The Salmon Act 1986 is a

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

which outlines legislation that covers legal and illegal matter within the

salmon Salmon () is the common name for several list of commercially important fish species, commercially important species of euryhaline ray-finned fish from the family (biology), family Salmonidae, which are native to tributary, tributaries of the ...

farming and fishing industries. Among the provisions in the Act, it makes it illegal to "handle salmon in suspicious circumstances", 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.

Provisions

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

Section 32 of the Act is headed "Handling Salmon in Suspicious Circumstances". 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 Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

by making the handling of poached salmon a criminal offence. Section 22 introduces a parallel provision into Scottish law. This offence is often cited, without its context, in lists of quirky or absurd laws—often alongside archaic or downright mythical "laws".

References

Fisheries law {{UK-law-stub