Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967

15 Powers of British sea-fishery officers for enforcement of Act. U.K.

(1) F1 . . . every British sea-fishery officer shall have the powers conferred by the following provisions of this section.

(2) Any such officer may seize—

[F2 (a) any fish in respect of which an offence has been or is being committed under section 1(3) of this Act;

(aa) any net or other fishing gear in respect of which a contravention of an order under section 3 of this Act has been or is being committed;

(b) any fish in respect of which an offence has been or is being committed under section 4(3), (6) or (9A) or 5(1) or (6) of this Act where the fish are on the fishing boat with or on which the offence has been or is being committed or are in the ownership or custody of, or under the control of, the owner, the master or the charterer (if any) of the fishing boat;]

[F3 (c) any net or other fishing gear used in contravention of a prohibition imposed by an order under the said section 4 or 5;]

(d) any fish landed in contravention of an order under section 6 of this Act, and any net or other fishing gear used in catching any fish so landed.

[F4 (2A) Any such officer may—

(a) enter at any reasonable time any premises (other than a dwelling-house) 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 sea fish;

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

(c) take copies of any such document;

and, if he has reason to suspect that an offence under this Act has been committed, he may also—

(d) 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;

(e) 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.

(2B) Any such officer may—

(a) go on board any vessel into which sea fish are being trans-shipped or into which he has reason to believe that sea fish have been or are about to be trans-shipped;

(b) require any person on the vessel to produce any documents which are in his custody or possession relating to sea fish which have been or are to be trans-shipped into that vessel;

(c) for the purpose of ascertaining whether an offence has been committed under this Act search the vessel for any such document;

(d) take copies of any such document;

(e) inspect any sea fish on, and the equipment of, the vessel, and observe any trans-shipment of sea fish into, the vessel;

(f) require any person on the vessel to do anything which appears to the officer to be necessary for facilitating the exercise of his powers under paragraph (a), (c) or (e) above.

(2C) Any person who—

(a) without reasonable excuse fails to comply with any requirement imposed under subsection (2A) or (2B) above; or

(b) assaults an officer who is exercising any of the powers conferred on him by either of those subsections or wilfully obstructs an officer in the exercise of any of those powers,

shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fine.]

[F5 (3) Any such officer may exercise in relation to any fishing boat in any waters adjacent to the United Kingdom and within [F6 British fishery limits] and in relation to any British fishing boat registered in the United Kingdom and any British owned fishing boat (not so registered) anywhere outside those limits, such of the powers of a British sea-fishery officer under section 8(2) to (4) of the M1 Sea Fisheries Act 1968 as may be conferred on him by order of the Ministers, being powers which the Ministers consider necessary for the enforcement of any of the provisions of sections 1 to 7 of this Act or any order made under any of those sections.

(4) An order under this section may make different provision for different cases.

(5) Section 10 of the M2 Sea Fisheries Act 1968 shall apply in relation to the provisions of an order under this section and the powers thereby conferred as they apply in relation to section 8 of that Act and the powers thereby conferred; and, in relation to an offence under the said section 10 as it applies by virtue of this subsection, sections 12 to 14 of that Act shall apply accordingly.]

Subordinate Legislation Made

P1 S. 15: for previous exercises of this power see Index to Government Orders.

P2 S. 15(3): S. 5(1) (with ss. 15(3) and 22(2)(a) ) power exercised by S.I. 1991/2767

P3 S. 15(3): ss. 5(1) and 15(3) (with ss. 20(1) and 22(2)(a)) power exercised by S.I. 1991/1163.

S. 15(3): ss. 3 and 15(3) (with s. 22(2)(a)) power exercised by S.I. 1991/1380.

S. 15(3): ss. 5(1) and 15(3)(with s. 22(2)(a)) power exercised by S.I. 1991/1473

P4 S. 15(3): S. 5(1) (with ss. 15(3) and 22(2)(a)) power exercised by S.I. 1991/2085

S. 15(3): S. 4 (with ss. 15(3), 20(1) and 22(2)(a)) power exercised by S.I. 1991/2196

P5 S. 15(3): S. 6(1) (with ss. 6(2) and (3), 15(3),20(1) and 22(2)(a)) power exercised by S.I. 1991/2565

Textual Amendments

F1 Words repealed by Sea Fisheries Act 1968 (c. 77), Sch. 2 Pt. II

F2 S. 15(2) (a)(aa)(b) substituted for paras. (a) and (b) by virtue of Fishery Limits Act 1976 (c. 86), Sch. 2 para. 16(3) and Fisheries Act 1981 (c. 29, SIF 52:1), s. 25(1)

F3 S. 15(2)(c) substituted by virtue of Fishery Limits Act 1976 (c. 86), Sch. 2 para. 16(3)

F4 S. 15(2A)–(2C) inserted by Fisheries Act 1981 (c. 29, SIF 52:1), s. 25(2)

F5 S. 15(3)–(5) substituted for s. 15(3)–(7) by Sea Fisheries Act 1968 (c. 77), s. 22(5), Sch. 1 para. 38(3)

F6 Words substituted by Fishery Limits Act 1976 (c. 86), Sch. 2 para. 16(1)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 15(2) extended by Fisheries Act 1981 (c. 29, SIF 52:1), s. 30(1)(b)

Marginal Citations

M1 1968 c. 77.

M2 1968 c. 77.