The Minister for the Marine has been directed by a High Court judge to refuse an application for a fish-farming or fish culture licence in certain parts of Lough Swilly, Co Donegal.
Mr Liam Smith, secretary of the Buncrana Anglers' Association, had challenged the Minister's entitlement to grant such a licence under Section 15 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959.
In a reserved judgment yesterday, Mr Justice Geoghegan directed the Minister to refuse the application by Hydro Seafood Fanad Ltd for licences at places on Lough Swilly referred to in public notices published in newspapers on January 10th and 17th, 1997.
Mr Smith, of Riverside Walk, Cockhill Road, Buncrana, had argued that the application by Hydro, made in January 1997, could not be entertained as it did not properly lie under Section 15 of the 1959 Act.
The judge noted that the Supreme Court had decided in July 1996 that there could be no application for a fish culture licence under Section 15 of the 1959 Act if the area in question comprised part of the sea. It was not in dispute that this was the position in the case. Therefore there could be no licence application under Section 15 of the 1959 Act.
The Supreme Court had also said the only statutory provision entitling the Minister to grant a fish-farming licence was Section 54 of the Fisheries Act 1980. But that could only be invoked where the Minister had gone through a procedure designating an area for aquaculture. That procedure might involve a public inquiry and a High Court appeal. There were no such safeguards under Section 15 of the 1959 Act.
The judge said the Lough Swilly area has not been designated for aquaculture, and there could be no question of Hydro being entitled to apply for a licence under Section 54 of the 1980 Act.
He noted the Oireachtas had passed the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1997, and Section 74 of that Act had not yet come into force. Section 74 provided that where applications for a fish culture licence had been made under Section 15 of the 1959 Act or Section 54 of the 1980 Act before Section 74 itself came into being, these applications would be deemed to be applications for aquaculture licences under the 1997 Act.
