The Fisheries Conservancy Board (FCB) at work

The Fisheris Conservancy Board(FCB) was set up in 1966 as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) responsible for enforcing the Fisheries Act (Northern Ireland) 1966.

The FCB's role is:

in respect of salmon and inland fisheries, and also pollution control. FCB's parent department is the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL) which is responsible for fisheries policy and legislation.

FCB has a permanent staff of approximately 29 with about seven full time staff involved in work on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA).

The main activities of FCB are:

• River quality sampling on behalf of NIEA
• Pollution investigation and prevention on behalf of NIEA
• Preparation of prosecution files under the Water (Northern Ireland) Order 1999 (links to Office of Public Sector Information website) on behalf of NIEA
• Patrolling rivers and freshwater fisheries to enforce legislation, including angling and commercial fishing licensing provisions
• Providing a bailiffing service on the DCAL public angling estate
• Providing an assessment for authorities on developments, such as water abstraction, drainage schemes etc. which may have an impact on fishery interests
• Prosecuting people in relation to offences under the Fisheries Act and subsequent amendments.