FISHERIES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1966

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FISHERIES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1966 - SECT 214

Short title.

214. This Act may be cited as the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966.

1. Where the Ministry has reason to suspect that the holder of a licence has
contravened any of the provisions of this Act relating to the fishery or, as
the case may be, the fixed engine or fishing weir with respect to which the
licence was issued, or any such provision of a byelaw or regulation, or any
condition of the licence, the Ministry may, pending investigation of the
suspected contravention and on giving notice in writing to the holder
specifiying the suspected contravention, suspend the licence.

2. When a licence is suspended under paragraph 1 the Ministry shall, within a
period of twenty-eight days from the date of the suspension, either remove the
suspension or revoke the licence under paragraph 3.

3. The Ministry may revoke a licence where the Ministry is satisfied that the
holder of the licence has contravened

(a)any of the provisions of this Act relating to the fishery or, as the case
may be, the fixed engine or fishing weir with respect to which the licence was
issued, or any such provision of a byelaw or regulation; or

(b)any condition of the licence;

4. Where the Ministry proposes to revoke a licence, other than a licence
suspended under paragraph 1 the Ministry shall give to the holder of the
licence at least twenty-eight days' prior notice of its intention to do so and
of the grounds upon which the revocation is proposed to be made; and before
revoking the licence the Ministry shall consider any representations in
relation thereto made by the holder before the expiration of the notice.

5. Where the Ministry revokes a licence the Ministry shall send by post a
notice of the revocation to the person whose licence has been revoked, and the
notice shall inform that person of his right of appeal under paragraph 6, and
of the time within which the appeal may be brought.

6. A person whose licence has been revoked under paragraph 3 may, within
twenty-eight days from the date on which a notice under paragraph 5 is served
on him, appeal to the county court on the ground that there has not been any
contravention or false statement such as is described in paragraph 3 or that
the contravention or false statement was inadvertent or was of such a trivial
or insignificant nature that the licence should not be revoked.

7. The county court, in deciding an appeal brought under paragraph 6, shall
state the reasons for its decision, and its decision shall be final.

8. When a licence is suspended or revoked, the person who was the holder of
the licence shall, within fourteen days of receiving a request for its return
to the Ministry, return the licence to the Ministry together with any copies
thereof issued to him by the Ministry, and if he fails to do so, he shall be
guilty of an offence.

[9. In this Schedule "contravention", in relation to a condition of a licence,
includes a failure to comply with that condition.]

1. The Board shall be a body corporate, and section 19 of the Interpretation
Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall apply to them.

2. The Board shall consist of a Chairman and fourteen other members.

3.(1) The Chairman and the other members of the Board shall be appointed by
the Minister from among persons appearing to him to be qualified for the
office, and of the members other than the Chairman

(a)one, who shall be Deputy Chairman, shall be an officer of the Ministry;

(b)one shall be a member of any body established under any enactment for the
promotion of the development of tourist traffic in Northern Ireland, nominated
by the Minister of Commerce;

(c)three shall be the representatives of any companies for the time being
recognised by the Minister as substantially interested in the commercial
operation of any salmon or eel fishery, to be chosen after consultation with
the companies;

(d)three shall be the respective representatives of the commercial fishermen
(other than the companies for the time being recognised by the Minister for
the purposes of head (c)) of

(i)Lough Erne,

(ii)Lough Neagh, and

<(iii)the coastal salmon fisheries,

(d)to be chosen after consultation with representatives of any bodies for the
time being recognised by the Minister as bodies representative of,

<(aa)xtf3f1tiPS0000xt05six shall be rod anglers chosen by the Minister from any list of candidates not being less than ten in number that may be submitted to the Minister by any bodies for the time being recognised by the Minister as bodies representative of a substantial number of anglers.

(2) Section 18(2) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954 shall
apply to every appointment made under sub-paragraph (1), but not so as to
authorise the payment of remuneration to any person except in accordance with
the provisions of paragraph 9.

(3) The Minister may by order made subject to affirmative resolution amend
paragraph 2 and sub-paragraph (1) so as to provide for the appointment of one
or more than one additional member to represent any salmon or inland fishery
interest or interests which appear to him to lack adequate representation on
the Board.

(4) An order under sub-paragraph (3) may make such consequential amendments in
paragraph 4 as appear to the Minister to be expedient.

4.(1) The Chairman and each of the members referred to in paragraph 3(1)(a),
(b) and (c) shall (unless in the meantime he dies or resigns) hold office for
such period as the Minister may determine.

(2) One of the members referred to in head (d) of paragraph 3(1) and three of
the members referred to in head (e) of paragraph 3(1) shall in the first
instance be appointed to hold office for a period of three years, and the
remainder of the members referred to in those heads shall in the first
instance be appointed to hold office for a period of six years.

(3) At the expiration of the term of office of the members who were in the
first instance appointed for a period of three years, the Minister shall
appoint in their places new members, who shall hold office for a period of six
years; and thereafter at intervals of three years the Minister shall appoint
new members in place of those whose terms of office have expired.

(4) A person shall, on ceasing to be a member, be eligible for reappointment.

(5) The provisions of this paragraph shall have effect without prejudice to
paragraph 3(2).

5. Without prejudice to paragraph 3(2) or 4, a person shall cease to be a
member of the Board if

(a)by notice in writing to the Minister he resigns, or

(b)he is on more than three consecutive occasions absent without permission of
the Board from meetings of the Board.

6. If a member of the Board dies or ceases to be a member before the
expiration of the term for which he was appointed, the term of his successor
shall be so fixed as to expire at the end of the first-mentioned term, but
the Minister may, if he thinks fit, defer the making of an appointment until
the expiration of the first-mentioned term.

7. The Board may act notwithstanding any vacancy among their members.

8. No defect in the appointment of any person acting as a Chairman, Deputy
Chairman or member of the Board shall vitiate any proceedings of the Board in
which he has taken part.

9.(1) There shall be paid to the Chairman of the Board such remuneration, if
any, and such allowance for expenses incurred in connection with the business
of the Board as the Ministry with the approval of the Ministry of Finance may
determine.

(2) No remuneration shall be paid to any other member of the Board, but there
shall be paid to any such other member such allowances for expenses incurred
by him in connection with the business of the Board as the Board with the
approval of the Ministry may determine.

10.(1) The quorum for a meeting of the Board may be fixed by the Board, and
unless so fixed shall be five.

(2) The Chairman of the Board or, in his absence, the Deputy Chairman, shall
act as chairman of every meeting; but if at any meeting neither the Chairman
nor the Deputy Chairman is present within five minutes after the time
appointed for holding the meeting, the members present may choose one of their
number to be chairman of the meeting.

(3) Every question at a meeting shall be decided by the votes of a majority of
those present and voting.

(4) In the case of an equal division of votes, the chairman of the meeting
shall have a second or casting vote.

11. No member of the Board shall hold any employment or office of profit under
the Board.

12.(1) The Board

(a)shall have a chief inspector (who, unless the Board otherwise direct, shall
act as secretary of the Board) and such other inspectors and other officers as
the Ministry may direct, and shall appoint to any office under the Board
(other than the office of water bailiff) such persons as the Board, with the
approval of the Ministry, may determine; and

(b)may appoint such water bailiffs and such servants as the Board think fit.

(2) Subject to any authorisation in writing given by the Ministry to
the Board, any determination of the Board with respect to the remuneration or
conditions of service of any person employed by the Board shall be subject to
the approval of the Ministry.

(3) A person, other than an employee of the Foyle Fisheries Commission, who is
for the time being in the employment of the owner or occupier of a
several fishery shall be disqualified for being appointed to or holding any
office under the Board.

13. The Board shall, in accordance with any reasonable requirements
communicated to them by the Ministry, make available to the Ministry the
services of their officers for the protection of the fishery of any waters the
fishing rights in respect of which are owned by, or which are under the
control of, the Ministry, on such terms as may be agreed upon between
the Board and the Ministry.

14.(1) The Board, with the approval of the Ministry and the Ministry of
Finance may make arrangements to secure the provision of superannuation [or
other benefits for or in respect of] persons employed by the Board in a
whole-time capacity and such arrangements shall provide for the payment of
contributions by the Board and by the persons for [or in respect of whom the]
benefits are provided.

(2) Arrangements made under sub-paragraph (1) may provide for the
contributions to be paid to and the benefits to be paid by a body other than
the Board.

15. The application of the seal of the Board shall be authenticated by the
signature of

(a)the Chairman of the Board or some other member of the Board authorised by
them to act for that purpose, and

(b)the officer of the Board for the time being acting as secretary of
the Board or some other officer of the Board authorised by them to act for
that purpose.

16. Any contract or instrument which, if entered into or executed by an
individual, would not require to be under seal may be entered into or executed
on behalf of the Board by any person generally or specially authorised by
the Board to act for that purpose.

1. In this Schedule "the commencement" means the commencement of Part II.

2.(1) All property, whether real or personal (including choses-in-action),
which immediately before the commencement was vested in or belonged to or was
held in trust for a district board and all rights, powers and privileges
relating to or connected with any such property shall on the commencement,
without any conveyance or assignment, become and be vested in or the property
of or held in trust for (as the case may require) the Board for all the
estate, term or interest for which the same immediately before
the commencement was vested in or belonged to or was held in trust for the
district board, but subject to all trusts and equities affecting the same and
then subsisting and capable of being performed.

(2) All property transferred by this paragraph which, immediately before
the commencement, was either standing in the books of any corporation or
company or was entered in any register kept in pursuance of any enactment in
the name of a district board shall, upon the request of the Board made at any
time after the commencement, be transferred in such book by such corporation
or company or, as the case may be, by the person having charge of such
register, into the name of the Board.

(3) After the commencement, every chose-in-action transferred by this
paragraph from a district board to the Board may be sued upon, recovered, or
enforced by the Board in their own name and it shall not be necessary for
the Board to give notice to the person bound by such chose-in-action of the
transfer effected by this paragraph.

3.(1) Every debt and other liability (including unliquidated liabilities
arising from torts or breaches of contract) which immediately before
the commencement was owing and unpaid or had been incurred and was
undischarged by a district board, or which became payable by reason of the
dissolution of a district board, shall, on the commencement, become and be the
debt or liability of the Board and shall be paid or discharged by and may be
recovered from or enforced against the Board accordingly.

(2) The dissolution of a district board shall not invalidate or affect any
paying order which may have been issued by the district board and not
presented for payment before the commencement or any authority given by the
district board for the payment of the amount of such paying order, and
the Board shall make arrangements for the payment of the amount of every such
paying order upon due presentation within a reasonable time after
the commencement.

4. Every bond, guarantee, or other security of a continuing character made or
given by a district board to another person or by any person to a
district board and in force immediately before the commencement, and every
contract or agreement in writing made between a district board and another
person and not fully executed and completed before the commencement, shall,
notwithstanding the dissolution of the district board, continue in force after
the commencement but shall be construed and have effect as if the name of
the Board were substituted therein for the name of the district board, and
such security, contract or agreement shall be enforecable by or against
the Board accordingly.

5. A fishing licence issued by a district board or a licence issued by such a
board under Part II of the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1928 and in force
immediately before the commencement shall continue in force in accordance with
its terms and shall be deemed to be a fishing licence or, as the case may be,
a dealer's licence for the purposes of this Act.

6. Every fishery rate fixed under the Fisheries Acts by any district board and
not fully paid before the commencement shall be deemed to be a debt due to
the Board and shall be recoverable by the Board in any court of competent
jurisdiction.

7. In every legal or other proceeding in any court or tribunal to which
immediately before the commencement a district board were a party, the Board
shall on the commencement become and be a party in the place of the
district board and such proceeding shall be continued between the Board and
the other parties thereto accordingly, and no such proceeding shall abate or
be discontinued or prejudicially affected by reason of the dissolution of the
district board.

8.(1) The accounts of all income and expenditure of each district board up to
the commencement shall, as soon as conveniently may be thereafter, be audited,
and any proceedings in relation to such accounts, income, and expenditure may
be taken in like manner as nearly as may be as if this Act had not been
passed.

(2) Every officer of a district board whose duty it is to make up any accounts
of or to account for any portion of the income or expenditure of the
district board and also every member of a district board shall, until the
audit of the accounts of such income and expenditure up to the commencement is
complete, be deemed for the purposes of such audit to continue in office and
be bound to perform the same duties and render the same accounts and be
subject to the same liabilities as if this Act had not been passed.

Schedule 4 rep. by 1968 c.31 (NI) s.9(2) sch.3

Dated thisday of19.

I, the undersigned Resident Magistrate do hereby confirm the above
appointment.

Dated thisday of19.

constructed in contravention of section 85(1).

annual close season.

Schedule 7Amendments. Schedule 8Repeals

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Northern Irish Legislation

FISHERIES ACT (NORTHERN IRELAND) 1966 - SECT 214