magnet fishing legalities here

the_pen_turner

i have seen some you tube videos of guys magnet fishing. how would that work here in ireland. can you just turn up a lake or river and work away.

not intending to do it just interested

NUTLEY BOY

I would be wary of just rocking up and fishing away without checking a few things first.

Who owns the waters in which you are magnet fishing ?

Do you need their permission to magnet fish ?

If it is one of the waters owned by Waterways Ireland you would need to check the same thing as they have regulations too.

There are regulations under Statutory Instrument 247 of 1988 pursuant to the Canals Act 1986. Link S.I. No. 247/1988 - Canals Act, 1986 (Bye-Laws), 1988. (irishstatutebook.ie)

If magnet fishing is considered a commercial operation you would need written permission from the Office of Public Works as I think that this is their area. Also, the S.I. - article 38 - seems to prohibit extraction of material without permission.

Also, you would need to consider the potential to fall foul of some theft type offence if it is considered that recovering apparently abandoned property might constitute theft !! The essence of that offence is an intention to permanently deprive an owner of their property even though it is at the bottom of the lake 🙄

Look at this article from the The Independent about an English Court of Appeal decision about theft of golf balls from a lake on a course. This is not on all fours with your question but you can see the thinking. Link Jail sentence quashed for man guilty of golf-ball theft | The Independent | The Independent

You just cannot have any fun in this country without fear of being nicked. Actually, you can, but that is a different thread........

UrbanFox

Some waters may be in private ownership or control. Magnet-fishing might be an act of trespass if there is no prior permission.

As to the potential theft concept the salvagers could probably cover themselves by notifying Gardai or even surrendering their finds with a view to acquiring title to the property under something like the Police Property Act of 18frozen stiff or whenever.

Consider the tort of conversion. Someone could still own the property. A motorcycle that was stolen and the subject of a theft claim under a policy of insurance could effectively belong to the insurers under the principle of subrogation. To sell such salvaged property could constitute conversion.

dennyk

Another concern is that magnet fishing could be considered a violation of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1987 as pertains to searching for archaeological objects with a detection device, or surveying, salvaging, or otherwise tampering with underwater archaeological objects or historic wrecks. The definition of an "archaeological object" in the National Monuments Acts is very broad, and isn't restricted only to objects of great antiquity. If you're just fishing bikes and shopping trolleys out of the Liffey, it's less likely you'd be charged under that statute, but if you're scouring random lakes or riverbeds for "interesting stuff" or looking for shipwrecks or something, you could run afoul of those prohibitions, especially if you're doing so in any area that's been designated as protected under the Acts.