Sea Fishing (Restriction on Days at Sea) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004

Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland

2004 No. 173

FISHERIES

Sea Fishing (Restriction on Days at Sea) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004

Made

8th April 2004

Coming into operation

9th April 2004

The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 30(2) of the Fisheries Act 1981(1) and now vested in it(2) and of every other power enabling it in that behalf, hereby makes the following Order:

Citation, commencement, extent and application

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Sea Fishing (Restriction on Days at Sea) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004 and shall come into operation on 9th April 2004.

(2) This Order does not apply to any fishing boat which is less than 10 metres in length as set out in point 1 of Annex V.

Interpretation

2.—(1) In this Order –

“Annex V” means Annex V to Council Regulation (EC) No. 2287/2003 fixing for 2004 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required(3);

“the Annex V year” means the period commencing with the coming into operation of this Order and ending with 31st December 2004, and references to things done during the Annex V year cover things done at any time within it;

“base unit” has the same meaning as in Article 3;

“British fishing boat” means a fishing boat which is registered in the United Kingdom under Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(4) or is owned wholly by persons qualified to own British ships for purposes under that Part of the Act;

“cod recovery zone” means the geographical area defined in paragraph 2 of Annex V;

“day” has the meaning set out in paragraph 3(b) of Annex V;

“equivalent provision” means any provision, in any other Order made for the purposes of implementing Annex V, in relation to any part of the United Kingdom, which has equivalent effect to a provision in this Order, proceedings in respect of which may be taken in Northern Ireland by virtue of section 30(2A) of the Fisheries Act 1981;

“fishing boat” includes any vessel covered by Annex V;

“foreign fishing boat” means a fishing boat covered by Annex V which is not a British fishing boat;

“management period” means a period established by Article 3;

“Northern Ireland fishing boat” means a fishing boat 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 Northern Ireland as the port to which the boat is to be treated as belonging;

“Northern Ireland zone” has the same meaning as in the Northern Ireland Act 1998(5);

“person in charge”, in relation to a fishing boat, means the owner, master or charterer, if any, of the fishing boat or the agent of any of them;

“regulated gear” means any gear within a grouping of fishing gears set out in paragraph 4 of Annex V;

“Regulation 2807/83” means Commission Regulation (EEC) No. 2807/83 laying down detailed rules for recording information on Member States' catches of fish, as amended at the date that this Order is made(6);

“Regulation 2847/93” means Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2847/93 establishing a control system applicable to the Common Fisheries Policy as amended at the date this Order is made(7);

“unused days” in relation to any fishing boat, grouping of regulated gear and management period, means the number of days available to the boat carrying the gear in the cod recovery zone during the period before its allocation of days under Article 4 is exhausted.

(2) In this Order –

“logbook” means the same as in Article 6 of Regulation 2847/93 as amplified by Regulation 2807/83, and, for the purposes of any provision of this Order other than Article 13, any reference to a document or logbook includes any –

(i)

map, plan, graph or drawing;

(ii)

photograph;

(iii)

data, howsoever reproduced, communicated via a satellite-based vessel monitoring system established under Article 3.1 of Regulation 2847/93;

(iv)

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; and

(v)

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.

(3) Any information provided to any authority for the purposes of any provision of this Order shall be treated as also provided for the purposes of any equivalent provision.

(4) The Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954(8), except section 20(2) and (3), shall apply to this Order at it applies to an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Establishment of management periods

3.—(1) Management periods for a Northern Ireland fishing boat, as referred to in point 6(b) of Annex V, shall be determined and notified by the person in charge of the boat, as follows:

(a) the base unit for determination of management periods shall be one month;

(b) each management period may be determined in multiples of the base unit from 1 to 11 months;

(c) the determination of each management period must be notified to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development at the same time as any grouping of regulated gear for the boat for the period;

and they are established by that determination and notification unless point 12 of Annex V applies to the boat, in which case they are established by confirmation of that determination and notification by the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development or by the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs taking that point into account.

(2) The person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat which, at any time during the Annex V year, is absent from port in the cod recovery zone carrying regulated gear for which a management period has not been established provided in paragraph (1), is guilty of an offence.

(3) For the purposes of this Article a notification given to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (whether after or in anticipation of the coming into operation of this Order) covering a management period including February, March or April 2004 and any grouping of gears for the period shall be treated as meeting the requirement of paragraph (1)(c).

Absences from port etc

4.—(1) A person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat which, at any time in the Annex V year, either –

(a) contravenes point 9 of Annex V, or

(b) during a management period established for it, is absent from port, while carrying the regulated gear notified for the period in the cod recovery zone, in excess of the ADMP granted to it on the basis of the following formulae, that is to say –

(i) ADB = Y + DC, and

(ii) ADMP = (ADB × Z) + DR − DT − DD − J − N,

is guilty of an offence.

(2) In paragraph (1) –

(a) “ADMP” means the allocation of days for the Northern Ireland fishing boat to be out of port carrying the regulated gear in the management period;

(b) “ADB” means allocation of days for the Northern Ireland fishing boat to be out of port in the cod recovery zone carrying the regulated gear per base unit in the management period;

(c) “Y” means –

(i) where one grouping of regulated gear has been notified for the Northern Ireland fishing boat, the number of days per base unit allocated for that gear grouping under point 6(a) of Annex V, and

(ii) where two groupings of regulated gear have been notified for the Northern Ireland fishing boat, the number of days per base unit allocated for the combination of those gear groupings under point 6(a), as read with point 7, of Annex V;

(d) “DC” means any number of days, extra to those covered by sub-paragraph (c), allocated to the United Kingdom under points 6(c) to (f) of Annex V for the purpose of being available to any fishing boat within a class within which the relevant fishing boat falls;

(e) “Z” means the number of base units in the management period;

(f) “DR” means the number of days transferred to the Northern Ireland fishing boat under Article 6 during the management period;

(g) “DT” means the number of days transferred from the Northern Ireland fishing boat under Article 6 during the management period;

(h) “DD” means the number of days required to be deducted as a result of failure to comply with any condition or requirement in point 6(d) or 6(e) of Annex V;

(i) “J” means any number of days during the management period (being one in which the regulated gear is at any time affixed to both the Northern Ireland fishing boat and one or more other fishing boats) when the Northern Ireland fishing boat is absent from port in the cod recovery zone but the gear is being carried by any other such boat which is so absent; and

(j) “N” means the number of days, if any, in which the Northern Ireland fishing boat was absent from port, while carrying regulated gear notified for the previous management period established for it in the cod recovery zone, in excess of the ADMP granted to it on the basis of those formulae during that previous management period.

Carriage and operation of fishing gears

5.—(1) The person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat which fishes in contravention of the first paragraph of point 7 of Annex V is guilty of an offence.

(2) The person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat which deploys regulated gear in contravention of the second paragraph of point 7 of Annex V whilst present in the cod recovery zone is guilty of an offence.

(3) The person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat which uses regulated gear in contravention of the remainder of point 7 of Annex V is guilty of an offence.

(4) Where point 7 of Annex V requires notification or prior notice it must, in the case of a Northern Ireland fishing boat, be given to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

(5) The person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat which carries fishing gear on board in contravention of point 8 or 11 of Annex V is guilty of an offence.

Transfer of days from one boat to another

6.—(1) Unused days may be transferred from one British fishing boat (“donor”) to another British fishing boat (“recipient”) under point 10 of Annex V where either the donor or the recipient is, or both are, a Northern Ireland fishing boat.

(2) A transfer under paragraph (1) is only effective if, where the donor is a Northern Ireland fishing boat, a written notification of transfer, signed by the donor’s owner (or, as the case may be, each part owner), is sent to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development before the end of the management period in relation to which the transfer is to take effect, and contains all the following particulars:

(a) the name and PLN and RSS number of the donor;

(b) the management period and any grouping of regulated gear to which the transfer relates;

(c) the name and PLN and RSS number of each recipient;

(d) the number of days transferred to each recipient;

(e) a declaration to the effect that the donor is entitled to make the transfer;

(f) the date of signature.

(3) A person who makes a false declaration in a notification under paragraph (2) is guilty of an offence.

(4) For the purpose of this Article –

(a) “name” in relation to a fishing boat which is registered in the United Kingdom under Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 means its registered name as referred to in regulation 30 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993(9); and

(b) the requirement for a notification to contain PLN and RSS numbers applies only in relation to a fishing boat which is registered in the United Kingdom under Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, and those numbers are respectively its port number and its official number within the meaning of regulation 31 of the Merchant Shipping (Registration of Ships) Regulations 1993.

Transportation of cod

7.  Where any quantities of cod are transported, during the Annex V year, in contravention of point 21 of Annex V, the owner or hirer of, and the person responsible for, the vehicle used to transport the cod is guilty of an offence.

Mixing of species

8.  A person in charge of –

(a) a Northern Ireland fishing boat, or

(b) a foreign or British (other than Northern Ireland) fishing boat within the Northern Ireland zone,

which retains or stows cod during the Annex V year in contravention of point 19 of Annex V, is guilty of an offence.

Notification prior to entry to a Northern Ireland port

9.—(1) The person in charge of a British or foreign fishing boat to which point 15 of Annex V applies, which, during the Annex V year, enters a port in Northern Ireland without the information called for by that point having been provided as required by it, is guilty of an offence.

(2) For the purposes of paragraph (1), the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development is the person to whom that information is to be provided.

Landing of cod where prior notification is required

10.—(1) A British sea-fishery officer may, by written or oral direction to the person in charge of a British or foreign fishing boat landing at a port in Northern Ireland, require that the discharge referred to in point 16 of Annex V does not commence until authorised by a British sea-fishery officer.

(2) The person in charge of a fishing boat from which a discharge is made during the Annex V year in contravention of the requirement in paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence.

Landing of cod at a designated port

11.—(1) The person in charge of a British or foreign fishing boat which lands cod in Northern Ireland in contravention of point 17 of Annex V during the Annex V year is guilty of an offence.

(2) If, in the circumstances to which point 20 of Annex V applies, cod is first landed from a fishing boat in a port within Northern Ireland designated as specified in paragraph (3), it is required that a representative sample, as called for by that point, shall be weighed in the presence of a British sea-fishery officer prior to being offered for first sale, unless the following conditions are met –

(a) the fishing boat is party to an arrangement made among fishing boats using the port with a person or organisation to act as their controller for the purposes of that point; and

(b) details of the arrangement, and the fishing boats which are party to it, have been notified to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development;

and the person in charge of a fishing boat from which cod is offered for first sale during the Annex V year in contravention of that requirement is guilty of an offence.

(3) For landings in Northern Ireland, the ports, and where applicable the landing locations within them, designated for the purposes of paragraph 17 of Annex V are listed in the Schedule.

Recording information on catches of fish

12.  The person in charge of a Northern Ireland fishing boat, in respect of which the 8% margin of tolerance set out in point 18 of Annex V is exceeded during the Annex V year, is guilty of an offence.

Maintenance of logbooks

13.—(1) An entry shall be made in a logbook of any Northern Ireland fishing boat which is absent from port (on a trip which includes any period in the cod recovery zone) carrying regulated gear but not fishing as specified in Article 6 of Regulation 2847/93, in respect of each particular gear which would be required to be entered by that Article (as amplified by Regulation 2807/83) were the boat so fishing, and such an entry shall state the type of fishing gear carried.

(2) Such an entry shall be made –

(a) daily, but not later than midnight in respect of each day;

(b) at the time of arrival in port;

(c) at the time of any inspection at sea; and

(d) at the time that an effort report is made as required by Article 19e.3 of Regulation 2847/93,

and the requirements of those Regulations for handing over and dispatch of logbook entries shall apply to the entries required by this Article as they apply to other entries.

(3) Where a Northern Ireland fishing boat is absent from port and paragraph (1) requires a logbook entry to be made in respect of that absence, the logbook entries shall be handed over and dispatched as if landing were made at the time of the boat’s arrival in port.

(4) Where in relation to any time in the Annex V year there is, in respect of a Northern Ireland fishing boat, a failure to make an entry required by this Article, or to comply with requirements for handing over and dispatch referred to in this Article, the person in charge of that fishing boat is guilty of an offence.

Penalties and defence

14.—(1) A person guilty of an offence under Article 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 or 13 or under any equivalent provision shall be liable –

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50,000;

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine.

(2) The court by or before which a person is convicted of an offence under Article 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 or under any equivalent provision may order forfeiture of:

(a) any fish in respect of which the offence was committed; and

(b) except in the case of an offence under Article 7 or any equivalent provision, any fishing gear used in the course of, or in activities leading to, the commission of the offence.

(3) Any person found guilty of an offence under Article 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12 or under any equivalent provision shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the value of the fish in respect of which the offence was committed.

(4) A person shall not be liable to a fine under paragraph (3) in respect of such an offence if, under paragraph (2), the court orders the forfeiture of the fish in respect of which that offence was committed; and where a fine is imposed under paragraph (3) in respect of any offence, the court shall not have the power under paragraph (2) to order forfeiture of the fish in respect of which the offence was committed.

(5) Subject to paragraph (4), any fine to which a person is liable under paragraph (3) shall be in addition to any other penalty (whether preliminary or otherwise) to which he is liable in respect of that offence under this Article.

(6) In any proceedings for an offence under Article 4(1)(b), it shall be a defence for a person to show that the number of days absent from port carrying any type of fishing gear comprising the offence was no greater than the number of days of absence carrying that gear purportedly but not validly transferred to that person’s fishing boat under Article 6 and that he did not know and had no reasonable cause to suspect that the donor was not entitled to transfer the days.

(7) References in this Article to fish in respect of which an offence was committed include fish caught at any time in the period during which the offence was committed.

Recovery of fines

15.—(1) Where a fine is imposed by a magistrates' court on a person in charge of a fishing boat who is convicted by the court of an offence under this Order or any equivalent provision, the court may –

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

(b) order the boat and its gear and catch to be detained for a period not exceeding three months from the date of 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) Articles 114(2) and 154 of the Magistrates Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(10) (postponement of certain warrants and objections as to want of form or variance between complaint etc and evidence adduced) shall apply to a warrant of distress issued under this Article as they apply to a warrant referred to in those Articles of that Order.

(3) Where, in relation to an offence under this Order or under any equivalent provision a court orders under section 90 of the Magistrates Court Act 1980(11) or section 222 of the Criminal Procedures (Scotland) Act 1995(12) that a fine shall be enforceable in a petty sessions district in Northern Ireland specified in the court’s order, paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply as if the fine were imposed by a court within that petty sessions district.

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

16.—(1) For the purpose of enforcing Articles 3 to 13 or any equivalent provisions, or to operate or facilitate the operation of any monitoring deriving from point 22 of Annex V, any British sea-fishery officer may exercise the powers conferred by this Article in relation to –

(a) any Northern Ireland fishing boat wherever it may be; or

(b) any other fishing boat which is within the Northern Ireland zone.

(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 –

(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 him 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 his custody or possession;

(c) for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence under any of those Articles or any equivalent provision 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 him to be necessary for facilitating the search;

(d) may inspect and take copies of any such document produced to him 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 he has reason to suspect that an offence under any of those Articles or any equivalent provision has been committed, may seize and detain any such document produced to him 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 an offence under Article 3, 4, 5, 8, 12 or 13, or under any equivalent provision, has at any time been committed in respect of a fishing boat, he may –

(a) require the master of the boat to take, or himself take, the boat and crew to the port which appears to him to be the nearest convenient port; and

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

and where such an officer detains or requires the detention of the 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

17.—(1) For the purpose of enforcing Articles 3 to 13 or any equivalent provisions, or to operate or facilitate the operation of any monitoring deriving from point 22 of the Annex, any 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 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 an offence under any of those Articles or any equivalent provision has at any time been committed;

(f) require any person on the premises to produce any documents which are in his custody or possession relating to the catching, landing, transportation, trans-shipment, sale or disposal of any fish or to the entry to, or exit from, any port or harbour by any fishing boat;

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

(h) inspect and take copies of any such document produced to him 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 he has a reason to suspect that an offence under any of those Articles or any equivalent provision 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.

(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) above shall also apply in relation to any land used in connection with any of the activities described in paragraph (1), or in respect of any vehicle which a British sea-fishery officer has reasonable cause to believe is being used to transport fisheries products, 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.

(3) If a justice of the peace on sworn complaint in writing is satisfied –

(a) that there is reasonable ground to believe that any documents or other items which a British sea-fishery officer has power under this Article to inspect are on any premises and that their inspection is likely to disclose evidence of the commission of an offence under any of those Articles or any equivalent provision; and

(b) either –

(i) that admission to the premises has been or is likely to be refused and that notice of intention to apply for a warrant has been given to the occupier; or

(ii) that an application for admission or the giving of such notice would defeat the object of the entry, or that the premises are unoccupied, or that the occupier is temporarily absent and it might defeat the object of the entry to await his return;

the justice may by warrant signed by him, and valid for one month, authorise a British sea-fishery officer to enter the premises, if need be by reasonable force, and take with him such persons as appear to him to be necessary.

Powers of British sea-fishery officers to seize fish and fishing gear

18.—(1) This Article applies –

(a) in Northern Ireland,

(b) to any Northern Ireland fishing boat wherever it may be, and

(c) to any other British or any foreign fishing boat which is within the Northern Ireland zone.

(2) Where this Article applies, any British sea-fishery officer may seize –

(a) any fish (including any receptacle which contains the fish) in respect of which he has reasonable grounds to suspect that an offence has been committed; and

(b) any fishing gear which he has reasonable grounds to suspect has been used in the course of, or in activities leading to, the commission of an offence,

under Article 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 or 12, or under any equivalent provision.

Protection of British sea-fishery officers

19.  A British sea-fishery officer or a person assisting him by virtue of Article 16(2) or 17(1)(b), or authorisation under Article 17(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 16 to 18 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 British sea-fishery officers

20.—(1) 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 Articles 16 and 17;

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

(c) assaults a person who is exercising any of the powers conferred on him by Articles 16 to 18 or intentionally obstructs any such officer in the exercise of any of those powers,

is guilty of an offence.

(2) A person guilty of an offence under paragraph (1) is liable –

(a) on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum; or

(b) on conviction on indictment to a fine.

Provisions as to offences

21.—(1) Where any offence under any of Articles 3 to 13 or any equivalent provision 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 any of Articles 3 to 13 or any equivalent provision 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 any of Articles 3 to 13 or any equivalent provision committed by an unincorporated 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 proceeded against and punished accordingly.

Admissibility in evidence of logbooks and other documents

22.—(1) Any –

(a) logbook kept under Article 6, 17(2) or 28c;

(b) declaration submitted under Article 8(1), 17(2) or 28f;

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

(d) document drawn up under Article 9, 11, 12 or 13; or

(e) document containing required information received by a fisheries monitoring centre established under Article 3(7),

of Regulation 2847/93 shall, in any proceedings for an offence under this Order or any equivalent provision, be evidence of the matters stated therein and so shall any additional entry in a logbook made pursuant to this Order or any equivalent provision.

(2) For the purpose of paragraph (1), “required information” means –

(a) a fishing boat’s identification;

(b) the most recent geographical position of the fishing boat expressed in degrees and minutes of longitude and latitude; and

(c) the date and time of the fixing of that position,

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

Consequential and connected amendments

23.  The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Control Measures) Order 2000(13) is amended, so far as it applies in Northern Ireland, as follows:

(a) in Article 2(1) –

(i) for the definition of “Annex XVII” substitute –

““Annex V” means Annex V to Council Regulation 2287/2003 of 19th December 2003 fixing for 2004 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required;”;

(ii) at the end of the definition of “Regulation 2847/93” replace “and as applied by paragraph 12 of Annex XVII” with “and as applied by paragraph 13 of Annex V”;

(b) after Article 3(1) insert the following paragraph:

“(1A) In relation to any such fishing boat landing at a port designated by Article 11(3) of the Sea Fishing (Restriction on Days at Sea) Order (Northern Ireland) 2004, being a boat to which Annex V applies, the obligation to submit the logbook referred to in item 2(b) of the Schedule shall be treated for the purposes of paragraph (1) as contravened unless submission is effected, before the landing of any fish, by the handing of the white top copy of each logbook entry to a British sea-fishery officer or the placing of that white top copy in a box in the port marked as provided for that purpose.”;

(c) in the Schedule, in column 3 of each entry opposite items 2(l), (m), (n) and (o), the words “paragraph 12 of Annex XVII” shall be replaced by “paragraph 13 of Annex V”.

Revocation

24.  The Sea Fishing (Restriction on Days at Sea) Order (Northern Ireland) 2003(14) is revoked.

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development on 8th April 2004.

L.S.

T. McCusker

A senior officer of the

Department of Agriculture and Rural Development

Article 11(3)

SCHEDULE LISTS OF PORTS (AND LOCATIONS WITHIN THE PORT) IN NORTHERN IRELAND AT WHICH ALL LANDINGS OF COD COVERED BY POINT 17 OF ANNEX V MUST TAKE PLACE

Port	Location within port (where applicable)
Ardglass	On the wall of the fish market and port office
Portavogie	On the wall of the fish market and port office
Kilkeel	On the wall of the fish market and port office
Bangor	On the central pier

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order.)

This Order provides for the enforcement in Northern Ireland of the provisions of Annex V (“the Annex”) to Council Regulation (EC) No. 2287/2003 (O.J. No. L344 31.12.2003. p. 1) fixing for 2004 the fishing opportunities and associated conditions for certain fish stocks and groups of fish, applicable in Community waters and, for Community vessels, in waters where catch limitations are required.

The Order contains provisions relating to the aggregation of management periods (Article 3), the number of days which a vessel may be absent from port (Article 4) , the use of regulated fishing gear (Article 5) and the manner in which days may be transferred between fishing vessels within the same management period (Article 6).

Further, the Order sets out provisions for the transportation of cod (Article 7), a provision relating to the mixing of species within containers on board fishing vessels (Article 8), procedures for the landing of cod in designated and non-designated ports (Articles 9 to 11), a margin of tolerance relating to the recording of catches of fish in logbooks (Article 12) and provisions relating to the maintenance of logbooks (Article 13).

The Order creates offences in respect of the contravention, by the person in charge of the relevant fishing boat (or the individuals otherwise specifically referred to) of provisions of the Annex. The offences relate to absences from port without notified gear (Article 3) or in excess of the days permitted (Article 4), failure to use regulated fishing gears in the manner set out in the Annex (Article 5), giving false information when attempting to transfer days from one vessel to another (Article 6), transporting cod in a manner inconsistent with the Annex (Article 7), unlawful mixing of species (Article 8), the landing of cod in designated and non-designated ports in contravention of notification and documentary requirements (Articles 9 to 11), and failing to comply with the 8% tolerance for logbook records relating to catches of fish and failure to handover and dispatch logbooks in the manner prescribed (Articles 12 and 13).

The Order provides that a person guilty of an offence under it other than an offence under Article 20 is liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £50,000 and on conviction on indictment to a fine. Further fines up to and including the value of any fish caught in committing the offence are permitted and the court may also order the seizure of fish caught or equipment used in, or in activities leading to, the commission of the offence (Article 14).

The Order also provides for the recovery of fines imposed, or treated as imposed, by a magistrates' court (Article 15).

For the purposes of enforcing provisions of the Annex, the Order confers on British sea-fishery officers the powers to enter premises, to go on board fishing boats, to stop and search vehicles transporting fish, to examine fish, to require the production of documents, to search for and seize documents, to take a boat to the nearest convenient port and to seize fish and fishing gear (Articles 16 to 18). Protection of such officers from liability is set out in Article 19, and impeding them is an offence under Article 20, with a fine of up to the statutory maximum on summary conviction and a fine on conviction on indictment. Articles 21 and 22 deal with corporate and equivalent offences and admissibility of documents in evidence. Consequential amendment and revocation is carried in Articles 23 and 24. In addition Article 23 includes further provision bringing forward the time for submission of logbook entries for landings in designated ports.

(1)

1981 c. 29

(2)

See Sea Fisheries (Northern Ireland) Order 2002 (S.I. 2002/790) Article 3(2) and Schedule 2

(3)

O.J. No. L344, 31.12.2003, p. 1

(4)

1995 c. 21

(5)

1998 c. 47

(6)

O.J. No. L276, 10.10.1983, p. 1; the last amending instrument is Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1965/2001 (O.J. No. L268, 9.10.2001, p. 28)

(7)

O.J. No. L261, 20.10.199, p. 1; the last amending instrument is Council Regulation (EC) No. 1954/2003 (O.J. No. L289, 7.11.2003, p. 1)

(8)

1954 c. 33 (N.I.)

(9)

S.I. 1993/ 3138; the relevant amending instrument is S.I. 1999/3206

(10)

S.I. 1981/1675 (N.I. 26)

(11)

1980 c. 43

(12)

1995 c. 46

(13)

S.I. 2000/51 as amended by S.R. 2003 No. 59

(14)

S.R. 2003 No. 59