the meaning given to it by section 54;

“the Commission” means the Foyle Fisheries Commission established by section 11;

“District Justice” means a justice of the District Court;

“establishment date” means the date appointed by order made under section 10;

“the Fisheries Acts” means the Fisheries Acts, 1842 to 1949;

“fishery rate” means a rate under section 23;

“fishery year” means the period of twelve months commencing on the 1st day of October in any year;

“fishing engine” means any engine, net or instrument whatsoever capable of being used for the taking of fish;

“fishing licence” means a licence issued by the Commission under regulations made by the Commission under this Act;

“the Foyle Area” has the meaning given to it by section 3;

“inquiry” means an inquiry conducted under section 82;

“the Irish Society” means the body entitled the Society of the Governor and Assistants, London, of the New Plantation of Ulster within the Realm of Ireland;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Agriculture;

“the Ministry” means the Ministry of Commerce for Northern Ireland;

“the Moville Area” means the area which was constituted by the Moville Fishery District Order, 1926, as the Moville District;

“the Moville Board” means the board of conservators for the Moville District;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Commission under this Act;

“river” includes lake and estuary;

“salmon” includes sea trout, all fish of the salmon species, and the spawn and fry thereof;

“trout” includes all fish of the brown trout kind and their spawn and fry but does not include sea trout.

(2) References in this Act to a fish shall be construed as including references to part of a fish.

(3) In this Act a reference by number to a Part or section is to the Part or section of this Act bearing that number unless it is indicated that reference to some other Act is intended.

(4) References in this Act to any enactment shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that enactment as amended by any subsequent enactment including this Act.

3 The Foyle Area.

3.—(1) In this Act “the Foyle Area” means the area comprising the fishery district, originally created and defined as the Londonderry District by an order made on the 9th day of July, 1855, by the Commissioners of Fisheries.

(2) Judicial notice shall be taken of the boundaries of the Foyle Area.

4 Restriction of Fisheries Acts.

4.—The provisions referred to in the third column of the First Schedule to this Act of the enactments referred to in the second column shall, on and from the establishment date, cease to apply to the Moville Area.

5 Laying of accounts and reports before Oireachtas.

5.—The Minister shall cause to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas a copy of the accounts of the Commission for each year audited in accordance with paragraph 17 of the Third Schedule to this Act, and of the report of the auditors thereon, and a copy of the annual report furnished to him by the Commission.

6 Deposit of copies of orders and regulations.

6.—A copy of every order or regulation made under this Act shall be deposited—

(a) with the county registrar for the county of Donegal,

(b) with the District Court Clerk of every Court District which or part of which is situate in the Moville Area, and

(c) in every station of the Garda Síochána situate in the Moville Area,

7 Expenses.

7.—All expenses incurred by the Minister in carrying this Act into effect shall, to such extent as shall be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be defrayed out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

PART II. Acquisition of Foyle Fishery Rights.

8 Power to acquire fishing rights, etc.

8.—(1) The Minister is hereby authorised to enter into an agreement (in this Act referred to as the vesting agreement) with the Ministry and the Irish Society in the terms of the draft set out in the Second Schedule to this Act.

(2) On the date of execution of the vesting agreement this subsection shall operate to vest in the Minister and the Ministry an absolute and indefeasible title to the fee simple in possession of all rights of fishing in the tidal portions of the Lough and River Foyle and of its tributary, the River Faughan, freed and discharged from all estates, titles, interests, incumbrances, rights, liberties and privileges whatsoever by whomsoever held, used, exercised or enjoyed, except the rentcharges referred to in the vesting agreement but indemnified therefrom as therein provided.

(3) Subsection (2) of this section shall not apply to a right vested, immediately before the date of execution of the vesting agreement, in any person, other than the Irish Society, to use a fixed engine under certificate granted under section 6 of the Salmon Fishery (Ireland) Act, 1863.

(4) On the date of execution of the vesting agreement this subsection shall operate to extinguish all the estate, right, title and interest of the Irish Society in and to the tidal portions of the Lough and River Foyle and of its tributary, the River Faughan, and the ground, soil and foreshore of those tidal portions.

(5) The vesting agreement shall operate, without further assurance, to convey, assign and transfer, on the date of the making thereof, to the Minister and the Ministry all the property thereby agreed to be sold, other than rights of fishing to which subsection (2) of this section applies.

(6) The Irish Society shall, notwithstanding any limitations on its powers, have power to enter into the vesting agreement without the consent of any person.

(7) It shall be the duty of the Minister and the Irish Society, and each such party is hereby empowered, to carry out the vesting agreement so far as the provisions thereof are to be performed by such party.

(8) If any person, other than the Irish Society, proves that he has been divested of an interest in a several right of fishing by subsection (2) of this section he shall be entitled to recover from the Commission compensation for loss of that interest, and any question whether compensation is payable under this subsection or as to the amount thereof shall, in default of agreement, be determined under and in accordance with the Acquisition of Land (Assessment of Compensation) Act, 1919, by an arbitrator appointed under that Act.

(9) When assessing compensation under subsection (8) of this section, the arbitrator shall have regard to the extent to which the right in question was exercised during the ten years ending on the execution of the vesting agreement.

9 Exemption from stamp duties.

9.—(1) Section 12 of the Finance Act, 1895, shall not operate to require the delivery to the Revenue Commissioners of a copy of this Act or the payment of stamp duty under that section on any copy of this Act.

(2) Stamp duty shall not be chargeable on the vesting agreement or on any instrument executed in pursuance thereof.

PART III. The Foyle Fisheries Commission.

10 Commencement of this Part.

10.—The subsequent provisions of this Part shall come into operation on such day as the Minister, after consultation with the Ministry, may by order appoint.

Constitution and Functions.

11 Establishment of Foyle Fisheries Commission.

11.—(1) There is hereby established a body to be known as the Foyle Fisheries Commission.

(2) The functions of the Commission shall be—

(a) the management of the property vested in the Minister and the Ministry under section 8;

(b) the conservation, protection and improvement of the fisheries of the Foyle Area generally.

(3) The provisions of the Third Schedule to this Act shall apply to the Commission.

12 Exemption from rates and taxes.

12.—(1) The Commission shall not be liable for any tax whatsoever in respect of the property in or occupation of any lands, tenements and hereditaments or in respect of any of its income.

(2) The Commission shall not be liable for a rate leviable by any local authority in respect of the use or occupation by the Commission of any hereditament or tenement and any hereditament or tenement so used or occupied shall, for the purpose of section 2 of the Valuation (Ireland) Act, 1854, be deemed to be of a public nature and occupied for the public service.

(3) In each local financial year there shall be paid to a local authority in the Moville Area out of moneys to be provided by the Oireachtas such sum as that authority would have been entitled under law to receive in respect of rates but for the exemption conferred by subsection (2) of this section.

13 Regulation.

13.—(1) The Commission may, with the approval of the Minister and the Ministry, make such regulations as appear to the Commission to be expedient for the management, conservation, protection and improvement of the fisheries of the Foyle Area and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, may make regulations in relation to all or any of the following matters—

(a) the regulation of fishing and preservation of good order amongst persons fishing,

(b) the times and seasons for the taking of fish or any kind of fish or for any mode of taking fish or any kind of fish and the conditions subject to which fish or any kind of fish may be taken,

(c) prohibiting any mode of taking or destroying fish or any kind of fish,

(d) the times and places or the mode at or in which any fishing engine may be used,

(e) the description and form of nets to be used and the size of the meshes of those nets.

(f) the prohibition, either absolutely or otherwise than under and in accordance with a licence issued by the Commission, of the use of any fishing engine,

(g) the making of applications for, and the issue, alteration, renewal, and revocation of licences, whether generally or in specified cases,

(h) the protection of waters from poisoning and pollution by any deleterious or poisonous matter, or from any predatory fish or animals,

(i) the prohibition of any practice whatsoever tending in the opinion of the Commission to impede the lawful capture of fish or to be in any manner detrimental to the fisheries,

(j) defining, by reference to a map or otherwise, the mouth of any river in the Foyle Area, the mouth of any tributary river at its entrance into any other river therein, the boundary between the tidal and freshwater portions of any river therein, the point or points to or from which distances are to be measured under this Act, or the space within which it is prohibited by this Act or by regulations under this section to use or practise certain methods of fishing,

(k) anything referred to in this Act as prescribed,

(l) anything relating in any manner to the management and protection of the fisheries.

(2) Regulations made by the Commission under this section may provide for charging in respect of any licence or other document issued or varied by the Commission such fees, payable at such time and in such manner, as may be prescribed.

(3) Every regulation made by the Commission under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be published in Iris Oifigiúil and in one or more newspapers circulating in the Foyle Area.

(4) Any instrument made under the Fisheries Acts which is in force immediately before the establishment date and applies to the fishery district known as the Moville District shall thereafter continue in force and be deemed to be made under this section and may be revoked by regulations under this section.

(5) The Minister shall cause every regulation made under this Act to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either House, within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the regulation has been laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly, but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

(6) If any person contravenes (whether by act or omission) any regulations under this section, he shall be guilty of an offence against this Act.

14 Restriction on number of licences.

14.—(1) The number of licences for fishing with fishing engines of any kind (other than rod and line) in the tidal waters of the Foyle Area which may be issued by the Commission in any year shall not exceed such number as may be for the time being prescribed.

(2) If the number of applications duly made for licences in any year exceeds the maximum number provided for under this section, the licences shall be allocated in such manner as may be prescribed.

Financial Provisions.

15 Annual Estimate.

15.—The Commission shall furnish to the Minister on or before the 30th day of November in every fishery year an estimate of its income and expenditure for that year.

16 Grants.

16.—(1) There may be paid to the Commission, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas, a grant or grants of such amount as the Minister, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, may sanction towards the expenses of the Commission for any fishery year.

(2) In determining the amount of a grant under this section for a particular fishery year the Minister shall have regard to the amount of any grant paid or to be paid to the Commission by the Ministry for that year.

17 Advances.

17.—(1) For the purpose of enabling the Commission to exercise or perform its functions, the Minister may, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, make advances from time to time to the Commission, out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) A sum advanced under this section shall be repayable on such terms as may, with the concurrence of the Minister for Finance, be agreed between the Minister and the Commission.

18 Power of the Commission to borrow temporarily.

18.—The Commission may borrow temporarily by arrangement with bankers such sums as it may from time to time require, up to an amount not exceeding such amount as may from time to time be approved by the Minister and the Ministry.

Dissolution of Moville Board.

19 Dissolution of Moville Board of Conservators.

19.—(1) The Moville Board is hereby dissolved.

(2) All property, rights and liabilities of the Moville Board are hereby transferred to the Commission.

20 Continuance of pending legal proceedings.

20.—The Commission shall, upon the establishment date, become and be a party to all pending legal proceedings to which the Moville Board is a party, in place of that Board, and the proceedings shall be continued accordingly and shall not abate or be discontinued or prejudicially affected by reason of the dissolution of that Board.

21 Continuation of licences.

21.—(1) A special local licence—

(a) issued by the Moville Board under the Fisheries (Tidal Waters) Act, 1934 (No. 24 of 1934), for the tidal waters of the River Foyle known as the “Branch Stream” to which that Act was declared by order of the Minister to apply, and

(b) in force immediately before the establishment date,

shall, notwithstanding section 4, continue in force in accordance with its terms subject to the provisions of the Fisheries (Tidal Waters) Act, 1934, and section 54 of the Fisheries Act, 1939 (No. 17 of 1939), and the orders and regulations of the Minister thereunder and those provisions, orders and regulations shall be construed in relation to such licences with the substitution of references to the Commission for references to the Moville Board.

(2) A licence (other than a special local licence) issued by the Moville Board and in force immediately before the establishment date shall continue in force in accordance with its terms and shall be deemed to be a fishing licence for the purposes of this Act.

The Advisory Council for the Foyle Area.

22 Establishment and Functions of Advisory Council.

22.—(1) There shall be an Advisory Council for the Foyle Area.

(2) The functions of the Advisory Council shall be to watch over the interests of the holders of fishing licences and the occupiers of fisheries in the Foyle Area, to make such suggestions and representations as it thinks proper to the Commission in relation to any of the Commission's functions, and to advise the Commission upon any matter referred to it by the Commission.

(3) The provisions of the Fourth Schedule to this Act shall apply to the Advisory Council.

PART IV. Rates on Fisheries.

23 Rates on fisheries.

23.—(1) In the fishery year commencing on the 1st day of October, 1952, and in every subsequent fishery year, the Commission shall, on or before the 31st day of December, make a rate of an amount equal to twenty shillings in the pound on every fishery (other than a fishery of which the Commission is the occupier) in the Moville Area on the valuation thereof appearing in the revised Valuation List required under the Valuation Acts to be issued by the Commissioner of Valuation not later than the preceding 1st day of March.

(2) Every rate under this section shall be paid by the several persons liable therefor in two moieties on the 1st day of April and the 1st day of September in the fishery year for which the rate is payable and shall be so paid over and above all or any licence fees paid by those persons under this Act for that or any other fishery year.

(3) A person who is liable to be rated under this Act in respect of a fishery shall, in respect of that fishery, be exempt from liability for any rate leviable by a local authority.

(4) Subsection (7) of section 13 of the Fisheries Act, 1925 (No. 32 of 1925), shall apply to the Moville Area and for the purpose of such application the exemption conferred by subsection (3) of this section shall be deemed to have been conferred by the said section 13.

24 Liability of occupier for fishery rate.

24.—The occupier of a fishery shall be liable to pay the fishery rate in respect of the fishery.

25 Collection of fishery rate.

25.—Fishery rate shall be collected by such persons as the Commission may from time to time appoint, adequate security being taken by the Commission from the persons so appointed for the due accounting for the rate collected, and the costs of the collection of the rate shall be part of the expenses of the Commission.

26 Recovery of fishery rate.

26.—(1) Fishery rate may be recovered at the suit of the Commission as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.