The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Conservation Measures) Order 2000

Powers of other officers

9.—(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 a specified Community measure, in so far as it applies to undersized fish, any of the following officers, that is to say—

(a) any officer authorised by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food or the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland,

(b) any officer of a market authority in England or Northern Ireland, acting within the limits of any market which that authority has power to regulate, and

(c) any fishery officer of a local fisheries committee acting within any part of the district of the committee which lies in England,

may in England and Northern Ireland, at all reasonable times, go on board any British fishing boat or enter any premises (other than a dwelling) used for carrying on any business in connection with the treatment, storage or sale of fish, may search for and examine any fish in any place, whether on board a fishing boat or elsewhere, and whether in a receptacle or not, and may seize any fish in respect of which he has reasonable grounds to suspect that a relevant offence in relation to undersized fish has been committed.

(2) 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 a specified Community measure, in so far as it relates to nets and other fishing gear, any fishery officer of a local fisheries committee may, within any part of the district of the committee which lies in England, go on board any British fishing boat and search for and examine all nets or other fishing gear and any fish carried in that boat and may seize any net or other fishing gear in respect of which he has reasonable grounds to suspect that a relevant offence in relation to nets or other fishing gear has been committed.

(3) For the purpose of this article the district of a local fisheries committee shall be deemed to extend throughout the area of any council in England liable to pay, or contribute to the payment of, the expenses of the committee, except that the powers conferred by this article on any fishery officer of a local fisheries committee shall not be exercisable in respect of any matter arising within the limits of any market under the control of any county council or district council.