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Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009

Section 243: Enforcement of MCZs in Scottish offshore region

644.This section enables Scottish Ministers to appoint officers with the common powers for the purpose of enforcing section 140, which creates the offence of damaging etc protected features of MCZs, in the Scottish offshore region. Officers appointed by Scottish Ministers to enforce MCZs, investigating an offence suspected of being committed within the Scottish offshore region, may exercise their powers to investigate on land and in inshore waters elsewhere in the UK. They will need to use domestic hot pursuit to pursue offenders from the Scottish offshore region to other offshore areas within the UK marine area.

645.Subsections (4), (5) and (6) set out the circumstances in which a vessel is subject to hot pursuit (see explanatory note to section 236). They require that the vessel is in the Scottish offshore region, that an audible or visible signal is given for the offending vessel to stop and that the pursuit of the vessel is not interrupted.

646.Subsection (8) provides that persons appointed under this section may not exercise their powers in relation to British warships.

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