Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959
Dismantlement of fixed engines during the annual close season for salmon and trout.
128.—(1) During the annual close season for salmon and trout—
(a) every bag net and stake net shall be removed from the poles or fixtures to which it is attached and carried away,
(b) there shall be made and maintained in every fixed engine (other than a bag net or a stake net) a clear opening of four feet in width in the heads, traps, eyes or gaps from the top to the bottom thereof so as to allow the free passage of all fish through them and effectually to prevent the taking of fish therein.
(2) If in respect of any fixed engine the provisions of subsection (1) of this section are not complied with, the occupier thereof shall be guilty of an offence under this section and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine not exceeding five pounds for every day during which the offence is continued.
(3) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this section, the fixed engine in respect of which the offence was committed shall, as a statutory consequence of conviction, stand forfeited.
(4) Nothing in subsection (2) of this section shall be construed as rendering liable to any penalty any person who was prevented by floods, storm or stress of weather from removing the things mentioned in paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of this section during the continuance of such prevention.
(5) Where the predecessor in title of any person was on the 10th day of August, 1842, lawfully entitled by charter or prescriptive right to use any fixed engine in the tideway of a river for the purpose of catching white sea fish, the provisions of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in respect of such fixed engine if it is used for the said purpose and no other.
Annotations
Modifications (not altering text):
C85
Prosecution on indictment provided for, penalties under section altered and references to “summary conviction” construed (1.07.2010) by Inland Fisheries Act 2010 (10/2010), ss. 75(1), (3), 77(1), (2)(d), (8) and table part 1, S.I. No. 262 of 2010. Note that the full history of the alteration of penalties under this section can be found in the annotations at the beginning of the Act under “Be it enacted by the Oireachtas as follows”.
A fine of €2,000 translates into a class C fine, not greater than €2,500, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 6(2) and table ref. no. 1, S.I. No. 662 of 2010; a fine of €250 translates into a class E fine, not greater than €500, as provided (4.01.2011) by Fines Act 2010 (8/2010), ss. 3, 8(2) and table ref. no. 1, S.I. No. 662 of 2010.
Certain offences to be tried on indictment.
75.— (1) A person charged with an offence under section 65, 66, 69, 73, 94, 95, 96, 97, 127, 128, 129, 130, 132, 134, 135, 137, 140, 145, 146, 156, 176, 177 or 182 of the Principal Act may be tried on indictment.
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(3) Any reference to summary conviction in any section of the Principal Act which is mentioned in subsection (1), or in section 29 of the Act of 1962, shall be construed as including a reference to conviction on indictment.
Alteration of certain penalties under the Principal Act, the Act of 1962 or the Act of 1994.
77.— (1) A person convicted by the District Court of an offence for which a penalty is provided in any section of the Principal Act specified in column (2) of Part 1 of the Table to this section at any reference number shall, in lieu of so much of the penalty so provided as consists of a fine, imprisonment, a fine or imprisonment, or a fine and imprisonment, be liable to the appropriate penalty specified in column (3) of that Part at that reference number, and that section shall be read and have effect accordingly.
(2) …
(d) A person convicted on indictment of an offence under section 69, 128 or 129 of the Principal Act, as amended by section 75(1), is liable to a fine not exceeding €10,000 and in the case of a continuing offence to a further fine not exceeding €500 for each day during which the offence is committed, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both.
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(8) This section has effect in respect of offences committed after the establishment day.
Reference Number |
Section of Principal Act |
Penalty |
(1) |
(2) |
(3) |
… |
… |
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5. |
69, 123, 128, 129. |
A fine not exceeding €2,000 and, in the case of a continuing offence, a further fine (not exceeding in all €2,500) not exceeding €250 for each day during which the offence is continued. |
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