Work is underway to make Regulations under Section 23(2)(a) of the Wildlife Act 1976 to protect the Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus). As the Basking Shark is a species of fish, such Regulations may only be made with the concurrence and signature of the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. As such, I wrote to Minister McConalogue on 9 February requesting his views on same.
An animal protected under Section 23 of the Act is conferred the status of a ‘protected wild animal’. It is an offence to:
- Hunt a protected wild animal (unless under permission or licence granted by me under the Act)
- Injure a protected wild animal (unless done while hunting in accordance with a licence or exemption cited above), or
- Willfully interfere with or destroy the breeding or resting places of a protected wild animal.
I hope to be in a position to progress this matter further very soon.