Salmon Act 1986

The Salmon Act 1986 is a United Kingdom Act of Parliament which outlines legislation that covers legal and illegal matter within the salmon farming and fishing industries. Among the provisions in the Act, it makes it illegal to "handle salmon in suspicious circumstances",[1] which is defined in law as when one believes, or could reasonably believe, that salmon has been illegally fished or that salmon—that has come from an illegal source—has been received, retained, removed, or disposed of.

Salmon Act 1986
Long titleAn Act to make fresh provision for the administration of salmon fisheries in Scotland; to provide as to the licensing and regulation of salmon dealing in Scotland and in England and Wales; to provide for, and as respects, certain offences in the law of Scotland and in the law of England and Wales in connection with salmon; to amend the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975, section 5 of the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 1966 and section 9 of the Diseases of Fish Act 1983; to provide for the review of salmon fishing by means of nets; and for connected purposes.
Citation1986 c. 62
Territorial extent England and Wales; Scotland
Dates
Royal assent7 November 1986
Commencement7 November 1986
Status: Amended
Text of the Salmon Act 1986 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk.

Provisions

The act contains 69 paragraphs, dealing with a wide range of detailed matters relating to salmon fisheries. Matters covered include

  1. the definition and registration of "salmon fishery", the legal regulation of close seasons on such fisheries, and the constitution and governance of salmon fishery boards.
  2. regulation of the methods allowed for salmon fishing (specifically, giving the Secretary of State the power to define what is meant by various forms of net fishing)
  3. regulation of the trade-in salmon dealers.

A large part of the Act updates Victorian-era legislation, for instance, the Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1868.

Handling salmon/fish in suspicious circumstances

As originally enacted, section 32 of the Act was headed "Handling salmon in suspicious circumstances".[2] This section creates an offence in England and Wales or Scotland for any person who receives or disposes of any salmon in circumstances where they believe, or could reasonably believe, that the salmon has been illegally fished. Essentially, this is a provision aimed at reducing salmon poaching by making the handling of poached salmon a criminal offence. Section 22 introduces a parallel provision into Scottish law.[3] As amended by section 229 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, section 32 is now headed "Handling fish in suspicious circumstances"; consequently, it now applies not only to salmon but also to trout, eels, lampreys, smelt, and freshwater fish, as well as any additional fish that may be specified by an order under section 40A of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.[4]

The offence (whether as originally enacted, as amended by the Marine and Coastal Access Act, or both) is regularly cited, often without context, in lists of British laws that are deemed to be quirky, absurd, or archaic.[1][5][6][7]

References
  1. Bell, Bethan (31 May 2016). "Odd laws you may unknowingly break". BBC News. Retrieved 26 March 2019.
  2. "Salmon Act 1986". Legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. Section 32.
  3. "Salmon Act 1986". Legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. Section 22.
  4. "Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009". Legislation.gov.uk. National Archives. Section 229.
  5. Oobah Butler (14 September 2017). "I Broke Some Old Laws in Front of Police to See If They'd Arrest Me". Vice. Retrieved 9 July 2022.
  6. Leggat, Iain (19 February 2021). "10 weird and wonderful UK laws that might surprise you". Yorkshire Evening Post. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  7. Kettle, Emilia (10 December 2022). "10 bizarre UK laws that you may have broken". The Herald. Retrieved 5 September 2023.


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