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Number 34 of 2000
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FISHERIES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2000
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
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Section
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1.
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Interpretation.
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2.
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Provisions regarding certain
offences.
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3.
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Amendment of Part 3 of Act of
1999.
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4.
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Amendment of section 90 of
Principal Act.
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5.
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Election of members to regional
boards.
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6.
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Extension of terms of office of
appointed members of regional boards.
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7.
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Matters relating to staff members
of regional boards who are board members.
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8.
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Miscellaneous amendment to Act of
1980.
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9.
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Short title, construction and
collective citation.
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SCHEDULE
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PART 1
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PART 2
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Acts
Referred to
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Fisheries Act, 1980
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1980, No. 1
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Fisheries
Acts, 1959 to 1999
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Fisheries
(Amendment) Act, 1962
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1962, No. 31
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Fisheries
(Amendment) Act, 1994
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1994, No. 23
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Fisheries
(Amendment) Act, 1999
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1999, No. 35
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Fisheries
(Consolidation) Act, 1959
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1959, No. 14
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Number 34 of 2000
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FISHERIES (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2000
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AN ACT TO AMEND AND EXTEND THE FISHERIES ACTS,
1959 TO 1999. [15th December,
2000]
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE OIREACHTAS AS
FOLLOWS:
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Interpretation.
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1.—(1)
In this Act—
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“Act of 1980” means the Fisheries Act, 1980 ;
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“Act of 1994” means the Fisheries (Amendment)
Act, 1994 ;
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“Act of 1999” means the Fisheries (Amendment)
Act, 1999 ;
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“Minister” means the Minister for the Marine
and Natural Resources;
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“Principal Act” means the Fisheries
(Consolidation) Act, 1959 .
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(2) In this Act—
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(a) a reference to a section or Schedule
is a reference to a section or Schedule of this Act, unless it is indicated
that reference to some other enactment is intended,
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(b) a reference to a subsection,
paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to a subsection, paragraph or
subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless it is
indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended, and
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(c) a reference
to any other enactment shall, except to the extent that the context
otherwise requires, be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended
by or under any other enactment, including this Act.
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Provisions
regarding certain offences.
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2.—(1)
Where an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that a
person is committing or has committed an offence—
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(a) under a provision of the Principal
Act mentioned in column (2) of Part 1 of the Schedule
or such other provision of the Principal Act as may be prescribed,
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(b) under section 9(4) (inserted by section
3 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1962 ( No. 31 of 1962 )) of the
Principal Act in relation to such bye-laws as may be prescribed,
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(c) against such bye-laws made or deemed
to have been made under section 9(1) of the Principal Act as may be
prescribed, or
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(d) in relation to a contravention of
bye-laws made or deemed to have been made under section 9(1) of the
Principal Act of a type described in column (2) of Part 2 of
the Schedule or of such type as may be prescribed,
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he or she may serve the person with a notice
in the prescribed form stating that—
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(i) the person is
alleged to have committed the offence,
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(ii) the person may, during the period of 21
days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the regional board
concerned at the address specified in the notice a payment of £50
accompanied by the notice, and
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(iii) a prosecution in
respect of the alleged offence will not be instituted during the period
specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made
during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence will be
instituted.
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(2) Where notice is given
under subsection (1)—
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(a) a person to whom the notice applies
may, during the period specified in the notice, make to the regional board
concerned at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in the
notice accompanied by the notice;
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(b) the regional board specified in the
notice may receive the payment, issue a receipt for it and retain the money
so paid, and any payment so received shall not be recoverable in any
circumstances by the person who made it;
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(c) a
prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall not be instituted in the
period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified is made
during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged offence shall
be instituted.
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(3) In a prosecution for
an offence under this Act the onus of proving that a payment pursuant to a
notice under this section has been made shall lie on the defendant.
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(4) The Minister may by
regulations vary the amount standing specified for the time being in subsection
(1)(ii).
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(5) In this section
“authorised officer” means a person who is an authorised officer (within the
meaning of paragraphs (b) (inserted by paragraph 1(vv) of the Fourth
Schedule to the Act of 1980) and (c) of section 301(1) of the Principal
Act).
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Amendment of Part
3 of Act of 1999.
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3.—The
Act of 1999 is amended—
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(a) in section 24—
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(i) by the
substitution for subsection (6) of the following subsections:
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“(6) Subject to subsection (6A), a person (other
than the Central Board or a regional board) who contravenes or fails to
comply with any regulation made under this section is guilty of an offence
and shall be liable on summary conviction—
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(a) in the case of a first offence, to a
fine not exceeding £500,
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(b) in the case of a second or
subsequent offence, other than an offence referred to in paragraph (c),
to a fine not exceeding £750, and
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(c) in the case
of a third or subsequent offence which is the third or subsequent offence in
any period of 12 consecutive months, to a fine not exceeding £1,000.
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(6A) Subsection (6) does not apply to an
authorised agent (within the meaning of section 70(1) of the Fisheries
(Consolidation) Act, 1959 ), in respect of any
requirement under any regulation made under this section to issue tags or
logbooks.
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(6B) A person shall not affix a tag to any wild
salmon or sea trout, which he or she knows or in the circumstances ought to
know, has been unlawfully caught.
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(6C) A person shall not forge or fraudulently
alter, or cause to have forged or fraudulently altered, any tag, logbook or
document.
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(6D) A person shall not have in his or her
possession any tag, logbook or document which he or she knows, or in the
circumstances ought to know, has been forged or fraudulently altered.
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(6E) A person shall not give false information to
obtain any tag, logbook or document.
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(6F) A person who contravenes subsection (6B),
(6C), (6D) or (6E) is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding 3 months, or to both.”,
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(ii) in subsection (7), by the insertion after
“regulations under this section” of “(other than any regulation altering the
commencement of any regulations made under this section)”,
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(iii) in subsection (8), by the substitution for
“In this section” of “In this Part”,
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(iv) in subsection (8), by the substitution for
the definition of “authorised officer” of the following definition:
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“‘authorised officer’ means a person who is an authorised officer
(within the meaning of paragraphs (b) (inserted by paragraph 1 (vv)
of the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1980) and (c) of section 301(1)
of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 );”, and
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(v) by the insertion after subsection (8) of the
following subsection:
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“(9) A reference in this section to a tag,
logbook or document is a reference to a tag, logbook or document provided
for in regulations made under this section.”,
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and
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(b) by the substitution for section 25 of
the following section:
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“25.—(1) This section applies to an offence under
section 24(6), in respect of such contraventions of regulations made under
section 24, as may be declared by the Minister by regulations to be
contraventions to which this section applies.
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(2) Where an authorised officer has reasonable
grounds for believing that a person is contravening or has contravened a
regulation made under section 24, being a contravention to which this
section applies, he or she may serve the person with a notice in the
prescribed form stating that—
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(a) the person is alleged to have so
contravened,
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(b) the person may, during the period of
21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the regional board
concerned at the address specified in the notice, a payment of £50
accompanied by the notice, and
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(c) a
prosecution in respect of the alleged contravention will not be instituted
during the period specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in
the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the
alleged contravention will be instituted.
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(3) Where notice is given under subsection (2)—
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(a) a person to whom the notice applies
may, during the period specified in the notice, make to the regional board
concerned at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in
the notice accompanied by the notice;
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(b) the regional board specified in the
notice may receive the payment, issue a receipt for it and retain the money
so paid, and any payment so received shall not be recoverable in any
circumstances by the person who made it;
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(c) a
prosecution in respect of the alleged contravention shall not be instituted
in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified is
made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged
contravention shall be instituted.
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(4) In a prosecution for an offence under section
24(6) the onus of proving that a payment pursuant to a notice under this
section has been made shall lie on the defendant.
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(5) The Minister may by regulations vary the
amount standing specified for the time being in subsection (2) (b).
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(6) In this section a reference to a
contravention of a regulation made under section 24 includes a reference to
a failure to comply with such a regulation.”.
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Amendment of
section 90 of Principal Act.
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4.—Section
90(3)(a) (inserted by section 51 of the Act of 1980) of the Principal
Act is amended by the substitution for subparagraph (iv) (inserted by
section 26(a) of the Act of 1999) of the following subparagraphs:
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“(iv) an offence under section 24(6B), (6C),
(6D) or (6E) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1999 ,
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(v) an offence under
section 24(6) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1999 , in respect of a
contravention of or a failure to comply with a regulation made under that
section which is a contravention of or a failure to comply with the
regulation declared by the Minister by regulations to be an offence to which
this subsection applies.”.
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Election of
members to regional boards.
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5.—(1)
Section 2(1) of the Act of 1980 is amended by the substitution for the
definition of “election year” of the following definition:
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“‘election year’, subject to section 15(2), means in the case of the
next elections held of members of regional boards, the year 2005 and every
fifth successive year thereafter;”.
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(2) Section 7(2) of the
Act of 1999 is amended by the deletion of “, and an election shall be held
as soon as practicable after each fifth anniversary of that date”.
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Extension of
terms of office of appointed members of regional boards.
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6.—Notwithstanding
section 10(4)(b)(ii) of the Act of 1980, the
Minister may extend the term of office of an appointed member of a regional
board beyond the period of 5 years mentioned therein until midnight on the
day on which the result of the next election for elected members of the
board held in pursuance of section 12 of that Act is declared.
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Matters relating
to staff members of regional boards who are board members.
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7.—Section
40 of the Principal Act is amended by the substitution for subsection (10)
of the following subsection:
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“(10) No member of a regional board (other than a
member who is a member of the staff of the regional board) shall be eligible
for any paid office under the regional board.”.
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Miscellaneous
amendment to Act of 1980.
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8.—The
Act of 1980 is amended—
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(a) in section 8 (inserted by section 5
of the Act of 1999) by the insertion after subsection (9) of the following
subsections:
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“(10) The Central Board may, for so long and
subject to such conditions as it shall determine, place under the care and
management of a regional board any fishery, hatchery or fish farm which is
in its possession or occupation.
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(11) The Minister may by order assign to the
Central Board such other functions relating to fisheries (being functions
additional to the functions assigned to the Central Board by this Act) as he
or she thinks fit.”,
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and
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(b) in section 11(1)(c) (inserted
by section 8(a) of the Act of 1999) by the substitution—
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(i) for “by virtue of
section 8(2) of this Act” of “by virtue of section 8(10) of this Act”, and
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(ii) for “referred to
in paragraph (c) of section 8(2) of this Act” of “referred to in
section 18A of this Act”.
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Short title,
construction and collective citation.
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9.—(1)
This Act may be cited as the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 2000
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(2) The Fisheries Acts,
1959 to 1999, and this Act may be cited together as the Fisheries Acts, 1959
to 2000, and shall be construed together as one.
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SCHEDULE
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Section 2.
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PART
1
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Provision of Fisheries
(Consolidation) Act, 1959
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Reference
Number
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Provision
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Description
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(1)
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(2)
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(3)
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1.
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Section 137(2)(a)
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Angling for salmon during annual close season.
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2.
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Section 138(2)(a)
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Angling for trout during annual close season.
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3.
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Section 162(1)(b) (inserted by section 20 of the
Act of 1994)
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Holder of Part X licence failing to display licence.
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4.
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Section 163(4) (inserted by section 20 of the Act of
1994)
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Holder of Part X licence failing to keep or to make an
entry in a register or failing to produce for inspection a register or
documents.
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5.
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Section 178
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Unauthorised entry on several fishery.
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6.
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Section 287
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Obstructing persons lawfully fishing.
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7.
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Section 291
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Giving warning to person unlawfully fishing.
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8.
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Section 303(2)
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Failing to produce licence on demand.
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PART
2
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Reference
Number
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Description of
type of bye-laws made or deemed to have been made under section 9(1) of
Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959
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(1)
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(2)
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1.
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Contravention of a bye-law prohibiting the having on
board any boat a drift net, draft net, snap net or other fishing engine
other than rod and line.
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2.
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Contravention of a bye-law prohibiting the use of any
lure other than artificial fly in angling for any kind of fish with rod
and line.
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3.
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Contravention of a bye-law prohibiting the use of
prawn, shrimp, any other crustacean or artificial forms thereof as bait in
angling.
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4.
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Contravention of a bye-law prohibiting the taking,
killing or having in possession a fish of any kind which is less than a
specified length.
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5.
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Contravention of a bye-law prohibiting the taking or
having in possession more than a specified number of any kind of fish.
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6.
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Contravention of a bye-law prohibiting the taking,
having in possession or control, selling or offering for sale any sea
trout.
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7.
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Contravention of a bye-law prohibiting the fishing, or
attempting to fish, for bass.
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