The object of this Bill is very clearly set out in the Long Title, namely, "To make provision for the regulation and control of the public right of fishery in tidal waters in which formerly a several or exclusive fishery was believed to exist, and was enjoyed as of right, and to make provision for other matters relating to or connected with the matters aforesaid." Senators are aware that some time ago, according to a court decision, the tidal waters of the River Erne which were believed by certain people to be owned by them were declared to be a public fishery. As a result of that decision the public have a right to fish there. It has been found necessary to bring in this Bill in order to regulate those fisheries as well as to provide an income for the conservators to protect the River Erne or other rivers that may come under that decision either as a result of further litigation or because of their surrender by the present owners due to that decision. Provision is also made in the Bill so that certain arrangements may be entered into between the conservators on the Free State side of the Border and on the Northern Ireland side of the Border.
I think the Bill can best be explained by referring to its sections. Section 2 of the Bill provides that this Bill can be applied to any tidal waters which were believed to have been privately owned but are now declared to be a public fishery. As the law stands, any person proposing to fish for salmon or for trout with a net must purchase a licence from the local board of conservators.
He must pay the appropriate licence for the particular class of fishing that he is about to engage in. These licences provide part of the income of the board of conservators. In addition, in the case of a fishery like the River Erne—the same applies, of course, to other fisheries—there are rates levied on the value of fisheries privately owned. These rates also go to the board of conservators and provide them with part of their income.
These were the two principal sources of income that the conservators had. Out of that income they have been able, up to this, to protect the fisheries. The amount of rates received from private owners was considerable. Out of that income, received from the sources I have indicated, the conservators were not only able to protect the River Erne but also some of the smaller rivers which came under their jurisdiction. Now that the private ownership has been removed from the River Erne, the board of conservators is left very badly off, so that some provision has to be made to supplement their income in addition to what they get from ordinary licences. That is necessary so that they will have the funds required to protect the fisheries under their control. Under Section 4, instead of the licence that would be applied for on an ordinary river, we are substituting what is called a special local licence. Senators may find it difficult to understand the method by which we are trying to get the amount necessary for the conservators through those special local licences. If we estimate, for instance, that £600 will be required in the case of the River Erne for the conservators, and take it that 12 boats would be likely to apply, then, in that case, we would make the special local licence £50 for each boat for a full year. In that way we try to arrive, if possible, at a sufficient income for the board of conservators. The amount of the special local licences will vary according to the type of fishery, according to the district, the river or the tidal waters concerned. I am taking the River Erne as an example because this Bill does not apply to that river only. The River Erne, however, is the first river that will be dealt with under the Bill, but this measure may apply to other rivers as well. In the case of the River Erne I would like to mention that the conservators will require rather a larger income than they had when the private ownership existed because the private owners did a certain amount of protection themselves apart altogether from what was done by the conservators. In the future the conservators, in addition to carrying on the protection that they were in the habit of giving up to this, will have to take the place of the private owners so far as giving protection is concerned. Sections 5 and 6 simply provide the machinery for the issue of special local licences.
Section 7 provides penalties for fishing in tidal waters by unauthorised persons. Section 8 provides for the making by the Minister of regulations settling the time and the hours at which the different boats may fish; the number of boats which may be allowed to fish at the one time and so on. We were not sure on the 1st May how these fisheries would be regulated. In the case of other tidal waters around the coast, the fishermen make certain regulations of their own as it were. There is a sort of tradition among them as to how the fishery should be regulated; who should fish first; what hours they should fish; the number of boats that might go out at one time and so on. But here we had the possibility of boats coming from any part of the coast and in all probability coming long distances to fish in these public waters in which there was a great reputation, at any rate, for salmon. We could not be sure whether these men would agree to regulate the time of fishing among themselves, or whether there would not be a certain amount of trouble amongst them. At any rate, we thought it well to have power to regulate the fisheries in such cases. If things go smoothly the Department of Fisheries would not be inclined to interfere at all.
Section 9 contains the usual clause empowering a duly authorised officer to demand of any person fishing in such tidal waters the production of his special local licence, and for a penalty in case he does not respond. Section 10 provides for the making of regulations. Section 11 provides that, in addition to other penalties, the holder of a special local licence convicted of an offence under the Fishery Acts may have such special local licence forfeited. Section 12 confers on the holder of a special local licence the same voting power as if he held an ordinary licence. It does not take from the holder of the special local licence any of the privileges given him, but gives him no privilege that he would not have when holding an ordinary licence. Section 13 provides that the conservators will pay to the Minister the difference between the ordinary licence and the special local licence. Section 14 enables the Minister to pay the conservators whatever they may be short, or whatever deficiency he considers reasonable, as put up by them in their income in relation to the ordinary licence. Sections 13 and 14 might appear rather cumbersome and unnecessary, because Senators might be inclined to ask: "Why not let the conservators collect the special local licences and let the Minister keep out?" It is thought that it would be almost impossible to strike at the beginning of the year an estimate of what the special local licence would amount to. It is better that the conservators should have a regular income and that if there is anything over it would go to the Exchequer, or if there was anything short, the Exchequer should stand the deficiency. As far as possible, taking it on the whole, the Department does not intend to make any profit out of this Bill.
Section 16 deals with a situation to which I have already referred, the case of rivers where the source might be in Northern Ireland and the outlet in the Free State. It is very important that there should be an understanding between the conservators at each side of the Border, because salmon going to spawn inside the territory of Northern Ireland will need protection from poaching, and the conservators on that side of the Border might very well say that it was no concern of theirs because they got nothing out of it. In such a case it is made possible for the conservators on the Free State side to contribute a certain amount to the conservators on the Northern Ireland side, to help them to protect the waters. That was provided for in another way in the past. The conservators on the Free State side of the border of the Erne had no power to make contributions to the conservators in Northern Ireland, but the owners of the River Erne did contribute to the conservators on the Northern Ireland side. It is to make up for that that this clause has been introduced. Section 17 is self-explanatory. Section 18 limits the duration of the Act to two years, roughly, to the end of December, 1935. It is hoped by that time to have a more comprehensive Bill to deal with inland fisheries as a whole, as a result of a report expected from the Commission now sitting dealing with fisheries. The Seanad may take it, therefore, that this is a temporary Bill to meet an emergency. As far as possible we are trying to avoid entering into any controversy, or getting up against any big principle, such as State ownership or private ownership. We have tried to leave things as they are, and to deal with the regulation of things as they are until the Commission on Inland Fisheries has reported.