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S.I. No. 464 of 2005
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EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES (SEA FISHERIES)
(CONSERVATION AND RATIONAL EXPLOITATION OF SCALLOP) REGULATIONS 2005
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I, Noel Dempsey, Minister for Communications,
Marine and Natural Resources, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section
3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972), and for the purpose
of giving full effect to Council Regulation (EC) No 1954/2003 of 4 November
20031 and Council Regulation (EC) No 1415/2004 of 19 July 20042 ,
hereby make the following regulations:
1. These
Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Sea Fisheries)
(Conservation and Rational Exploitation of Scallop) Regulations 2005.
2. (1) In
these Regulations -
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“Council Regulations” means Council Regulation (EC) No. No 1954/2003
of 4 November 2003 and Council Regulation (EC) No 1415/2004 of 19 July 2004;
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“Irish sea-fishing boat” means a boat equal to or greater than 10
metres in length overall and entered in the Register of Fishing Boats;
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“owner” in relation to a sea-fishing boat, means the person
registered as its owner or, if no such person is registered, the person who
owns the boat, and includes any part owner, charterer,
hirer or operator of the boat;
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“master” in relation to a sea-fishing boat, means the master,
skipper or other person for the time being in charge of the boat;
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“Minister” means Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural
Resources;
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“Register of Fishing Boats” means the Register of Fishing Boats
established and maintained pursuant to the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (as
adapted and amended by any subsequent enactments);
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“sea fisheries protection officer” means an officer of the Minister
authorised by the Minister as a sea fisheries protection officer for the
purposes of the Fisheries Acts 1959 to 2003 and of these Regulations;
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“scallop” means pecten maximus;
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“fishing area” means waters falling within ICES (International
Council for the Exploration of the Sea) sub-areas V, VI and VII specified in
Annex I and Annex II to Council Regulation (EC) No 1415/2004 of 19 July 2004
in respect of the maximum level of annual fishing effort in respect of
scallops allocated to the State under those Annexes;
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“fishing day” means the 24-hour period between 00.00 hours of a day
and 24.00 hours of the same day or any part of such a period during which an
Irish sea-fishing boat is permitted under Regulation 4 to fish for scallops;
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“scallop fishing” means the use, on any particular occasion, of
dredges resulting in the retention on board or landing of a quantity in
kilograms live weight of scallop greater than 10 per cent. of the total
quantity in kilograms live weight of all other marine organisms retained on
board or landed on that occasion;
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(2) A
word or expression that is used in these Regulations and is also used in the
Council Regulations has, unless the contrary intention appears, the same
meaning in these Regulations as it has in the Council Regulations.
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(3) In
these Regulations, unless otherwise indicated -
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(a) a
reference to a Regulation is a reference to a Regulation of these
Regulations, and
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(b) a reference to a paragraph or
subparagraph is a reference to a paragraph or subparagraph of the provision
in which the reference occurs.
3. (1) A
person who is the owner, charterer or hirer of an
Irish sea-fishing boat shall not engage in scallop fishing in the fishing
area otherwise than in accordance with an authorisation granted under
Regulation 4 to him or her.
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(2) A
person on board an Irish sea-fishing boat shall not engage in scallop
fishing in the fishing area and the master of an Irish sea-fishing boat
shall not cause or permit the boat or any person onboard on the boat to
engage in scallop fishing in the fishing area otherwise than in accordance
with an authorisation granted under Regulation 4.
4. (1) The
Minister may, in accordance with and subject to the need to conserve the
State's annual fishing effort in respect of scallop fishing, upon the
application of any person who is the owner, charterer
or hirer of an Irish sea-fishing boat in relation to which there is in force
a licence under section 222B (inserted by the Fisheries (Amendment) Act 1983
) of the Fisheries (Consolidation Act) 1959 and which is entered in the
Register of Fishing Boats and upon being furnished by the person with any
information which the Minister may reasonably require in relation to the
application, grant to the person an authorisation for the purposes of
conducting scallop fishing.
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(2) Without
prejudice to Regulation 6, an authorisation under this Regulation shall
stand revoked if the holder of the authorisation ceases to be the owner, charterer or hirer of the boat to which the
authorisation relates or ceases to hold a licence granted under section 222B
of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act 1959 in respect of the boat or the boat
ceases to be registered in the Register of Fishing Boats.
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(3) An
authorisation under this Regulation shall be subject to any or all of the
following conditions as the Minister thinks fit and specifies in the
authorisation, namely conditions -
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(a) specifying
the quantities or types of fishing gear or gears which may be kept on board
or used for the purposes of scallop fishing, and the manner in which such
gear or gears may be used;
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(b) specifying
the duration of the authorisation;
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(c) restricting
the quantity of scallop that may be taken, landed or transhipped in a
specified period or periods;
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(d) restricting,
through an individual allocation to an Irish sea-fishing boat, the number of
fishing days that the boat may fish for scallops in the fishing area, or any
part of it, for such period as the Minister may decide;
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(e) prohibiting
the landing or transhipment of scallop other than at specified places;
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(f) requiring
the collection, collation and submission of all specified data considered
necessary in relation to scallop fishing;
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(g) requiring
the keeping by the master of the boat of specified records in relation to
the activities of the boat;
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(h) requiring
the master of the boat concerned at all times, on a request being made of
him or her in that behalf, to facilitate the boarding and inspection of the
boat and inspection of the authorisation and any records kept on board the
boat in relation to the boat (whether the request is made pursuant to the
authorisation or otherwise by a sea fisheries protection officer) and the
taking of copies of the authorisation or any such records by such an
officer;
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(i) requiring
the master of the boat to facilitate the placing of any person appointed by
the Minister on board the vessel for the purposes of ensuring compliance with
the requirements of the authorisation, fisheries legislation generally and
scientific observation or otherwise;
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(j) requiring
the keeping of the authorisation on the boat concerned; or
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(k) requiring
the surrender of the authorisation by the holder to the Minister or a sea
fisheries protection officer upon its expiry or revocation.
5. Where
an Irish sea-fishing boat fishes in contravention of Regulation 3 the master
and the owner of the boat shall each be guilty of an offence and shall be
liable on summery conviction to a fine not exceeding €5,000.
6. The
Minister may, if he or she is satisfied that there has been, as respects the
scallop fishing, a failure to comply with any enactment or any Act adopted
by an institution of the European Communities or with a condition specified
in an authorisation granted under Regulation 4 by the holder of the
authorisation or the master of the vessel to which the authorisation
relates, revoke the authorisation.
7. The
Minister may amend or revoke a condition of an authorisation or insert a new
condition (being a condition referred to in Regulation 4(3)) in an
authorisation and the condition as so amended, revoked or inserted shall be
regarded as being specified in the authorisation.
8. In
a prosecution for an offence under Regulation 5 it is a defence for the
defendant to show that the fishing days to which the prosecution relates
were undertaken outside a restriction referred to in Regulation 4(3).
9. In
a prosecution for an offence under Regulation 5 the following shall be prima
facie evidence that the Irish sea-fishing boat concerned was, at the
time of the alleged offence, engaged in fishing for scallops in contravention
of Regulation 3 -
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(a) any
scallops on board such sea-fishing boat,
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(b) any
nets or other equipment or articles on board such sea-fishing boat
indicating use of the boat for fishing, the retention, storage on board,
trans-shipment or landing of scallops,
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(c) evidence
that such sea-fishing boat had on board any books, papers or other documents
from which it appears to the court that on the day on which the offence is
alleged to have been committed the sea-fishing boat was engaged in fishing
for scallops contrary to Regulation 3,
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(d) any
admission by any person who is for the time being the master or another
member of the crew, of such sea-fishing boat that at such time she was so
used, or
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(e) any
photographic evidence from which it so appears that the sea-fishing boat was
so used or which in the opinion of the court suggests, or tends to suggest,
that the sea-fishing boat was so used.
10. The
European Communities (Sea Fisheries) (Conservation and Rational Exploitation
of Scallops) Regulations 2005 ( S.I. No. 297 of 2005 ) are revoked.
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GIVEN under my Official Seal,
28 July 2005
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Noel Dempsey
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Minister for Communications,
Marine and
Natural Resources
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EXPLANATORY NOTE
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(This note is not part of the instrument
and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)
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The effect of these Regulations is to allow
for the conservation of scallop stocks, in particular the State's annual
fishing effort for scallop, by allowing for the limitation of scallop
fishing activity through a licensing system.
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1 OJ No.
L289,7.11.2003,p.1
2 OJ No. L258, 5.8.2004,
p.1
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