Shrimp Fishing Nets Order 2002

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 2002/2870
Year2002

2002 No. 2870

SEA FISHERIES, ENGLANDCONSERVATION OF SEA FISH

The Shrimp Fishing Nets Order 2002

Made 18th November 2002

Laid before Parliament 21th November 2002

Coming into force 1st January 2003

The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Secretary of State concerned with sea fishing in Northern Ireland in exercise of the powers conferred upon them by sections 3(1) and 15(3) of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 19671make the following Order:

S-1 Citation, commencement and application

Citation, commencement and application

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Shrimp Fishing Nets Order 2002 and shall come into force on 1st January 2003.

(2) This Order shall not apply to—

(a)

(a) the territorial sea adjacent to Wales;

(b)

(b) Scottish fishing boats either in the Scottish zone or outside British fishery limits; or

(c)

(c) Northern Ireland fishing boats either in the Northern Ireland zone or outside British fishery limits.

S-2 Interpretation

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order:

“British fishing boat” means a fishing boat which is either registered in the United Kingdom under Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act 19952or is owned wholly by persons qualified to own British ships for the purposes of that part of that Act;

“codend” means the rearmost part of a net, being made up of one or more panels comprising pieces of netting of the same mesh size attached to one another along their sides in the long axis of the net by a lacing;

“Northern Ireland fishing boat” means a vessel which is registered in the register maintained under section 8 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and whose entry in the register specifies a port in Northern Ireland as the port to which the vessel is to be treated as belonging;

“Northern Ireland zone” means the sea within British fishery limits which is adjacent to Northern Ireland.

(2) For the purposes of this Order, the mesh of a net or netting shall be measured in accordance with Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2108/1984of 23 July 1984 laying down detailed rules for determining the mesh size of fishing nets3as amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No. 2550/19974.

S-3 Prohibition on fishing for shrimps without a separator trawl or sorting grid

Prohibition on fishing for shrimps without a separator trawl or sorting grid

3.—(1) No British fishing boat shall carry or deploy a net, whose mesh measures between 16 and 31 millimetres unless—

(a)

(a) netting, the mesh of which measures at least twice that of the codend and no more than 70 millimetres, is fitted across the entire cross-section of the net in such a way that—

(i) sea fish cannot reach the codend without first passing through the netting; and

(ii) there is a hole in the net through which all sea fish that do not pass through the netting are able to escape;

(b)

(b) a rigid grid, the spacing between the bars of which is no more than 20 millimetres, is fitted across the entire cross-section of the net in such a way that—

(i) sea fish cannot reach the codend without first passing through the grid; and

(ii) there is a hole in the net through which all sea fish that do not pass through the grid are able to escape;

(c)

(c) no sea fish have been caught; or

(d)

(d) where sea fish have been caught, less than 60 per cent by live weight of the total catch comprises common shrimps (Crangon spp.), Aesop shrimps (Pandalus montagui) or a combination of the two, and the retention of sea fish on board the boat is consistent with Article 25 of Council Regulation 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles of marine organisms5as last amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 973/2001of 14 May 20016.

(2) The prohibition in this article shall not apply to fishing boats with either—

(a)

(a) an aggregate beam width of 8 metres or less; or

(b)

(b) a net headline of 8 metres or less.

S-4 Powers of British sea-fishery officers

Powers of British sea-fishery officers

4.—(1) For the purposes of enforcing this Order or any other Order (made under section 3 of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967) implementing a similar prohibition to that in article 3 and applying to any category of fishing boat, a British sea-fishery officer may exercise the powers conferred by this article in relation to any British fishing boat to which this Order applies.

(2) He may go on board the boat, with or without persons assigned to assist him in his duties, and for that purpose may require the boat to stop and do anything else which will facilitate the boarding of 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 of enforcing this Order and, in...

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