Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Conservation Measures) Order 1997
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1997/1949 |
| Year | 1997 |
1997 No. 1949
SEA FISHERIES
The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Conservation Measures) Order 1997
Made 5th August 1997
Laid before Parliament 5th August 1997
Coming into force 12th August 1997
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretaries of State respectively concerned with sea fishing in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by section 30(2) of the Fisheries Act 19811and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Order:
Title and commencement
1. This Order may be cited as the Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Conservation Measures) Order 1997 and shall come into force on 12th August 1997.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In this Order–
“British fishing boat” means a boat which is registered in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands;
“the Council Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 894/97laying down certain technical measures for the conservation of fishery resources2;
“fish” includes crustacea, molluscs and parts of fish;
“local fisheries committee” means a local fisheries committee constituted by an order made, or having effect as if made, under section 1 of the Sea Fisheries Regulation Act 19663;
“specified Community provision” means a provision of the Council Regulation specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 to this Order, as read with any qualifying words relating to that provision in that column.
(2) In this Order any reference to a document includes, in addition to a document in writing–
(a)
(a) any map, plan, graph or drawing;
(b)
(b) any photograph;
(c)
(c) any disk, tape, sound track or other device in which sounds or other data (not being visual images) are recorded so as to be capable (with or without the aid of some other equipment) of being reproduced therefrom; and
(d)
(d) any film (including microfilm), negative, tape, disk or other device in which one or more visual images are recorded so as to be capable (as aforesaid) of being reproduced therefrom.
Offences
3.—(1) Subject to article 15 below, where there is, in respect of–
(a)
(a) any British fishing boat wherever it may be, or
(b)
(b) any other fishing boat which is within British fishery limits,
a contravention of, or failure to comply with, any specified Community provision, the master, the owner and the charterer (if any) shall each be guilty of an offence.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3) below, any person who, in the United Kingdom, lands, transports, stores, sells, displays or offers for sale–
(a)
(a) any fish in contravention of article 5 of the Council Regulation, or
(b)
(b) any salmon (Salmo salar) or sea trout (Salmo trutta) in contravention of article 6(1) of the Council Regulation,
shall be guilty of an offence.
(3) Paragraph (2) above shall not apply to a person who lands a fish, salmon or sea trout if that person is guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) above as respects the landing of that fish, salmon or sea trout.
Penalties
4.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under article 3(1) of this Order shall be liable on summary conviction–
(a)
(a) to a fine not exceeding the amount specified in column 3 of Schedule 1 to this Order in relation to the specified Community provision, the contravention of, or failure to comply with which, founded the offence; and
(b)
(b) either–
(i) to a fine not exceeding the value of any fish in respect of which the offence was committed, or
(ii) to the forfeiture of any fish in respect of which the offence was committed; and
(c)
(c) to the forfeiture of any net or other fishing gear in respect of which the offence was committed, or which was used in committing the offence, or which was used for catching any fish in respect of which the offence was committed.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under article 3(1) of this Order shall be liable on conviction on indictment–
(a)
(a) to a fine; and
(b)
(b) to the forfeiture of any fish in respect of which the offence was committed; and
(c)
(c) to the forfeiture of any net or other fishing gear in respect of which the offence was committed, or which was used in committing the offence, or which was used for catching any fish in respect of which the offence was committed.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under article 3(2) of this Order shall be liable on summary conviction–
(a)
(a) to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; and
(b)
(b) either–
(i) to a fine not exceeding the value of the fish in respect of which the offence was committed, or
(ii) to the forfeiture of the fish in respect of which the offence was committed.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under article 3(2) of this Order shall be liable on conviction on indictment–
(a)
(a) to a fine; and
(b)
(b) to the forfeiture of the fish in respect of which the offence was committed.
Recovery of fines
5.—(1) Where a fine is imposed by a magistrates' court in England and Wales or Northern Ireland on the master, owner or charterer, or a member of the crew, of a fishing boat who is convicted by the court of an offence under article 3 of this Order, the court may–
(a)
(a) issue a warrant of distress against the boat and its gear and catch and any property of the person convicted for the purpose of levying the amount of the fine; and
(b)
(b) order the boat to be detained for a period not exceeding three months from the date of the conviction or until the fine is paid or the amount of the fine is levied in pursuance of any such warrant, whichever occurs first.
(2) Where a fine is imposed by a sheriff in Scotland on the master, owner or charterer, or a member of the crew, of a fishing boat who is convicted by the sheriff of an offence under article 3 of this Order, the sheriff may–
(a)
(a) issue a warrant for the arrestment and sale of the boat and its gear and catch and any property of the person convicted; and
(b)
(b) order the boat to be detained for a period not exceeding three months from the date of the conviction or until the fine is paid, whichever occurs first.
(3) Sections 77(1) and 78 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 19804(postponement of issue of, and defects in, warrants of distress) shall apply to a warrant of distress issued under this article in England and Wales as they apply to a warrant of distress issued under Part III of that Act.
(4) Articles 114(2) and 154 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 19815(postponement of issue of certain warrants and objections as to want of form or variance between complaint etc. and evidence adduced) shall apply to a warrant of distress issued under this article in Northern Ireland as they apply to a warrant referred to in those articles.
Powers of British sea-fishery officers in relation to fishing boats
6.—(1) For the purpose of enforcing article 3(1) of this Order any British sea-fishery officer may exercise in relation to–
(a)
(a) any British fishing boat wherever it may be; or
(b)
(b) any other fishing boat which is within British fishery limits,
the powers conferred by paragraphs (2) to (4) of this article.
(2) He may go on board the boat, with or without persons assigned to assist him in his duties, and may require the boat to stop and do anything else which will facilitate either the boarding of, or the disembarkation from, the boat.
(3) He may require the attendance of the master and other persons on board the boat and may make any examination and inquiry which appears to him to be necessary for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (1) of this article and, in particular–
(a)
(a) may search for fish or fishing gear on the boat and may examine any fish on the boat and the equipment of the boat, including the fishing gear, and require persons on board the boat to do anything which appears to him to be necessary for facilitating the examination;
(b)
(b) may require any person on board the boat to produce any document relating to the boat, to any fishing operations or other operations ancillary thereto or to the persons on board which is in his custody or possession;
(c)
(c) for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence has been committed under article 3(1) of this Order, may search the boat for any such document and may require any person on board the boat to do anything which appears to him to be necessary for facilitating the search including rendering all documents on the boat’s computer systems into a visible and legible form;
(d)
(d) inspect and take copies of any such document produced to him or found on board and, where any such document is kept by means of a computer, require it to be produced in a form in which it may be taken away; and
(e)
(e) where the boat is one in relation to which he has reason to suspect that such an offence has been committed, may seize and detain any such document produced to him or found on board for the purpose of enabling the document to be used as evidence in proceedings for the offence;
but nothing in sub-paragraph (e) above shall permit any document required by law to be carried on board the boat to be seized and detained except while the boat is detained in a port.
(4) Where it appears to a British sea-fishery officer that an offence under article 3(1) of this Order has at any time been committed, he may–
(a)
(a) require the master of the boat in relation to which the offence took place to take, or may himself take, the boat and its crew to the port which appears to him to be the nearest convenient port; and
(b)
(b) detain or require the master to detain the boat in the port;
and where such an officer detains or requires the detention of a boat he shall serve on the master a notice in writing stating that the boat will be or is required to be detained until the notice is withdrawn by the service on the master of a further notice in writing signed by a British sea-fishery officer.
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