Statutory Instrument 2001 No. 1631

The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Quota and Third Country Fishing Measures) Order 2001

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"the Council Regulation" means Council Regulation (EC) No. 2848/2000 fixing for 2001 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where limitations in catch are required[3];

"Council Regulation 2847/93" means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2847/93 establishing a control system applicable to the common fisheries policy[4], as amended by Council Regulation (EC) No. 2870/95[5], Council Decision (EC) 95/258[6], Council Regulation (EC) 2489/96[7], Council Regulation (EC) 2205/97[8], Council Regulation (EC) 2635/97[9] and Council Regulation (EC) 2846/98[10];

"relevant British fishing boat" means a fishing boat, other than a Scottish fishing boat, which is registered in the United Kingdom under Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995[11] or is owned wholly by persons qualified to own British ships for the purposes of that part of that Act;

"relevant offence" means an offence under:

(a) article 3 of this Order, or

(b) any provision in any other order extending to any part of the United Kingdom made for the purposes of implementing a specified Community provision, being a provision in respect of which, by virtue of section 30(2A) of the Fisheries Act 1981, proceedings may be commenced in any place in the United Kingdom;

"Scottish fishing boat" means a fishing 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 Scotland as the port to which the vessel is to be treated as belonging;

"Scottish zone" has the same meaning as in the Scotland Act 1998[12];

"specified Community provision" means a provision of the Council Regulation specified in column 1 of Schedule 1 or 2 as read with any qualifying words relating to that provision in that column; and

"third country fishing boat" means a fishing boat flying the flag of and registered in a state other than a Member state of the European Community.

    (2) In this Order - 

(a) the term "within relevant British fishery limits" does not include - 


(i) the Scottish zone;

(ii) the territorial sea adjacent to Wales;

(iii) the territorial sea adjacent to the Isle of Man;

(iv) the territorial sea adjacent to the Bailiwick of Jersey; and

(v) seas within British fishery limits adjacent to Guernsey, as defined by section 8 of the Fishery Limits Act 1976[13];



(b) any reference to any relevant British fishing boat "wherever it may be" does not include such a fishing boat while in the territorial sea adjacent to Wales;

(c) any reference to a document, logbook or declaration includes, in addition to a document, logbook or declaration in writing - 



(i) any map, plan, graph or drawing;

(ii) any photograph;

(iii) any data, howsoever reproducd, communicated via a satellite-based vessel monitoring system established under Article 3.1 of Regulation 2847/93,

(iv) 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

(v) 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.

    (3) In this Order - 

(a) any reference to a Community instrument is a reference to that instrument as amended on the date this Order is made; and

(b) any reference to a Schedule or to an article shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as a reference respectively to a Schedule to this Order or an article of this Order.

    (4) For the purpose of the prohibition contained in paragraph 2 of Annex IV to the Council Regulation (which prohibits the landing of herring unsorted from the remainder of the catch at a harbour where adequate sampling programmes are not in place), a harbour in England or Northern Ireland shall not be regarded as having in place a system which is adequate for sampling a catch that includes unsorted herring unless, before the landing of the catch in question - 

(a) the master of the fishing boat in question has applied to a British sea-fishery officer at the harbour in question for a decision as to the suitability of that harbour for landing the catch on that boat; and

(b) the British sea-fishery officer has decided that the sampling systems at the harbour are adequate, having regard to the overall size and characteristics of the catch, for the purpose of monitoring effectively the landing of that catch, and has so notified the master.

Offences
     3.  - (1) Where there is, in respect of - 

(a) any relevant British fishing boat wherever it may be, or

(b) any other fishing boat which is within relevant British fishery limits,

a contravention of, or failure to comply with, any specified Community provision in column 1 of Schedule 1, the master, the owner and the charterer (if any) shall each be guilty of an offence.

    (2) Where there is, in respect of any third country fishing boat to which any specified Community provision in column 1 of Schedule 2 applies which is within relevant British fishery limits, a contravention of, or failure to comply with, that specified Community provision, the master, the owner and the charterer (if any) shall each be guilty of an offence.

Penalties
     4.  - (1) A person found guilty in England or Northern Ireland of an offence under article 3(1) or (2), or under any equivalent provision in any other order extending to any part of the United Kingdom, proceedings in respect of which were brought in England or Northern Ireland by virtue of section 30(2A) of the Fisheries Act 1981, shall be liable - 

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the amount specified - 


(i) in respect of an offence under article 3(1), in column 3 of Schedule 1, or

(ii) in respect of an offence under article 3(2), in column 3 of Schedule 2,



in relation to the specified Community provision, the contravention of which or failure to comply with which founded the offence; and

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

Recovery of fines
     5.  - (1) Where a fine is imposed by a magistrates' court in England 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 a relevant offence or an offence under article 10, the court may - 

(a) issue a warrant of distress against the boat involved in the commission of the offence and its gear and catch and any property of the person convicted for the purpose of levying the amount of the fine; and

(b) order such boat and its gear and catch 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) Sections 77(1) and 78 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980[14] (postponement of issue of, and defects in, warrants of distress) shall apply to a warrant of distress issued under this article in England as they apply to a warrant of distress issued under Part III of that Act.

    (3) Article 114(2) and 154 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981[15] (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 to distress issued under this article in Northern Ireland as it applies to a warrant referred to in those articles of that Order.

    (4) Where in relation to a fine in respect of a relevant offence a transfer of fine order under section 90 of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980, Article 95 of the Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 or section 222 of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995[16] specifies a petty sessions area in England or a petty sessions district in Northern Ireland this article shall apply as if the fine were imposed by a court within that petty sessions area or petty sessions district.

Powers of British sea-fishery officers in relation to fishing boats
     6.  - (1) For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of article 3(1) or (2), or any equivalent provision in any other order extending to any part of the United Kingdom made for the purposes of implementing a specified Community provision, any British sea-fishery officer may exercise the powers conferred by paragraphs (2) to (4) of this article in relation to - 

(a) any relevant British fishing boat wherever it may be; or

(b) any other fishing boat which is within relevant British fishery limits.

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.

Powers of British sea-fishery officers on land
     7.  - (1) For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of article 3(1) or (2), or any equivalent provision in any other order extending to any part of the United Kingdom made for the purposes of implementing a specified Community provision, any British sea-fishery officer may in England or Northern Ireland - 

(a) enter and inspect at any reasonable time any premises used for carrying on any business in connection with the operation of fishing boats or activities connected therewith or ancillary thereto or with the treatment, storage or sale of fish;

(b) take with him such other persons as appear to him to be necessary and any equipment or materials;

(c) examine any fish on the premises and require persons on the premises to do anything which appears to him to be necessary for facilitating the examination;

(d) carry out at such premises such other inspections or tests as may reasonably be necessary;

(e) require any person not to remove or cause to be removed any fish from such premises for such a period as may be reasonably necessary for the purposes of establishing whether a relevant offence has at any time been committed;

(f) require any person on the premises to produce any documents which are in that person's custody or possession relating to the catching, landing, transportation, trans-shipment, sale or disposal of any sea fish;

(g) for the purpose of ascertaining whether any person on the premises has committed a relevant offence, search the premises for any such document and may require any person on the premises to do anything which appears to him to be necessary for facilitating the search including rendering all documents on computer systems into visible and legible form;

(h) inspect and take copies of any such document produced to him or found on the premises 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

(i) if he has a reason to suspect that a relevant offence has been committed, seize and detain any such document produced to him or found on the premises for the purpose of enabling the document to be used as evidence in proceedings for the offence.

Powers of British sea-fishery officers to seize fish and fishing gear
     8.  - (1) This article applies - 

(a) in England and Northern Ireland,

(b) to any relevant British fishing boat wherever it may be, and

(c) to any other fishing boat which is within relevant British fishery limits.

Protection of officers
     9. An officer or a person assisting him by virtue of article 6(2), 7(1)(b) or 7(3) shall not be liable in any civil or criminal proceedings for anything done in the purported exercise of the powers conferred on him by articles 6 to 8 if the court is satisfied that the act was done in good faith, that there were reasonable grounds for doing it and that it was done with reasonable skill and care.

Obstruction of officers
     10. Any person who - 

(a) fails without reasonable excuse to comply with any requirement imposed by a British sea-fishery officer under the powers conferred on British sea-fishery officers by article 6, 7 or 8;

(b) without reasonable excuse prevents, or attempts to prevent, any other person from complying with any such requirement; or

(c) assaults an officer who is exercising any of the powers conferred on him by article 6, 7 or 8 or intentionally obstructs any such officer in the exercise of any of those powers,

Provisions as to offences
     11.  - (1) Where any offence under article 3(1) committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, a director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or a person purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of the offence and liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.

    (2) Where any offence under article 3(1) 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.

    (3) Where any offence under article 3(1) committed by an unincoporated association (other than 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, 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 proceeed against and punished accordingly.

Admissibility in evidence of logbooks and other documents
     12.  - (1) Any - 

(a) logbook kept under Article 6, 17.2 or 28c;

(b) declaration submitted under Article 8.1, 12, 17.2 or 28f;

(c) effort report completed under Articles 19b and 19c;

(d) document drawn up under Article 9 or 13;

(e) document containing required information received by a fisheries monitoring centre established under Article 3.7,

as communicated via a satellite-based vessel monitoring system established under Article 3(1) of Regulation 2847/93.

Revocation
     13.  - (1) The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Quota and Third Country Fishing Measures) Order 2000[17] and the Sea Fishing (Enforcement and Community Quota and Third Country Fishing Measures) (Amendment) Order 2000[18] are hereby revoked, except in so far as:

(a) they form part of the law of Scotland; or

(b) they have effect in relation to Wales (as that term is defined in section 155(1) of the Government of Wales Act 1998[19]).

Elliot Morley
Parliamentary Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food

30th April 2001


John Reid
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

25th April 2001

[2] Section 30(2A) was inserted by the Scotland Act 1998 (Consequential Modifications) (No. 2) Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1820).back

[3] OJ No. L334, 30.12.2000, p. 1.back

[4] OJ No. L261, 20.10.93, p. 1.back

[5] OJ No. L301, 14.12.95, p. 1.back

[6] OJ No. L301, 14.12.95, p. 35.back

[7] OJ No. L338, 28.2.08, p. 6.back

[8] OJ No. L102, 19.4.97, p. 1.back

[9] OJ No. L304, 7.11.97, p. 1.back

[10] OJ No. L356, 31.12.97, p. 14.back

[11] 1995 c. 21.back

[12] 1998 c. 46; see section 126 and the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1126).back

[13] 1976 c. 86; as modified by paragraph 3(c) of the Schedule to the Fishery Limits Act 1976 (Guernsey) Order 1989 (S.I. 1989/2407).back

[14] 1980 c. 43; the maxmum fines in section 78 were converted to levels on the standard scale by sections 37 and 46 of the Criminal Justice Act 1982 (c. 48).back

[15] S.I. 1981/1675 (NI 26).back

[16] 1995 c. 46.back

[17] S.I. 1997/1949.back

[18] S.I. 2000/2008.back

[19] 1998 c. 38.back

[20] S.I. 1997/1949.back

[21] S.I. 2000/2008.back