S.I. No. 256/2000 - Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations, 2000.

I, FRANK FAHEY, Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 24 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1999 (No. 35 of 1999), hereby make the following regulations:

Citation, Commencement and Interpretation.

1. These Regulations may be cited as the Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Tagging Scheme Regulations, 2000.

2. These Regulations shall come into operation on 1 January 2001.

3. (1) In these Regulations—

“the Act of 1994” means the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1994 (No. 23 of 1994);

“authorised agent” means an authorised agent (within the meaning of section 70(1) of the Principal Act) of a regional board;

“dealer” means the holder of a salmon dealer's licence;

“dealer's record book” means a record book in the form set out in the Seventh Schedule or a form to the like effect;

“draft net” includes a single wall of netting attached to a floating head rope and a weighted ground rope, designed so that a bag is formed into which the catch is drafted or hauled, for the purpose of taking or fishing for, or attempting to take or to fish for, salmon or sea trout;

“drift net” includes a single sheet of netting attached to a floating head rope and a weighted ground rope, designed to drift freely at the surface of waters for the purpose of taking or fishing for, or attempting to take or to fish for, salmon or sea trout, to which net or ropes no weights or anchoring devices are attached which in any way hinder or prevent the free movement of the net in those waters;

“farmed salmon or sea trout” includes salmon or sea trout reared entirely in captivity pursuant to an aquaculture licence and salmon or sea trout produced by means of aquaculture and imported from outside the State;

“gill tag” means a gill tag as described in the First Schedule;

“gill tags issues register” means a register in the form set out in the Sixth Schedule or a form to like effect;

“holder of a fishing licence” includes a person who is authorised under section 67(9) (inserted by section 67 of the Fisheries Act, 1980 (No. 1 of 1980)) of the Principal Act to use the fishing engine which is related to the licence;

“holder of a logbook” includes a person who is a holder of the fishing licence to which the logbook relates;

“length” in relation to a sea trout means the distance measured in a straight line from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail;

“logbook” means a salmon and sea trout commercial fishing logbook, a salmon and sea trout angler's logbook or a one day angling logbook;

“one day angling logbook” means a logbook in the form set out in the Fifth Schedule or a form to the like effect;

“other fishing engine” means any fishing engine not being a drift net, a draft net, a snap net or a rod and line, capable of being used for the purpose of taking or fishing for, or attempting to take or to fish for, salmon or sea trout;

“the Principal Act” means the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 (No. 14 of 1959);

“processing” in relation to a wild salmon or sea trout, means—

(a) smoking, marinating or cooking the fish,

(b) removing the viscera and freezing the fish, or

and “processed” shall be construed accordingly;

“rod and line” means any rod and line capable of being used for the purpose of taking or fishing for, or attempting to take or fish for, salmon or sea trout;

“salmon and sea trout angler's logbook” means a logbook in the form set out in the Fourth Schedule or a form to the like effect;

“salmon and sea trout commercial fishing logbook” means a logbook in the form set out in the Third Schedule or a form to the like effect;

“salmon dealer's licence” has the meaning assigned to it by section 154 (inserted by section 20 of the Act of 1994) of the Principal Act;

“sea trout” means a sea trout over 40 centimetres in length and does not include a farmed sea trout but does include a sea trout which has been released from, or has escaped from, captivity;

“snap net” includes a single wall of netting attached to a floating head rope and a weighted ground rope, designed to suspend between two boats and into which the catch is drawn, for the purpose of taking or fishing for, or attempting to take or to fish for, salmon or sea trout;

“tag” means a gill tag or a tail tag;

“tail tag” means a tail tag as described in the Second Schedule;

“wild salmon” does not include a farmed salmon but does include a salmon which has been released from, or has escaped from, captivity.

(2) In these Regulations, unless otherwise indicated—

(a) a reference to a Regulation or a Schedule is a reference to a Regulation of or a Schedule to these Regulations,

(b) a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs.

Provisions relating to tags.

4. (1) Subject to this Regulation, where a person lawfully catches and retains a wild salmon or sea trout, he or she shall affix to such fish a gill tag issued to him or her under these Regulations by firmly fastening the tag to and securely locking it on the salmon or sea trout as indicated in the First Schedule, so that it cannot be removed without tampering with the lock, breaking or cutting the tag or without cutting or tearing any part of the fish.

(2) Any wild salmon or sea trout caught by—

(a) drift net shall be tagged in accordance with paragraph (1), as soon as is practicable, after capture, but before any such fish is removed from the boat on which it is caught, or

(b) draft net, snap net, rod and line or other fishing engine shall be so tagged immediately on landing the fish.

(3) A gill tag shall—

(a) if it has a year indicated on it be in force for that year and in all other cases be in force for the year 2001,

(b) in the case of a gill tag to be affixed to a wild salmon or sea trout other than such a fish caught and retained by rod and line, have the name of the fishery district (where applicable) and the fisheries region in which the fish is caught indicated on it,

(d) be legible, and

(e) be—

(i) red, where the wild salmon or sea trout was caught and retained by drift net,

(ii) green, where the wild salmon or sea trout was caught and retained by draft net,

(iii) white, where the wild salmon or sea trout was caught and retained by snap net,

(iv) blue, where the wild salmon or sea trout was caught and retained by rod and line, or

(v) orange, where the wild salmon or sea trout was caught and retained by other fishing engine.

5. (1) The holder of a salmon rod ordinary licence, other than a salmon rod (one day) ordinary licence, shall be issued by a distributor with 5 gill tags on receipt of the licence duty in respect of such fishing licence.

(2) The holder of a salmon rod (one day) ordinary licence shall be issued by a distributor with 3 gill tags on receipt of the licence duty in respect of such fishing licence.

(3) Additional gill tags shall be made available to the licence holder referred to—

(a) in paragraph (1) in lots of 5, and

(b) in paragraph (2) in lots of 3,

from any distributor on proof that the licence holder has used the gill tags issued to him or her and has complied with Regulation 4.

(4) Any gill tag held by the holder of a salmon rod ordinary licence which is lost or accidentally destroyed may be replaced by a distributor on presentation of a signed declaration of loss or destruction made before an authorised officer who is satisfied that the tag is so lost or destroyed.

(5) In this Regulation “distributor” means the Central Board, a regional board or an authorised agent.

6. (1) The holder of a fishing licence, other than a salmon rod ordinary licence, shall be issued by the relevant regional board with one gill tag for each wild salmon or sea trout corresponding to his or her last annual catch.

(2) The relevant regional board shall issue one half, or such larger portion as the board considers reasonable in the circumstances, of the tags due to the holder of a fishing licence under paragraph (1) on receipt of the licence duty in respect of the fishing licence and the remainder shall be issued upon presentation of the logbook related to such licence or other evidence of having used the tags given in accordance with these Regulations and upon presentation of evidence of fish sold.

(3) Additional gill tags may be issued thereafter by the relevant regional board to the holder of a fishing licence, other than a salmon rod ordinary licence, upon presentation of the logbook related to such licence or other evidence of having used the tags given in accordance with these Regulations and upon presentation of evidence of fish sold.

(4) Any gill tag held by the holder of a fishing licence, other than a salmon rod ordinary licence, which is lost or accidentally destroyed, may be replaced by the relevant regional board where the board has been informed immediately of the loss or destruction and is satisfied that the tag is so lost or destroyed.

(5) In this Regulation “relevant regional board” means the regional board which issued the fishing licence.

Prohibitions.

7. (1) A person shall not remove a tag that is affixed to a wild salmon or sea trout in accordance with these Regulations except at the time the salmon or sea trout is processed.

(2) A person shall not affix, or have affixed, a tag other than a tag which has been issued to him or her by the Central Board, a regional board or an authorised agent under these Regulations, to any wild salmon or sea trout.

(3) A person shall not affix a tag to any fish which is not a wild salmon or sea trout.

(4) A person shall not sell, offer to sell, display, import, export or tranship any wild salmon or sea trout which has not a tag affixed to it in accordance with these Regulations.

(5) A person shall not have in his or her possession any untagged wild salmon or sea trout which he or she knows, or in the circumstances ought to know, should have a tag affixed to it in accordance with these Regulations.

(6) A person shall not—

(a) affix, or have affixed, a tag to a farmed salmon or sea trout, or

(b) have in his or her possession, sell, offer to sell, display, import, export or tranship any tagged farmed salmon or sea trout which he or she knows, or in the circumstances ought to know, should not have a tag affixed to it.

Provisions relating to dealers.

8. (1) A dealer shall declare to the relevant regional board all stock of wild salmon and sea trout which has not been tagged in accordance with these Regulations within 21 days of the commencement of this Regulation.

(2) A dealer may, within one month after the commencement of this Regulation, sell any wild salmon or sea trout in his or her possession which has not been tagged in accordance with these Regulations or after such period shall affix to any such fish a tail tag issued to him or her under these Regulations by the relevant regional board by firmly fastening the tag to and securely locking it on the fish as indicated in the Second Schedule, so that it cannot be removed without tampering with the lock, breaking or cutting the tag or without cutting or tearing any part of the fish.

(3) Tail tags may be obtained by a dealer from the relevant regional board, on presentation of evidence satisfactory to the board, specifying the number of untagged wild salmon or sea trout held by the dealer.

(4) A dealer shall retain any tag removed from a wild salmon or sea trout at the time of processing together with the record of the purchase of the fish and a record of the date on which the tag was removed and shall deliver all such tags and records to the relevant regional board on the first Tuesday in December of each year and on any other day that may be specified from time to time by the board.

(5) Any tail tag held by a dealer which is lost or accidentally destroyed, may be replaced by the relevant regional board where the board has been informed immediately of the loss or destruction and is satisfied that the tag is so lost or destroyed.

(6) A dealer who imports a wild salmon or sea trout into the State shall—

(a) notify the relevant regional board before the fish is imported,

(b) affix, within a period which may be specified from time to time by the board, in the manner prescribed in paragraph (2), to such fish, a tail tag issued to him or her by the board, and

(c) complete the dealer's record book in respect of such fish in particular by entering a record of the code and number of the tail tag which he or she affixes to the fish.

(7) In this Regulation the “relevant regional board” means the regional board which issued the salmon dealer's licence.

Provisions relating to logbooks.

9. (1) A salmon and sea trout commercial fishing logbook shall be issued by the regional board which issued the licence to the holder of a fishing licence other than a salmon rod ordinary licence in respect of wild salmon or sea trout lawfully taken by a lawful fishing engine.

(2) A salmon and sea trout angler's logbook shall be issued by the Central Board, a regional board or an authorised agent to the holder of a salmon rod ordinary licence other than a salmon rod (one day) ordinary licence in respect of wild salmon or sea trout lawfully taken by rod and line.

(3) A one day angling logbook shall be issued by the Central Board, a regional board or an authorised agent to the holder of a salmon rod (one day) ordinary licence in respect of wild salmon or sea trout lawfully taken by rod and line.

(4) A logbook shall relate to one fishing licence only.

(5) The holder of a logbook shall complete the logbook in respect of wild salmon and sea trout captured by him or

10. The holder of a logbook shall have the logbook in his or her possession when fishing for wild salmon or sea trout under the fishing licence to which the logbook relates.

11. The holder of a logbook shall, at the commencement of fishing, enter in the logbook the date and if applicable the time and place of fishing and shall complete the logbook at the end of each fishing trip or before midnight on each day where fishing lasts for more than one day.

12. (1) The holder of a salmon and sea trout commercial fishing logbook shall deliver the logbook completed in accordance with these Regulations together with all unused tags issued to him or her under these Regulations to the chief executive officer of the regional board which issued the licence to which the logbook relates within a period of 21 days commencing on the day after the last day of the relevant fishing season in the manner set out in the logbook.

(2) The holder of a logbook other than a salmon and sea trout commercial fishing logbook shall deliver the logbook completed in accordance with these Regulations together with all unused tags issued to him or her under these Regulations to—

(a) the chief executive officer of the regional board which issued the licence to which the logbook relates, or

(b) the chief executive officer of the regional board in the fisheries region of which he or she resides,

within a period of 21 days commencing on the day after the last day—

(d) of the relevant fishing season,

whichever is the earlier, in the manner set out in the logbook.

13. The holder of a logbook shall report any lost or accidentally destroyed logbook, as soon as possible, to the regional board which issued the fishing licence to which the logbook relates and the logbook may be replaced by the person who issued it on presentation to that person of a signed declaration made before an authorised officer who is satisfied that the logbook is so lost or destroyed.

Provisions relating to the authorised distributors of gill tags and logbooks.

14. (1) A person who has possession of gill tags and logbooks for issue to the holder of a fishing licence shall—

(a) keep them in a secure place,

(b) enter the code and number of any gill tag being issued to a person in the logbook held by, or being issued to, that person,

(c) keep and maintain a gill tags issues register as described in the Sixth Schedule to record, in particular, the code and number of any gill tag which he or she issues and the serial number of the logbook in which he or she has entered the said code and number in accordance with paragraph (b),

(d) enter a record in the gill tags issues register of the code and number of any gill tag (the first and last numbers of a series will suffice) issued to any person and the serial number of the logbook in which he or she has entered the said code and number in accordance with paragraph (b), and

(e) return all gill tags held in stock to the regional board which issued them no later than 31 October each year or such other day as may be specified from time to time by the board.

(2) Information kept in a gill tags issues register by a person referred to in paragraph (1) may also be kept by the person by means of any mechanical or electronic device, whether or not stored, maintained or preserved in a legible form.

(3) An authorised officer may by notice in writing request a person referred to in paragraph (1) to produce for examination by the officer the gill tags issues register kept and maintained by the person or any extract of it or any gill tags or logbooks in his or her possession at such place and reasonable time as specified in the notice.

Non-application to certain matters.

15. These Regulations do not apply to—

(a) anything done in accordance with section 14 (inserted by section 4 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1962 (No. 31 of 1962)) of the Principal Act, or

(b) any wild salmon or sea trout lawfully caught and retained by the Central Board, a regional board, the Marine Institute or the Electricity Supply Board other than where it decides to tag any wild salmon or sea trout caught and retained by it, in accordance with these Regulations.

Provisions relating to persons engaged in catering.

16. (1) A person, other than a dealer, who removes a tag in accordance with these Regulations that is affixed to a wild salmon or sea trout which he or she has lawfully purchased shall retain the tag together with a record of the date of the purchase of the fish, a record of the date of the removal of the tag and if applicable the statement of the fisherman obtained under section 163A(2)(b) (inserted by section 20 of the Act of 1994) of the Principal Act for a period of 3 months and shall surrender to an authorised officer all such tags and records in his or her possession when requested by the officer to do so.

(2) This Regulation does not apply to any wild salmon or sea trout which is purchased bona fide by or on behalf of a person for use by the person in his or her own home.

FIRST SCHEDULE

Physical description of the gill tag:

1. The gill tag shall be made of plastic and bear a locking device.

2. The gill tag shall be at least 0.5 centimetres in width and at least 18 centimetres in length with printed details and colour as specified below.

3. The gill tag shall be attached through the gill opening and mouth of the fish and securely locked around the gill cover so that the code and number of the tag face outwards.

4. The gill tag shall be capable of locking or sealing ensuring that the tag is unopenable except by breaking the lock or tag.

5. The gill tag is not reusable.

Colours, Codes and Numbers for Gill Tags

Colours

Red	=	Drift net
Green	=	Draft net
White	=	Snap net
Blue	=	Road and line
Orange	=	Other fishing engine

Country code

I=Ireland

Fisheries Region and Fishery District codes

E=Eastern Region

District (DK=Dundalk, DA=Drogheda, DN=Dublin, WD=Wexford)

S=Southern Region

District (WD=Waterford, LE=Lismore)

SW=South Western Region

District (CK=Cork, KY=Kerry)

SH=Shannon Region

No fishery district code required.

W=Western Region

District (GY=Galway, CA=Connemara, BL=Ballinakill)

NW=North Western Region

District (BR=Bangor, BA=Ballina, SO=Sligo)

N=Northern Region

District (BN=Ballyshannon, LY=Letterkenny)

Blue tags shall not bear a fishery district code.

Year code

No year code shall be required in the first year. Thereafter the year code shall be the last two digits of the year.

Security code

A two digit security code shall be added to the tags.

Number

Numbers shall be from 1 to the estimated maximum allocation.

For example, a drift net caught fish recorded in the Ballina district in the year 2002 should be identifiable from its tag as follows:

Tag colour red, code INWBA02XX and number between 1 and the maximum.

SECOND SCHEDULE

Physical description of the tail tag:

1. The tail tag shall be made of plastic and bear a locking device.

2. The tail tag shall be a cable tie type tag with flag to allow printed details.

3. The tail tag shall be a minimum of 19 centimetres in length

4. The tail tag shall be attached around the tail of the fish, one end shall be passed through the locking device and pulled until the tag is securely in place.

5. The tail tag shall be capable of locking or sealing ensuring that the tag is unopenable except by breaking the lock or tag.

6. The tail tag is not reusable.

Colours, Codes and Numbers for Tail Tags

Colours

Yellow

Country code

Ireland

Fisheries Region code

E	=	Eastern Region
S	=	Southern Region
SW	=	South Western Region
SH	=	Shannon Region
W	=	Western Region
NW	=	North Western Region
N	=	Northern Region

Year code

No year code shall be required in the first year. Thereafter the year code shall be the last two digits of the year.

Security code

A two digit security code shall be added to the tags.

Number

Numbers shall be from 1 to the expected maximum allocation.

For example, an imported fish recorded in the Northern Region in the year 2002 should be identifiable from its tag as follows:

Tag colour yellow, code IN02XX and number between 1 and the maximum.

THIRD SCHEDULE

Regional Fisheries Boards

Salmon and Sea Trout Commercial Fishing Logbook

Issuing Board:____________________________________________________________________________________

Log Book Number: _______________________________________________________________________________

Year: __________________________________________________________________________________________

Details of Commercial Licence Holder

Licence holder

Surname:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Given Names:___________________________________________________________________________________

Date of birth:____________________________________________________________________________________

Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Licence holder's Nominee

Surname:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Given Names:___________________________________________________________________________________

Date of birth:____________________________________________________________________________________

Address:_______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Licensed fishing method: ___________________________________________________________________________

District to be fished as per licence:____________________________________________________________________

Identification number of licence:______________________________________________________________________

Type of fishing vessel and registration number:___________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________________

Record of Gill Tags Issued

Date of Issue	Number of tags issued	Codes and numbers of issued tags	Issuing officer's name and initials

Record of Gill Tags Lost

Date of declaration	Number of lost tags	Codes and numbers of lost tags	Certifying officer's name and initials

Record of Gill Tags Returned

Date of declaration	Number of returned tags	Codes and numbers of returned tags	Certifying officer's name and initials

Daily Fishing Effort and Catch Record

Date:_________________________

Time commenced fishing	Time completed fishing	Number of salmon captured and tagged	Number of sea trout captured and tagged	Port/Pier at which fish landed

Certified Correct: _________________________________________________________________________________

(licence holder or nominee signature)

Daily Disposal of Captured Fish

Number of fish retained for domestic consumption: __________

(must be tagged)

Date of Sale	Name and address of salmon dealer/hotel/guest house/restaurant	Number of fish sold
		Salmon	Sea trout

Certified Correct: _________________________________________________________________________________

(licence holder or nominee signature)

FOURTH SCHEDULE

Central Fisheries Board and Regional Fisheries Boards

Salmon and Sea Trout Angler's Logbook

Serial No: _________________________________

Year: __________________________________

Please complete in block capitals

Surname:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Given Names:___________________________________________________________________________________

Date of birth:____________________________________________________________________________________

Home Address:__________________________________________________________________________________

Nationality:_____________________________________________________________________________________

Road Licence Number:____________________________________________________________________________

Record of Issue of Gill Tags

Date of tag issue	Number of tags issued	Issuing board or authorised agent	Signature and name of authorised issuer	Codes and numbers of tags

Record of Lost Tags

Date of declaration of loss	Codes and numbers of lost tags	Agent Code	Signature and name of authorised issuer

* Replacements for lost tags may be issued only on presentation of a signed declaration of loss made before an authorised officer.

Record of Returned Tags

Date of return	Codes and returned of lost tags	Agent Code	Signature and name of authorised issuer

One visit only to be recorded on each page

County/River/Lake fished

Area/Beat fished

Date: ____________________________ Month: ________________________________

No. of hours spent fishing: ___________________________________________________

Catch details (if nil tick box): ____________________________________________________

Fish	Species (tick box)		Weight		Tick method		Fish released		Fish sold		Tag code and number
No.	Salmon	Sea trout	kg	lbs	Fly	Other	Yes	No	Yes	No

Certified correct:

Name _________________________________ Signature _______________________________

Record of Fish Sales

Date of sale	Number of Salmon sold	No. of Sea trout sold	Name and Address of salmon dealer/hotel/guest house/restaurant

Certified Correct:

Name _________________________________ Signature _______________________________

End of Season Summary of Angling Effort and Catch

Angler's name: __________________________________________________________________________________

Angler's home address: ____________________________________________________________________________

Rod licence number: ______________________________________________________________________________

Number of days when angling took place: ______________________________________________________________

Only sea trout greater than 40 cms to be recorded

	Salmon	Sea trout
Total No. of fish captured:
Total No. of fish released:
Total No. of fish tagged:
Total No. of fish sold:

Certified Correct:

Name _________________________________ Signature _______________________________

FIFTH SCHEDULE

Salmon and Sea Trout One Day Angling Logbook

Date: _____________________________________________

Month: ____________________________________________

Angler's name:____________________________________________________________________________________

Date of birth:_____________________________________________________________________________________

Angler's home address:_____________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Nationality:_______________________________________________________________________________________

Rod Licence Number:______________________________________________________________________________

Agent Name:_____________________________________________________________________________________

Agent Signature:__________________________________________________________________________________

Agent Code:_____________________________________________________________________________________

Agent Address:___________________________________________________________________________________

Codes and Numbers of gill tags issued:_________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

County and River/Lake fished:________________________________________________________________________

Beat/Area fised:__________________________________________________________________________________

	Salmon	Sea trout (greater than 40 cm)
Number of fish captured:
Number of fish released:
Number of fish tagged:
Number of fish sold:

Codes and numbers of returned tags:_________________________________________________________________________

Codes and numbers of lost tags:_________________________________________________________________________

Record of fish sales:

Tag code and number	Salmon	Sea trout	Name and Address of salmon dealer/hotel/guest house/restaurant

Signature of Angler:________________________________________________________________________________

SIXTH SCHEDULE

Gill Tags Issues Register

Issuing regional board or authorised agent:_______________________________________________________________

Date	Log Book Serial Number	Replacement for lost Log Book? Yes/No	Name and address of licence holder	Licence Number	Number of gill tags	Codes and numbers of gill tags	Replacement for lost tags? Yes/No	Name of Issuer

SEVENTH SCHEDULE

Imported Wild Salmon and Sea Trout Dealer's Record Book

Dealer Licence Number: ____________________________________________________________________________

Dealer Name: ____________________________________________________________________________________

Dealer Address: __________________________________________________________________________________

Date of Import	Time of Import	Supplier	Number of fish notified to the regional board	Number of fish imported and tagged	Codes and numbers of tail tags affixed to fish

	GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 11th day of August, 2000.
	FRANK FAHEY,
	Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

These Regulations provide for a scheme of carcass tagging for wild salmon and sea trout and log books to be completed by holders of salmon fishing licences.