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Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Order 2007

rose to move, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Order 2007. The noble Lord said: The purpose of the draft order is to give effect to the implementation bodies order by providing the Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission with powers to exercise the aquaculture licensing and inland fisheries development functions conferred upon it under the agreement. It may be helpful if I comment briefly on the order and then say a few words about the detailed provisions. The Foyle, Carlingford and Irish Lights Commission is a north/south implementation body with responsibility for aquaculture and marine matters. It exercises its functions in the Foyle and Carlingford areas through the Loughs Agency. The draft order proposes to introduce a new aquaculture regulatory system within the Foyle and Carlingford areas under the control of the Loughs Agency, and will bring the existing unregulated aquaculture activity in Lough Foyle within the regulatory system. The draft order also proposes to update certain existing provisions of the Northern Ireland (Foyle Fisheries) Act 1952 in relation to the conservation and protection of inland fisheries to bring them into line with other Northern Ireland and GB fisheries legislation. I will now explain briefly the main provisions of the draft order. Article 3 establishes a new aquaculture licensing system in the Foyle and Carlingford areas under the control of the Loughs Agency. It also sets out the procedures for applications for aquaculture licences and the determination of applications and provides for aquaculture licences to be granted subject to conditions. It also creates new aquaculture offences including engaging in aquaculture without a licence or otherwise than in accordance with the conditions of a licence. Article 3 also sets out provisions for the variation, revocation, transfer and surrender of aquaculture licences. The draft order also provides for the establishment of a Foyle and Carlingford aquaculture licensing appeals board to which aggrieved persons can appeal against decisions by the Loughs Agency and sets out the procedures for the making of appeals. Article 4 extends the definition of fish used in the Northern Ireland (Foyle Fisheries) Act 1952 to cover the regulation of wild oysters, mussels, sea bass and tope within the Foyle and Carlingford areas. Article 6 will enable the Loughs Agency to regulate or prohibit the sale of rod-caught fish as a conservation measure. This provision will therefore assist the Loughs Agency in its efforts to protect salmon stocks under threat from poaching. Similar provision is also made in respect of the rest of Northern Ireland. Article 8 provides the Loughs Agency with the powers to deliver its England fisheries development function by enabling it to acquire fisheries with the agreement of the owner for the purposes of improving and developing facilities for angling. The provision should therefore enable the agency to improve the quality of the angling product in the Foyle and Carlingford areas for both local anglers and tourists. The remaining articles deal mainly with the updating of the Foyle Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Act 1952. The existing provisions that are updated relate to the conservation and protection of inland fisheries in the Foyle and Carlingford areas. That brings them into line with other fisheries legislation in Northern Ireland and Great Britain. The draft order is an important piece of legislation that will enable the Loughs Agency to fulfil its range of functions under the Implementation Bodies agreement. By doing so, it will help to ensure that both agriculture and the wild fisheries in the Foyle and Carlingford areas are managed and developed in a sustainable manner. I beg to move. Moved, That the Grand Committee do report to the House that it has considered the Foyle and Carlingford Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Order 2007.—(Lord Rooker.)