Legal framework of fisheries in Austria
According to Art. 15.1 of the Federal Constitution, fishing (professional and sport fishing) is a provincial matter in terms of legislation and enforcement.
Fishing laws are therefore adopted by the Landtag (state parliament) and enforced (in most federal provinces) by the district authorities as the authority of first instance or by the provincial government as the authority in case of appeal.As part of the enforcement of the fishing laws, all the provincial governments are required to issue appropriate ordinances for the implementation of the laws in general or for the implementation of specific regulations.
Some of the fishing laws contain the provision that when issuing ordinances related to bodies of water on provincial boundaries, the approval of the competent authorities of the neighbouring federal province must be obtained.
Fishing belongs to agricultural and forestry production. It is therefore outside the scope of the Industrial Code as stipulated by §2.3 of the Industrial Code.
The individual provincial laws govern the following issues, among others:
- Fishing rights
- Fishing waters
- Fishing areas
- Leasing
- Management regulations
25.02.2010, Lebensministerium III/2