Made | 4th July 2006 | ||
Coming into operation | 1st August 2006 |
1. | Citation and commencement |
2. | Interpretation |
3. | Establishment of management periods for Northern Ireland boats |
4. | Deeming provisions in respect of certain management periods notified in the first half 2006 |
5. | Offences in relation to management periods |
6. | Allocation of days for fishing in the Cod Recovery Zone and Sole Recovery Zone |
7. | Allocation of days – pair trawling |
8. | Adjustment of the allocation of days |
9. | Fishing in the first half 2006, notification requirement and adjustment of allocation of days |
10. | Offences in relation to allocation of days and other restrictions on presence in the Cod Recovery Zone and Sole Recovery Zone |
11. | Transfer of days |
12. | Offence in relation to transfers of days |
13. | Offences in relation to fishing gears |
14. | Maintenance of logbooks requirements and related offence |
15. | Transhipment or landing relating to third countries |
16. | Mixing of species |
17. | Weighing sole |
18. | Transport of sole |
19. | Recording information on catches of sole |
20. | Interpretation of Part 4 |
21. | Penalties and defence |
22. | Recovery of fines |
23. | Powers of British sea-fishery officers in relation to fishing boats |
24. | Powers of British sea-fishery officers on land |
25. | Warrants to enter premises |
26. | Powers of British sea-fishery officers to seize fish and fishing gear |
27. | Protection of officers |
28. | Obstruction of officers |
29. | Offences by corporate bodies |
30. | Admissibility of documents in evidence |
31. | Consequential amendments |
(2) In this Order—
(3) Expressions in this Order which are not defined in this Order and which appear in the Cod Annex or the Sole Annex have the same meaning in this Order as they have in those Annexes.
(4) Any information notified for the purpose of any provision of this Order shall be treated as notified for the purposes of any equivalent provision.
(5) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954[8] except section 20(2) and (3) shall apply to this Order as it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.
and the management period is established on that notification in respect of that period and that gear, except where point 6.2 of the Cod Annex, or point 5.2 of the Sole Annex applies, in which case the management period is established only on receipt of confirmation in writing from the Department
(2) The obligation to provide notification in paragraph (1) constitutes an obligation to serve the required information on the Department by post.
Deeming provisions in respect of certain management periods notified in the first half 2006
4.
—(1) Where a person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat has, during the first half 2006, notified to the Department in writing a management period within the meaning of point 9 of the Cod Annex or point 8 of the Sole Annex, which includes any period before this Order comes into force and continues beyond that date—
(2) Any management period deemed established under paragraph (1) shall be treated as beginning on the date that this Order comes into force and ending on the date notified, and the allocation of days shall be calculated and adjusted accordingly.
Offences in relation to management periods
5.
—(1) A person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat is guilty of an offence if, at any time during the 2006 regulated period, the boat is absent from port in the Cod Recovery Zone, Sole Recovery Zone or a combination of both zones, carrying regulated gear unless a management period—
exists in respect of that boat and that regulated gear at that time.
(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to—
(3) Where, in respect of the restrictions or obligations referred to in paragraph (2), there is an obligation to supply information, the Department is the person to whom the information is to be supplied.
Allocation of days for fishing in the Cod Recovery Zone and Sole Recovery Zone
6.
—(1) In this Article
(2) The allocation of days for a Northern Ireland fishing boat shall be calculated in accordance with this Article subject to adjustment in accordance with Articles 9, 10 or 12.
(3) If the boat is absent from port but is present in only one of the Cod Recovery Zone areas during a management period, the allocation of days is as follows—
(4) If the boat is present in more than one of the areas in the Cod Recovery Zone but not in the Sole Recovery Zone during the management period, the allocation of days is the highest of the allocations for each area calculated in accordance with paragraph (3).
(5) If the boat is present in both the Cod Recovery Zone and the Sole Recovery Zone or in the Sole Recovery Zone only during the management period, the allocation of days is eighteen multiplied by the number of calendar months in the management period.
Allocation of days – pair trawling
7.
Where on any day during a management period any regulated gear is at any time affixed to a fishing boat which is absent from port and present in the Cod Recovery Zone (whether or not it is carried by that fishing boat) at the same time as being affixed to another fishing boat, that day shall be counted as a day in which each boat is present in the zone for the purposes of this Order.
Adjustment of the allocation of days
8.
—(1) The Department may adjust the allocation of days that applies in respect of a Northern Ireland fishing boat by adding further days —
(2) Where, in respect of previous management periods established in respect of a Northern Ireland fishing boat, the number of days in any allocation of days calculated in accordance with Article 7 would have resulted in fractions of days had paragraph (1)(d) of that Article not required the rounding down of fractions, the Department may add any whole days amounting from the sum of any such fractions.
(3) Where a Northern Ireland fishing boat is absent from port carrying notified gear in the Cod Recovery Zone or Sole Recovery Zone or a combination of both zones in excess of its allocation of days, the Department shall deduct from any subsequent allocation of days, the number of days during which the boat was so absent from port in excess of the relevant allocation.
(4) Where a person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat contravenes Article 6(1), the Department shall deduct from any subsequent allocation of days the number of days during which the boat was absent from port carrying regulated gear without having established a management period in respect of that period and that gear.
(5) Any adjustment made under this Article takes effect when it is served by post on a person in charge of the fishing boat by the Department.
Fishing in the first half 2006, notification requirement and adjustment of allocation of days
9.
—(1) This Article applies where, in the first half 2006, a Northern Ireland fishing boat was—
for more than the number of days that would have been allocated in respect of the boat had this Order been in force in respect of that period and had a person in charge notified a four month management period in respect of the first third 2006.
(2) A person in charge of the boat shall notify to the Department, within 28 days of the date that this Order comes into force, the number of days during which the boat was absent from port and present in the Cod Recovery Zone, Sole Recovery Sole or combination of both zones carrying regulated gear during the first half 2006.
(3) The Department shall adjust the allocation of days that applies in respect of the boat to reflect those additional days present in the zones during the first half 2006.
(4) The person in charge of the boat is guilty of an offence if there is a failure to comply with paragraph (2).
(5) The obligation to notify information in paragraph (2) constitutes an obligation to serve the required information on the Department by post.
Offences in relation to allocation of days and other restrictions on presence in the Cod Recovery Zone and Sole Recovery Zone
10.
—(1) In this Article "day" means a continuous period of twenty four hours beginning from the moment a fishing boat enters either the Cod Recovery Zone or the Sole Recovery Zone.
(2) Any subsequent re-entry into the Cod Recovery Zone or Sole Recovery Zone during that period shall not trigger a new day.
(3) Where the fishing boat is present in either the Cod Recovery Zone or the Sole Recovery Zone at the end of a day, the next day shall begin at the moment the previous day expires and so on for any contiguous twenty-four hour periods.
(4) Any time spent within the Cod Recovery Zone, Sole Recovery Zone or a combination of both zones during a day is to be counted as a whole day for the purpose of calculating the number of days spent absent from port and present in the Cod Recovery Zone, Sole Recovery Zone or a combination of both zones.
(5) A person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat is guilty of an offence if the boat is absent from port carrying regulated gear in the Cod Recovery Zone, Sole Recovery Zone or a combination of both zones for more days than—
(6) Notwithstanding an allocation of days under Article 7(3) or an equivalent provision, a person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat is guilty of an offence if there are multiple notified gear groups and, a gear group is deployed from the boat during more days than the number of days that would apply in respect of that gear group alone for that management period, calculated respectively either in accordance with Article 7(3)(a) or an equivalent provision.
(7) Notwithstanding the allocation of days under Article 7(4) or an equivalent provision, a person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat that is present in more than one of the areas in the Cod Recovery Zone during a management period established in accordance with this Order or an equivalent provision, is guilty of an offence if—
(8) Notwithstanding the allocation of days under Article 7(5) or an equivalent provision, a person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat that is present in both the Cod Recovery Zone and the Sole Recovery Zone during a management period established in accordance with this Order or an equivalent provision, is guilty of an offence if—
Transfer of days
11.
—(1) In this Article—
(c) "foreign fishing boat" means a fishing boat covered by the Sole Annex or the Cod Annex which is not a British fishing boat.
(2) Unused days within an allocation of days established in accordance with this Order may be transferred from an allocation relating to one British fishing boat ("the donor") to an allocation relating to another British fishing boat ("the recipient"),where the donor and recipient is a Northern Ireland fishing boat, in the circumstances permitted by, and subject to the conditions in point 14 of the Cod Annex and point 12 of the Sole Annex.
(3) A transfer under paragraph (2) is only effective if a written notification of transfer containing the following particulars, signed by the donor's owner, is sent to the Department before the end of the management period in relation to which the transfer is to take effect—
(b) the calendar months in the management period and the notified gear to which the transfer relates;
(c) the number of days transferred to each recipient;
(d) a declaration to the effect that the donor is entitled to make the transfer; and
(e) the date of signature.
(4) On written application from a person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat, the Department may transfer unused days that apply in respect of that boat to a foreign fishing boat subject to the conditions in point 15 of the Cod Annex or point 13 of the Sole Annex and any such transfer takes effect when notice of it is served by post on the person in charge of the fishing boat by the Department.
Offence in relation to transfers of days
12.
A person is guilty of an offence if he makes a false declaration in a notification made in respect of a transfer pursuant to Article 12.
Offences in relation to fishing gears
13.
—(1) A person in charge of a fishing boat in respect of which point 17 or 18 of the Cod Annex applies, is guilty of an offence if he fails to comply with the obligations imposed by either of those points.
(2) Where, in respect of the obligations referred to in paragraph (1), there is an obligation to supply information, the Department is the person to whom the information is to be supplied..
Maintenance of logbooks requirements and related offence
14.
—(1) A person in charge of a fishing boat is guilty of an offence if he fails to comply with the requirements in this Article.
(2) Where a fishing boat is absent from port carrying regulated gear in the Cod Recovery Zone, Sole Recovery Zone or both zones on any day where the logbook requirements in Article 6 of Regulation 2847/93 read with Regulation 2807/83 do not apply, a logbook entry stating the gear carried shall be made as though that Article did apply.
(3) The logbook entry referred to in paragraph (2)—
(b) shall be handed over and dispatched as if landing were made at the time of the fishing boat's arrival in port.
(4) In this Article, "day" has the meaning given in Article 11.
Penalties and defence
21.
—(1) A person found guilty of a relevant offence, is liable—
(2) The court by or before which a person is convicted of any relevant offence may also order—
(b) a fine not exceeding the value of the fish caught at any time in the period during which the offence was committed.
(3) In any proceedings for an offence under Article 11, it shall be a defence for a person to show that the number of days absent from port carrying regulated gear in excess of its allocation of days is no greater than the number of days purportedly but not validly transferred to that person's fishing boat's allocation of days under Article 12 and that he did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect that the donor was not entitled to transfer the days.
Recovery of fines
22.
—(1) Where a magistrates' court imposes a fine on a person convicted under this Order or any equivalent provision, the court may—
for the purpose of levying the amount of the fine; and
(b) order that the boat and its gear and catch be detained until—
whichever occurs first.
(2) Articles 114(2) and 154 of the Magistrates Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981[11](postponement 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 as the apply to a warrant referred to in those Articles of that Order.
(3) Where in relation to a fine in respect of any offence under this Order or any equivalent provision, an order under section 90 of the Magistrates' Courts Act1 1980[12] or section 222 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995[13](both of which deal with transfer of fines from one jurisdiction to another) specifies a petty sessions district in Northern Ireland, this Article shall apply as if the fine were imposed by a court within that petty sessions district.
Powers of British sea-fishery officers in relation to fishing boats
23.
—(1) For the purpose of enforcing this Order, or any equivalent provision, or to operate or facilitate the operation of any monitoring deriving from point 26 of the Sole Annex, any British sea-fishery officer may exercise the powers conferred by 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 purposes mentioned in paragraph (1) and, in particular—
(4) Where it appears to a British sea-fishery officer that any offence under any of Articles 6, 11, 14, 15, 17 and 20 of this Order or any equivalent provision, has at any time been committed in respect of a fishing boat, he may—
and where such an officer detains or requires the detention of the boat he shall serve on the master a notice in writing stating that the boat is (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.
Powers of British sea-fishery officers on land
24.
—(1) For the purpose of this Order or any equivalent provision, or to operate or facilitate the operation of any monitoring deriving from point 26 of the Sole Annex any British sea-fishery officer may in Northern Ireland—
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall also apply in relation to any land used in connection with any of the activities described in paragraph (1)(a), or in respect of any vehicle which a British sea-fishery officer has reasonable cause to believe is being used to transport fish or fisheries products, as they apply in relation to premises and, in the case of a vehicle, shall include power to require the vehicle to stop at any time and, if necessary, direct the vehicle to some other place to facilitate the inspection.
Warrants to enter premises
25.
—(1) If a justice of the peace on sworn complaint in writing is satisfied that the circumstances in paragraph (2) apply, he may issue a warrant authorising a British sea-fishery officer to enter any premises, if necessary using reasonable force, and to take with him such persons as appear to be necessary.
(2) The circumstances are that—
Powers of British sea-fishery officers to seize fish and fishing gear
26.
A British sea-fishery officer may seize-
Protection of officers
27.
—(1) An officer is not liable in any civil or criminal proceedings for anything done or omitted to be done in the purported exercise of the powers conferred by Article 24, 25 or 27 if the court is satisfied that—
(2) In this Article and in Article 30, "officer" means—
Obstruction of officers
28.
—(1) A person is guilty of an offence if—
(2) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) is liable—
Offences by corporate bodies
29.
—(1) If a relevant offence committed by a body corporate is shown—
the officer as well as the body corporate is guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(2) If the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members, paragraph (1) applies in relation to the acts and defaults of a member in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director of the body.
(3) In this Article "officer" in relation to a body corporate, means a director, member of the committee of management, chief executive, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity.
Admissibility of documents in evidence
30.
—(1) Any—
of Council Regulation 2847/93 shall, in any proceedings in respect of an offence under this Order or any equivalent provision, be evidence of the matters stated in the logbook, declaration, effort report, sales note or document, as the case may be.
(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1), "required information" means the following information as communicated via a satellite-based boat monitoring system established under Article 3 (1) of Regulation 2847/93—
Liam McKibben
A senior officer of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development
[2] Sea Fisheries Order (NI) 2002 (SI2002/790 Article 3(2) and Schedule 2back
[4] Section 30(2A) was inserted by Scotland Act 1998 (Consequential Modifications)(No.2) Order 1999, S.I. 1999/1820.back
[5] OJ No L 276, 10.10.83, p.1, as amended by Commission Regulation (EEC) No 473/89 of 24 February 1989, Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2945/95 of 20 December 1995, Commission Regulation (EC) No 395/98 of 19 February 1998, Commission Regulation (EC) No 1488/98 of 13 July 1998, Commission Regulation (EC) No 2737/1999 of 21 December 1999 and Commission Regulation (EC) No 1965/2001 of 8 October 2001.back
[6] OJ No L 261, 20.10.93, p1, as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No 2870/95, Council Decision 95/528/EC of 5 December 1995, Council Regulation (EC) No 2489/96 of 20 December 1996, Council Regulation (EC) No 686/97 of 14 April 1997, Council Regulation (EC) No 2205/97 of 30 October 1997, Council Regulation (EC) No 2635/97 of 18 December 1997, Council Regulation (EC) No 2846/98 of 17 December 1998 and Council Regulation (EC) No 806/2003 of 14 April 2003.back
[11] S.I. 1981/1675 (NI 26)back