Commentary on Sections Part 5 – Fisheries for Shellfish Section 71 – Applications for orders relating to fisheries
273.Section 1 of the 1967 Act enables the Welsh Ministers to make an order conferring a right of several fishery or a right of regulating a fishery. A several order transfers ownership of the specified shellfish to the person (known as the grantee) upon whom that fishery is conferred. A regulating order enables a person to manage fishing activity (for the specified shellfish) within a specified area, often by issuing permits to others to fish.
274.Section 1(2) of the 1967 Act enables the Welsh Ministers to specify, in a statutory instrument, the form and manner in which an application for a several or regulating shellfishery order must be made. Section 71 of the Act amends section 1 of the 1967 Act so that it is no longer necessary to make a statutory instrument for these purposes. Section 1(2A) of the 1967 Act will enable the Welsh Ministers to specify the form and manner in which an application for a shellfishery order must be made, without the need to make subordinate legislation for that purpose.
275.Section 71 of the Act further inserts a new section 1(2B) into the 1967 Act which enables the Welsh Ministers to require any person that applies for an order under section 1 of the 1967 Act to provide any information that the Welsh Ministers consider necessary (which could include environmental information) in order to consider such an application.
276.These amendments to section 1 of the 1967 Act will apply in relation to any application made after section 71 of this Act comes into force. Any such applications received before that date will be processed pursuant to the previous wording of section 1(2) of the 1967 Act.