16.—(1) In subsection (1) of section 59 of the principal Act (gratings to be set in watercourses diverted from rivers or lakes to prevent entry therein of fish) for paragraph (b) there shall be substituted the following paragraph—
“(b)the space between the bars of such gratings shall not exceed—
(i)in the case of any grating placed at the point where the watercourse diverges from the river or lake, 5.1cm,
(ii)in the case of any grating installed before the date of the coming into operation of Article 16 of the Fisheries (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1991 and placed at the point where the watercourse returns to the river or lake, 5.1cm,
(iii)in the case of any grating installed on or after the date of the coming into operation of that Article of that Order, or installed before that date but renewed on or after it, and placed at the point where the watercourse returns to the river or lake, 2.5cm;” .
(2) In subsection (4) of that section,—
(a)at the end of paragraph (b) there shall be added—
“or
(c)the Department is satisfied—
(i)that the watercourse supplies a mill to which there belongs a dam,
(ii)that there is no fish pass in that dam,
(iii)that the waste gate on the upstream side of the mill sluices is erected in a channel suitable for the passage of fish, and
(iv)that exemption from the obligations imposed by subsection (1) is necessary to permit the free pass age of fish,”
; and
(b)after the word “grant” there shall be inserted the words “ subject to such conditions as it considers appropriate ”.
(3) After subsection (5) of that section there shall be inserted the following subsection—
“(5A) Subsection (3D) of section 58 shall apply in relation to an exemption under subsection (4) of this section in the same manner as it applies for the purposes of subsection (3C) of that section.” .
(4) For subsection (6) of that section there shall be substituted the following subsection—
“(6) This section applies to any watercourse conveying water which has been diverted from the main course of a river or lake, except where the water is conveyed to provide for navigation.” .