The Sea Fishing (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing) Order (Northern Ireland) 2018

Powers of British sea-fishery officers on land

12.—(1) For the purpose of enforcing this Order or an equivalent provision, a British sea-fishery officer may—

(a) enter and inspect at any reasonable time any premises used for carrying on any business in connection with the operation of fishing vessels (or any connected or ancillary activities) or with the importation, processing, treatment, storage, weighing or sale of fish or fishery products;

(b) bring such other persons as appear to the officer to be necessary and any equipment or materials;

(c) search for and examine any fish or fishery products found on the premises, and require any person on the premises to do anything which appears to the officer to be necessary for facilitating the search or examination;

(d) carry out at the premises such other inspections or tests as may reasonably be necessary, including inspections and tests relating to equipment used to weigh fish or fishery products;

(e) require any person not to remove or cause to be removed any fish or fishery products from the premises for such period as may be reasonably necessary for the purposes of establishing whether an offence under this Order or an equivalent provision has been committed;

(f) require any person on the premises to produce any document in that person’s custody or possession relating to the importation, processing, catching, landing, weighing, transportation, transhipment, sale or disposal of any fish or fishery products or to the entry to, or exit from, any port or harbour by any fishing vessel;

(g) for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence under this Order or an equivalent provision has been committed, search the premises for any such document and may require any person on the premises to do anything which appears to the officer to be necessary for facilitating the search;

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

(i) require any appropriate or responsible person to render any such document on a computer system into a visible and legible form, including requiring it to be produced in a form in which it may be taken away; and

(j) if the officer has reason to suspect that an offence under this Order or an equivalent provision has been committed, seize and detain any such document produced or found on the premises for the purpose of enabling it to be used as evidence in proceedings in connection with any offence under this Order or an equivalent provision.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) 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 or container which a British sea-fishery officer has reasonable cause to believe is being used to transport fish or fishery products, as they apply in relation to premises and, in the case of a vehicle, 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.