Prohibition against taking fish of any kind, except with rods. Penalty. Taking fish in a pond, &c. Penalty. Fishing by night. 17 & 18 GEO. III. CH. 19. Act for the better Preservation of Fish in Rivers, Lakes, and inland Waters. IT IS ENACTED: [A. D. 1777-8. SEC. 1.-(Reciting the defects of the laws previously of force,) That no persons not qualified except as herein, shall keep or use any boat or engine to take fish, (rods with lines and hooks excepted,) other than the makers or sellers thereof, and the owners of rivers or parts of rivers for the time being, under the penalty of the loss of such boat or engine; and any person thereunto authorized by warrant under the hand and seal of a justice of the peace, may enter in the day-time to search the houses of any person (save as before excepted) suspected to have in his possession any boat or other engine as aforesaid, and if found he may destroy or retain them to his own use. SEC. 2. That if any person shall kill, take, or destroy any fish, in or out of any pond, pool, canal, or stew, wherein the same are kept, without the consent of the owner, and be thereof convicted before a justice of the peace of the jurisdiction, on the oath of one credible witness, he shall forfeit for every such offence, a sum not less than £5 nor more than £10, at the discretion of such justice, to be given to the informer, prosecutor, or other persons as the owner chooses, to be levied by distress and sale of the offender's goods, and in default of distress the offender shall be committed to gaol for any time not less than three calendar months nor more than six, as the committal shall specify. SEC. 3.-That if any person shall be convicted before any justice of the peace of the jurisdiction, on the oath of one credible witness, of fishing by night with any to be thrown SEC. 4. That no person shall throw any waste, Poisonous or dye-stuffs, lime, flax, hemp, or any kind of noxious or noxious stuff not poisonous substance into any river, under a penalty of into rivers. £5, to be levied off the goods and chattels of the offen- Penalty. der, one moiety of the penalty to be given to the poor of the parish, the other to the first real informer; and for want of distress, the offender shall be committed to the county gaol for any time not exceeding three calendar months, as his committal shall specify. Trout not to be taken except by angling at certain times. SEC. 5. That no person whatever shall kill, take, or destroy any trout by any engine whatever, except by angling, from 1st October to 1st January, under a penalty of £5 for each offence, one-half to the poor of the Penalty. parish, the other to the informer, the penalty to be recovered in the manner before mentioned in this act, and for want of distress, the offender shall be committed to the county gaol, for any period not exceeding three calendar months, as his committal shall specify. SEC. 6. That proprietors of fisheries on the river Proprietors of Bandon shall have liberty at all times from the 20th fishery on the March to the 20th October, to take salmon fish with nets or in any other legal manner. Bandon. SEC. 7.--That it shall not be lawful for any persons Draught nets prohibited. to fish with draught or other nets in Lough Neagh, Lough Erne, or other loughs, or the several rivers flowing thereto or therefrom, from the 12th August to the 1st January in any year, under the penalty, upon conviction before a justice of the peace, on the oath of a Penalty. Dams by millers prohibited. Penalty. Penalty on constable refusing to act. Limitation. Proviso, appeal. credible witness, of forfeiting the nets and implements, and also the sum of £5 for each offence, to be levied by distress and sale of offenders' goods, and for want of distress each of the offenders shall be committed for any period not exceeding six months. SEC. 8.-That as dams and obstructions made across the streams under the waterwheels of mills, obstruct the return to the sea, and thereby destroy great quantities of salmon fry; if any such dams be discovered, or any implement be used to obstruct or destroy the salmon fry, the proprietor, miller, or principal agent, shall, on proof thereof by one or more credible witnesses, before any justice of the peace, forfeit the sum of £5, to be recovered as other penalties under this act. SEC. 9. That if any constable shall refuse or delay to execute the warrants issued by magistrates under this act, he shall be liable to be fined at the discretion of the magistrate, any sum not exceeding £5, to be recovered by distress and sale of the offender's goods, and for want of distress, to be confined for any period not exceeding three months. SECS. 10, 11, & 12, prevent the curing of nets and lines for sea-fishery by means of bark, prescribing instead the use of tar and oil. SEC. 13. That prosecutions for offences against this act shall be commenced within three calendar months after the commission of the offence, and not later. SEC. 14-Provided, that any person convicted under this act may appeal to the next general sessions of the Recognizance. peace, entering into recognizances before the justices from whose decision the appeal is made, with two sufficient securities to be bound in the sum of £10 each, conditioned that the person convicted shall appear and abide the judgment of the court; and in case of the affirmance of the judgment, such sureties, or one of them, shall pay, over and above the forfeiture, the usual and legal fees unto such officers of the court as shall be entitled to them, and unto the prosecutor such costs and reasonable charges as the court shall think fit. SEC. 15. That nothing in this act shall extend or be construed to extend to abridge any fisherman, or his apprentices lawfully authorized, to fish in navigable waters with lawful nets and engines. SEC. 16. That if any person shall be sued or prosecuted for any thing done in pursuance of this act, it shall be lawful to plead the general issue and to give the special matter in evidence; and if the verdict shall pass for the defendant, or the plaintiff become non-suit, or discontinue, in such case the defendant shall have treble costs, with the like remedy for their recovery as in other cases. 23 & 24 GEO. III. CH. 40. Act for the Protection and Improvement of the inland IT IS ENACTED, [A. D. 1783-4. Modes of taking fish for bidden. SEC. 2. That any person, not being the owner or renter Illegal modes of taking trout. Penalty. Viewers of obstructions. Penalty. Proviso. Parts of rivers within de mesnes ex empted. Jurisdiction. taking salmon or trout, (except angling with single rods,) or carrying any implement for that purpose, (except an angling rod,) on the bank of any river, lake, or pool, or shall be found draining any river, lake, or pool, for the purpose of taking fish, without the privity and consent of the owners, he shall for such offence, forfeit any sum not exceeding £5. SEC. 3.-That no person whatever shall kill, take, or destroy any trouts by the means of dams, fish-houses, nets, or any other engines, (angling excepted,) from the 1st October to the 1st February, under the penalty of £5. SEC. 4. That it shall be lawful for any inhabitant or inhabitants, being near such rivers, lakes, or pools, or holding land near the same, from time to time, to view, or appoint persons to view all such lakes, pools, and rivers, and all dams, shades, stages, and obstructions, for the purpose of discovering whether this act be complied with or not: any person obstructing, or attempting to obstruct, such person viewing according to this act, shall forfeit for every such offence the sum of £5, one half to the informer, the other to the poor of the parish. SEC. 5.-Provided, that nothing herein shall extend, or be construed to extend, to such parts of rivers or lakes, as shall happen to be within any demesne, park, improvement, or pleasure ground of any person what ever. SEC. 6.That one or more justices of the jurisdiction within which the offender resides, shall be bound to hear and determine complaints made on oath of credible witnesses, for offences against this act; and upon sufficient proof of the offence having been committed, to grant warrants under hand and seal, to levy by distress and sale the penalties, returning the overplus (if any); and in case the distress shall fall short of the sum to be levied, that the offender be committed to gaol for any |