PART I

Preliminary and General

Short title, collective citation, construction and commencement.

1. —(1) This Act may be cited as the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997.

(2) The Fisheries Acts, 1959 to 1995, and this Act may be cited together as the Fisheries Acts, 1959 to 1997, and shall be construed together as one.

(3) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as may be fixed therefor by order or orders of the Minister, either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision, and different days may be so fixed for different purposes and different provisions of this Act.

Non-application to Moville Area of the Foyle Fisheries area.

2. —This Act shall not apply to or in relation to the Moville Area, within the meaning of the Foyle Fisheries Act, 1952.

Interpretation.

3. —(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Act of 1980” means the Fisheries Act, 1980;

“application regulations” means regulations made under section 10 (2);

“aquaculture” means the culture or farming of any species of fish, aquatic invertebrate animal of whatever habitat or aquatic plant, or any aquatic form of food suitable for the nutrition of fish;

“aquaculture licence” means a licence granted under section 14 to engage in aquaculture or operations in relation to aquaculture, not being a trial licence;

“the Board” means the Aquaculture Licences Appeals Board established by section 22 and, in relation to an oral hearing of an appeal in pursuance of section 49 , includes a person authorised by the Board to conduct the hearing;

“Chairperson” means the Chairperson of the Board and includes the Deputy Chairperson and a member appointed under section 28 (3) (c) to preside at a meeting, while so presiding;

“land” includes land covered by water and the water covering that land;

“licence” means an aquaculture licence or a trial licence;

“licensee” means a person to whom a licence is granted, or that person's heirs, executors, administrators or assigns to whom the benefit of the licence has devolved;

“licensing authority” means—

(a) the Minister,

(b) an officer to whom functions have been delegated under section 21 (1) by the Minister, or

(c) the Board;

“the Principal Act” means the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959, as amended;

“trial licence” means a licence granted under section 14 to carry out any operation, activity, trials or experiments referred to in section 9 (1).

(2) In Part II —

(a) “oyster bed licence” means an oyster bed licence within the meaning of Part XIV of the Principal Act; and

(b) “oyster fishery order” means an oyster fishery order within the meaning of Part XIV of the Principal Act as in force immediately before the commencement of section 5 , and includes an oyster fishery order applying to mussels, mussel beds and mussel fisheries by virtue of section 282 of the Principal Act as then in force.

(3) In sections 9 , 13 (1), (2) and (3), 14 and 40 , a reference to the Minister shall, where functions have been delegated to an officer of the Minister under section 21 (1), be construed as including a reference to that officer.

(4) In this Act, including a Schedule to this Act—

(a) 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;

(b) a reference to a section, Chapter or Part is a reference to a section, Chapter or Part of 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 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

(d) a reference to a Schedule is a reference to a Schedule to this Act.

(5) A reference in this Act to the performance of functions includes a reference to the exercise of powers and the performance of duties.

Repeal of sections 54 and 54A of Act of 1980 and revocation of orders and savings.

4. —(1) Sections 54 and 54A (inserted by Regulation 21 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 (S.I. No. 349 of 1989)) of the Act of 1980 are hereby repealed.

(2) Any order under section 54 of the Act of 1980 in force immediately before the commencement of this section is, on that commencement, revoked.

(3) The revocation of an order referred to in subsection (2) shall not affect the validity or the operation of any aquaculture licence granted under section 54 of the Act of 1980 and the licence shall continue as if that section had never been repealed.

Repeal and amendment of provisions of Principal Act.

5. —(1) Section 15 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed.

(2) Section 15A of the Principal Act (inserted by Article 18 of the European Communities (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations, 1989 (S.I. No. 349 of 1989)) is hereby repealed.

(3) Section 244 of the Principal Act is hereby amended—

(a) by inserting in the definition of “oyster bed (1959 Act) licence” the words “before the commencement of section 12 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997,” after “under section 245”, and

(b) by inserting in the definition of “oyster fishery (1959 Act) order” the words “before the commencement of section 12 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997,” after “under Chapter III of this Part”.

(4) Section 247 of the Principal Act is hereby repealed.

(5) Section 252 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of “oyster bed (1959 Act) licence” for “grant any oyster bed (1959 Act) licence in lieu thereof to the licensee or his representative”.

(6) Sections 256, 257, 258, 259, 260 and 269 of the Principal Act are hereby repealed.

(7) Section 282 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of “Sections 261 to 268” for “Sections 256 to 269”.

(8) For the avoidance of doubt, section 312 of the Principal Act, to the extent if any that, by virtue of section 72 of the Act of 1980 and the table to that section, it is in force, is hereby repealed.