Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
Citation1966 c. 38


Sea Fisheries RegulationAct 1966

1966 CHAPTER 38

An Act to consolidate (with corrections and improvements made under the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949) the Sea Fisheries Regulation Acts 1888 to 1930 and certain other enactments relating to the sea fisheries of England and Wales.

[17th November 1966]

Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—

Sea fisheries districts and local fisheries committees

Sea fisheries districts and local fisheries committees

S-1 Establishment of sea fisheries districts and local fisheries committees.

1 Establishment of sea fisheries districts and local fisheries committees.

(1) The Minister may, on the application of a county council or borough council, by order—

(a ) create a sea fisheries district comprising any part of the sea within the national or territorial waters of the United Kingdom adjacent to England or Wales, either with or without any part of the adjoining coast, and

(b ) define the limits of the district, and the area chargeable with any expenses under this Act, and

(c ) provide for the constitution of a local fisheries committee for the regulation of the sea fisheries carried on within the district;

and the Minister may, by a subsequent order made on the like application, or made on the application of the local fisheries committee and after consultation with every county or borough council concerned, vary or revoke any order made under this section, or unite two or more districts or parts of districts into a separate sea fisheries district or dissolve any sea fisheries district that may have been created.

(2) The power to make orders under this section shall be exercisable by statutory instrument, and a draft of a statutory instrument containing any such order shall be laid before Parliament.

S-2 Constitution of local fisheries committee.

2 Constitution of local fisheries committee.

(1) The local fisheries committee for a sea fisheries district shall be a committee of such county council or of such borough council as may be determined by the order creating the district, or a joint committee of such councils, being county councils or borough councils, as may be so determined, and shall consist of—

(a ) such number of members to be appointed by the council, or by the constituent councils in such proportions as may be so determined, and

(b ) such number of additional members, not exceeding the number of members required to be appointed by the council or constituent councils, as may be appointed in accordance with subsection (2) below.

(2) The additional members of a local fisheries committee shall include one person appointed by each river authority having jurisdiction within the district of the committee and as to the rest shall be persons appointed by the Minister as being persons acquainted with the needs and opinions of the fishing interests of that district.

In this subsection ‘fishing interests’ includes all persons interested in fisheries, either as owners of fisheries or interests therein, fishermen, fishing-boat owners, fish curers, fish merchants or otherwise.

(3) The term of office of any person who at the commencement of this Act is, or after the said commencement becomes, a member of a local fisheries committee shall expire not later than the end of the triennial period in which he took or takes office.

In this subsection ‘triennial period’ means the period of three years beginning with the 1st July 1964 and with every third anniversary of that day.

(4) A member of a local fisheries committee who at the time of his appointment was a member of the council by whom he was appointed shall, upon ceasing to be a member of the council, also cease to be a member of the committee, but for the purpose of the foregoing provision a member of a council shall not be deemed to have ceased by reason of retirement to be a member of the council, if he has been re-elected a member thereof not later than the day of his retirement.

(5) An order constituting a local fisheries committee may contain such regulations consistent with this Act with respect to the number and mode of appointment of the members of the committee, and with respect to other matters relating to the constitution of the committee, as the Minister thinks expedient.

(6) Section 96 of the Local Government Act 1933 (proceedings of committees and joint committees) shall, in relation to a local fisheries committee, have effect subject to the provisions of the order constituting the committee.

S-3 Ratepayers may apply for order under s. 1 if council refuse, etc. to apply.

3 Ratepayers may apply for order under s. 1 if council refuse, etc. to apply.

3. If a county council or borough council, to whom an application in that behalf has been made by not less than twenty persons, being persons who are ratepayers and inhabitants of the county or borough, as the case may be, and interested in sea fisheries, refuse to apply to the Minister for an order creating a sea fisheries district or neglect to apply for such an order within six months from the date of the application, the persons who made the application may, within twelve months from the said date, apply to the Minister for such an order; and the Minister shall, unless the council in question satisfy the Minister that such an order should not be made, proceed as if the application had been made by the council.

S-4 Draft of certain orders under s. 1 to be published locally.

4 Draft of certain orders under s. 1 to be published locally.

(1) Before making an order creating a sea fisheries district the Minister shall cause a draft of the order to be published locally in such manner as he may direct, and shall, if any objection is made to the draft order or any of the provisions thereof, cause such local inquiry to be held as may in his opinion be required.

(2) Due notice of an inquiry under this section shall be given by advertisement or otherwise, and the report of the person holding the inquiry shall, if the order to which the inquiry related is to be made, be laid before Parliament with the draft of the statutory instrument containing the order.

Powers of local fisheries committees

Powers of local fisheries committees

S-5 Byelaws for regulation, etc. of sea fisheries.

5 Byelaws for regulation, etc. of sea fisheries.

(1) The local fisheries committee for a sea fisheries district may, subject to such regulations as may be made in that behalf by the Minister by statutory instrument, make byelaws, to be observed within their district, for all or any of the following purposes, namely—

(a ) for restricting or prohibiting, either absolutely or subject to any exceptions and regulations, the fishing for or taking of all or any specified kinds of sea fish during any period specified in the byelaw;

(b ) for restricting or prohibiting, either absolutely or subject to such regulations as may be provided by the byelaws, any method of fishing for sea fish or the use of any instrument of fishing for sea fish and for determining the size of mesh, form and dimensions of any instrument of fishing for sea fish;

(c ) for prohibiting or regulating the deposit or discharge of any solid or liquid substance detrimental to sea fish or sea fishing;

(d ) for the regulation, protection and development of fisheries for all or any specified kinds of shellfish, including—

(i) the fixing of the sizes and condition at which shellfish may not be removed from a fishery, and the mode of determining such sizes;

(ii) the obligation to re-deposit in specified localities any...

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