Made | 1st September 2007 | ||
Laid before Parliament | 5th September 2007 | ||
Coming into force | 1st October 2007 |
(3) For the purposes of this article—
which is owned wholly by persons qualified to own British ships for the purposes of Part II of that Act;
(b) "Northern Ireland fishing boat" means a fishing boat which is registered under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 as to be treated as belonging to a port in Northern Ireland;
(c) "Northern Ireland zone" has the same meaning as in section 98 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998[7];
(d) "Scottish fishing boat" means a fishing boat which is registered under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 as to be treated as belonging to a port in Scotland;
(e) "Scottish zone" has the same meaning as in section 126(1) of the Scotland Act 1998[8]; and
(f) "Welsh fishing boat" means a fishing boat registered under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 as to be treated as belonging to a port in Wales.
Interpretation
3.
—(1) In this Order—
(2) Expressions in this Order which are not defined and which appear in the Regulation have the same meaning in this Order as they have for the purposes of the Regulation.
(3) Any information notified for the purpose of any provision of this Order must be treated as notified for the purposes of any provision in an Order to which paragraph (b) of the definition of "relevant offence" applies.
Offences
4.
—(1) Where there is a contravention of, or failure to comply with, any of those Articles of the Regulation which are listed in column 1 of the Schedule, the master, the owner and the charterer (if any) of the boat in relation to which the contravention or failure occurred are each guilty of an offence.
(2) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), any person who contravenes or fails to comply with Article 3.2 of the Regulation is guilty of an offence.
(3) The theoretical correspondence between the weight of the fins and bodies for the purposes of Article 4.4 of the Regulation is 5% of the live weight of the shark catch.
Penalties
5.
—(1) Any person found guilty of a relevant offence is liable—
(2) The court by which a person is convicted of any relevant offence may also order the forfeiture of any fishing gear used in the course of, or in activities leading to, the commission of the offence and either—
Recovery of fines
6.
—(1) Where a magistrates' court imposes a fine on a person convicted of a relevant offence 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) Sections 77(1) and 78 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980[11] (postponement of issue of, and defects in, warrants of distress) apply to a warrant of distress issued under this article as they apply to a warrant of distress issued under Part III of that Act.
(3) Where, in relation to a fine in respect of a relevant offence, an order under article 95 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981[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 local justice area in England, this article shall apply as if the fine were imposed by a court within that local justice area.
Powers of British sea-fishery officers in relation to fishing boats
7.
—(1) For the purpose of enforcing this Order or any equivalent provision, 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 purpose mentioned in paragraph (1) and, in particular—
but nothing in sub-paragraph (e) 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 a relevant offence has at any time been committed in relation to a fishing boat, he may—
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 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
8.
—(1) For the purposes of enforcing this Order or any equivalent provision, any British sea-fishery officer may—
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall also apply in relation to any land used in connection with any of the activities described in that paragraph and in respect of any vehicle which a British sea-fishery officer has reasonable cause to believe is being used to transport shark, shark fins or remaining parts of sharks 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
9.
—(1) If a justice of the peace on sworn information 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
10.
A British sea-fishery officer may seize—
Protection of officers
11.
A British sea-fishery officer or a person assisting him 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 on him by this Order if the court is satisfied that—
Obstruction of officers
12.
—(1) A person is guilty of an offence if—
(2) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) is liable—
Provisions as to offences
13.
—(1) If an offence under this Order 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 the 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) Where any relevant offence committed by a partnership is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a partner, he as well as the partnership shall be guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(4) Where any relevant offence committed by an unincorporated association is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any officer of the association or any member of its governing body, he as well as the association shall be guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(5) "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
14.
—(1) The Articles referred to in the following paragraphs are references to Articles of Council Regulation (EEC) 2847/1993 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy[14].
(2) Any—
shall, in any proceedings in England for a relevant offence, be evidence of the matters stated in the logbook, declaration, effort report or document, as the case may be.
(3) The reference to "required information" in paragraph (2)(e) is to information communicated via a satellite-based vessel monitoring system established under Article 3.1 as to—
Phil Woolas
Minister of State Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
29th August 2007
Paul Goggins
Minister of State Northern Ireland Office
1st September 2007
Column 1 | Column 2 |
Regulation Provision | Summary Description of Subject Matter |
1. Article 3.1 | The prohibition on the removal or retention of shark fins on board vessels and the transhipment or landing of shark fins (unless permitted by a special fishing permit as specified in Article 4.1). |
2. Article 3.2 | The prohibition on the purchase, offer for sale or selling of shark fins which have been removed or retained on board or transhipped or landed in contravention of Article 3.1. |
3. Article 4.3 | Prohibition on the discard at sea of the remaining parts of a shark (except those parts resulting from basic processing operations) by those holding a special fishing permit as specified in Article 4.1. |
4. Article 4.4 | Prohibition on the retention of fins where the weight of the fins exceeds the theoretical weight of the fins that would correspond to the remaining parts of sharks retained on board, transhipped or landed by vessels holding a special fishing permit. |
5. Article 5.1 |
Requirement on masters holding special fishing permits to keep records of the weight of shark fins and the remaining parts of sharks retained on board, transhipped or landed. Requirement on masters holding special fishing permits to keep logbook records, with valid landing, transhipment and sales documentation, where the shark catch is not landed as a whole. |
6. Article 5.2 | Requirements on those persons with special fishing permits wishing to land shark fins or remaining parts of sharks outside Community ports to notify relevant details to the authorities of their flag state and to the competent authorities of the State to be landed in at least 72 hours before estimated time of arrival at the port of landing. |
[2] Article 3(1) of and Schedule 1 to the Scotland Act 1998 (Concurrent Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1592) provide for the functions exercisable under section 30(2) of the 1981 Act to be exercised by the Ministers, concurrently with Scottish Ministers, in relation to: British fishing boats (other than Scottish ones) within the Scottish zone and Scottish fishing boats within British fishery limits but outside the Scottish zone. By virtue of article 2(a) of, and Schedule 1 to, the National Assembly for Wales (Transfer of Functions) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/672) the functions exercisable under section 30(2) of the 1981 Act were transferred to the National Assembly in so far as exercisable in relation to Wales (defined in section 155(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998 (c.38) as including "the sea adjacent to Wales out as far as the seaward boundary of the territorial sea"); in respect of waters beyond Wales these functions remain exercisable by the Ministers. By virtue of article 2(1) of the Transfer of Functions (Agriculture and Fisheries) Order 2000 (S.I. 2000/1812) any remaining functions of the Secretaries of State for Scotland and Wales under section 30(2) of the 1981 Act were transferred to the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. The functions of the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and one or more named Secretaries of State (however described) acting jointly were transferred to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and one or more Secretaries of State acting jointly by virtue of article 2(5) of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (Dissolution) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/794). The Sea Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/790) Schedule 2 paragraph 3, provides that the function in section 30(2) of the 1981 Act is to be exercised concurrently by the Department for Agriculture and Rural Development insofar as it relates to sea fishing within the Northern Ireland zone and to Northern Ireland fishing boats outside that zone.back
[3] As referred to in section 158(1) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (c.32).back
[4] As defined by section 1 of the Fishery Limits Act 1976 (c.86).back
[5] See section 1(5) of the Territorial Sea Act 1987 (c.49) (as extended to Jersey by S.I. 1997/278, as amended by S.I. 2002/250, and to the Isle of Man by S.I. 1991/1722).back
[9] OJ No L167, 04.07.2003, p. 1.back
[10] Subsection 30(2A) was inserted by the Scotland Act 1998 (Consequential Modifications) (No.2) Order 1999, SI 1999/1820.back
[11] 1980 c.43; section 78 was amended by sections 37 and 46 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c.48).back
[12] S.I. 1981/1675 (NI 26).back
[14] OJ No. L261, 20.10.93, p.1, as last amended by Council Regulation 1954/2003 of 4 November 2003.back