Records of the Fisheries Board: Minute Books

The series comprises 5 volumes which furnish an account of the Fisheries Board's committee meetings. In effect, the series documents the day-to-day decision-making processes of the Board as well as the activities undertaken by the Board in order to realise its statutory obligations.

The earliest minuted meeting extant in the series, 3 Aug 1904, dates from the year which the Fisheries Board's antecedents, the Board of Fishery Conservators and the Fisheries Committee of Tynwald, formally merged. The last minuted meeting, 12 Oct 1946, dates from the year of the Board's dissolution and the transferral of its core functions to the newly created Board of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Activities evidenced in the Board's minutes include but are not limited to: the election of the Board's Chairman and the appointment of the Board's Secretary; the management of the Island's freshwater fisheries and sea fisheries; the day-to-day administration of the Board's aquarium; the appointment of Inspectors; and the undertaking of surveys and the issuing of reports in relation to the Island's fishery stocks.

The Fisheries Board was established in 1904 by the amalgamation of the Board of Fishery Conservators and the Fisheries Committee of Tynwald. The Board comprised 7 members who were elected by Tynwald. As with other Boards, the members were responsible for the election of their Chairman and Secretary.

The passing of the Fishing (Herring Industry) Act, 1939 saw to the further empowerment of the Fisheries Board. New functions vested in the Board under the 1939 Act included: the regulation of the fish market, the authority to impose limits on the number of vessels fishing in Manx territorial waters, and the facility to provide loans to support the ongoing development of the local fishing industry.

The core functions of the Fisheries Board were later transferred to the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries in 1946, alongside functions of the former Board of Agriculture and the Forestry Board.

Volumes are arranged in chronological order within the series.

Part of this series is currently subject to a B2 closure period of 84 years under the Public Record Order 2015 due to statutory data protection restriction laid down in the Data Protection Act 2002.

Please contact the Isle of Man Public Record Office for further information: public.records@gov.im

For information on visiting the Isle of Man Public Record Office please see our website: www.gov.im/pro

Please see our website for catalogues: www.gov.im/pro

Series level description created by Gavin Rowan, IOMPRO, 27 Jan 2017.

Selected for permanent preservation in Nov 2015, Angela Skitt, IOMPRO.

Records in consignment C323 were transferred to the Isle of Man Public Record Office as a temporary consignment under section 3(8) of the Public Records Act, 1999 in Dec 2002 by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (Agriculture and Fisheries division). The records were fully transferred to the Isle of Man Public Record Office under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act, 1999 in Jan 2016.

No accruals are expected.

Also held at the Isle of Man Public Record Office:

• S66 - Records of The Board of Agriculture and Fisheries: Minute Books.