Colonial Despatches

William Ffennell advised the government and the Colonial Office on the salmon fisheries of British Columbia, according to despatches from March 7, 1861 and May 9, 1861. Within these despatches, Ffennell stresses the need to protect and regulate the salmon fisheries of British Columbia by bringing them under law and appointing an inspector to regulate the fisheries.

William Ffennell, born on 16 August 1799 at Ballybrado, Waterford, Ireland, was the eldest son and second born of sixteen children.1

After improving the salmon fisheries on the River Suir as a peace commissioner, Ffennell's work focused on fisheries and salmon, in particular.2

Once appointed inspecting commissioner under the 1848 act, commonly referred to as Ffennell's Act, Ffennell introduced legislation that would modernize the administration of fisheries, and he would try the ease the pains of the potato famine by introducing fish curing to the west coast of Ireland.3

Unsurprisingly, both Scotland and England sought his expertise, and between 1860 and 1865 he served as the inspector of fisheries in England and Wales, and the fisheries commissioner of Scotland, which led to five major fishery bills.4 His work led to a ban on stake weirs in rivers, and he shared his expertise through lectures, reports, pamphlets, and a publication he started with Francis T. Buckland called Land & Water.5

Ffennell died at his home in Arundel Gardens, Notting Hill, London, on 12 March 1867.6

• 1. Gill Parsons, Ffennell, William Joshua, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.
• 2. Ibid.
• 3. Ibid.
• 4. Ibid.
• 5. Ibid.
• 6. Ibid.