Sea Fish Industry Act 1938

3 Registration of persons engaged in the white fish industry

(1) It shall be the duty of the Commission to keep a register (hereafter in this Part of this Act referred to as " the Commission's register") of persons carrying on in Great Britain any designated business; and the Commission, on application made by any person to be registered in the Commission's register as a person carrying on such a business in Great Britain and on payment of any fee which, by virtue of the following provisions of this Part of this Act, is payable on such application, shall register him in the said register as a person carrying on that business.

(2) Subject to the following provisions of this Part of this Act, no person shall, after the expiration of the appropriate period beginning at the commencement of this Act, carry on a designated business unless he either is registered in the Commission's register as a person carrying on that business or is exempt, by virtue of the following provisions of this Part of this Act, from the obligation to be registered as aforesaid; and if any person contravenes this subsection, he shall be guilty of an offence, and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds, and to a further fine not exceeding twenty pounds for every day on which the offence continues after conviction therefor.

In this subsection the expression " the appropriate period " means, in relation to the business of a home producer of white fish, the period of two months or, in relation to any other designated business, the period of six months.

(3) The Commission's register shall be so kept as to show—

(a) in relation to a person registered as carrying on the business of a home producer of white fish, the number of fishing boats which for the time being are in the possession of that person; and

(b) in relation to a person registered as carrying on any other designated business, the several premises at which for the time being he carries on that business in Great Britain, and (if and so far as that business involves the use of vehicles for the purpose of offering or exposing white fish thereon for sale) the number of vehicles used or intended to be used for that purpose which for the time being are in his possession in Great Britain.

(4) A person shall, on making application to be registered in the Commission's register, and also on demand made by the Commission at any time while his name appears in that register, furnish to the Commission such information as it may require for the purpose of performing its duties under this section, and any person registered in the Commission's register as carrying on a designated business shall, whenever requested in writing by the Commission so to do, make to the Commission a written declaration stating whether or not he is carrying on that business as a nominee of another person, and, if so, specifying the name of that other person.

(5) The Commission may, either absolutely or subject to limitations, exempt any class of persons from any obligation to be registered in the Commission's register as carrying on a designated business; and the Commission, on being satisfied that a person whose name is entered in the Commission's register as a person carrying on a designated business has ceased to carry on that business in Great Britain, shall delete that entry in the register.

(6) The Commission's register shall, at all reasonable times, be open to public inspection at the office of the Commission, and any person shall be entitled to take a copy of any entry in the said register.