Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing and Fishing Methods) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2003 and shall come into operation on 1st December 2003.

Amendment of Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing and Fishing Methods) Regulations (Northern Ireland)

2.  The Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing and Fishing Methods) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993(2) shall be amended as follows –

(a)in regulation 2 (Interpretation)

(i)there shall be inserted after the definition of “length” the following definition –

““mobile gear” means any gear that is towed or otherwise moved through the water including dredges, seine nets and trawl nets”; and

(ii)the definition of “tickler chain” shall be deleted.

(b)for paragraph (5) of regulation 3 (prohibition of fishing and fishing methods) there shall be substituted the following paragraph –

“(5) In Strangford Lough –

(a)the use of a suction dredge for the capture of sea fish is prohibited;

(b)the use of mobile gear for the capture of sea fish is prohibited;

(c)diving for scallops;

(i)northwards of an imaginary line drawn from Danes Point on Castle Island through the pole on Limestone Rock to the most northerly point of Long Island and thence in an easterly direction to the coastline of the Ards Peninsula; and

(ii)during the period of 1st May to 31st October, both days inclusive, in any year,

is prohibited; and

(d)the fishing or diving for horse mussels is prohibited.”

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Inshore Fishing (Prohibition of Fishing and Fishing Methods) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993 to prohibit in Strangford Lough –

(a)the use of a suction dredge for the capture of sea fish;

(b)the use of mobile gear for the capture of sea fish; and

(c)the fishing or diving for horse mussels

The Regulations also prohibit fishing for scallops in the northern part of the Lough and introduce a closed season for such fishing in the rest of the Lough.