The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Measures for the Recovery of the Stock of Cod)(Irish Sea) (Wales) Order 2000

Powers of British sea-fishery officers in relation to fishing boats

6.—(1) For the purpose of enforcing article 3 of this Order, or any equivalent provision in any other order extending to any part of the United Kingdom made for the purposes of implementing the Community provisions, any British sea-fishery officer may exercise in relation to:

(a) any relevant British fishing boat which is within the territorial sea adjacent to Wales; or

(b) any other fishing boat which is within the specified area,

the powers conferred by paragraphs (2) to (4) of this article.

(2) The officer may go on board the boat, with or without persons assigned to assist with his or her 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) The officer may require the attendance of the master and other persons on board the boat and may make any examination and inquiry which appears to the officer to be necessary for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (1) of this article and, in particular –

(a) may search for fish or fishing gear on the boat and may examine any fish on the boat and the equipment of the boat, including the fishing gear, and require persons on board the boat to do anything which appears to the officer to be necessary for facilitating the examination;

(b) may require any person on board the boat to produce any document relating to the boat, to any fishing operations or other operations ancillary thereto or to the persons on board which is in the custody or possession of that person;

(c) for the purposes of ascertaining whether a relevant offence has been committed, may search the boat for any such document and may require any person on board the boat to do anything which appears to the officer to be necessary for facilitating the search;

(d) may inspect and take copies of any such document produced to the officer or found on board;

(e) without prejudice to sub-paragraphs (c) and (d), may require the master and any person for the time being in charge of the boat to render all such documents on a computer system into a visible and legible form, including requiring any such document to be produced in a form in which it may be taken away; and

(f) where the boat is one in relation to which the officer has reason to suspect that a relevant offence has been committed, may seize and detain any such document produced or found on board for the purpose of enabling the document to be used as evidence in proceedings for the offence;

but nothing in sub-paragraph (f) above 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, the officer may –

(a) require the master of the boat in relation to which the offence took place to take, or may personally take, the boat and its crew to the port which appears to the officer to be the nearest convenient port; and

(b) detain or require the master to detain the boat in the port;

and where such an officer detains or requires the detention of a boat the officer 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.