The Sea Fishing (Restriction on Days at Sea) Order 2005

Absences from port

4.—(1) A person in charge of a relevant fishing boat carrying regulated gear which, at any time in the Annex IV year, either—

(a) contravenes point 9 of Annex IVa; or

(b) subject to any adjustments made under this article for the purposes of Annex IVa, during a management period is absent from port in the cod recovery zone in excess of the number of days permitted to it under point 6(a) of Annex IVa,

is guilty of an offence.

(2) In addition to the number of days of absence from port permitted under point 6(a) applicable to the relevant fishing boat in accordance with any regulated gear that it carries, for each calendar month the Secretary of State may allocate to the boat—

(a) a proportion of such number of days as may be allocated to the United Kingdom under point 6(c) of Annex IVa; and

(b) further days in accordance with point 6(d), (e) and (f) of Annex IVa.

(3) Where in respect of a management period established for it days have been transferred from one British fishing boat (“the donor”) to another British fishing boat (“the recipient”) under article 6 for the purposes of point 10 of Annex IVa, the following shall apply–

(a) the donor shall have deducted from its allocation of days such number of days as have been transferred to the recipient; and

(b) the recipient shall have added to its allocation of days such number of days as have been transferred by the donor.

(4) Where on any day during a management period any regulated gear is at any time affixed to both a relevant British fishing boat and one or more other fishing boats whilst they are in the cod recovery zone, that day shall be deducted from each boat’s allocation.

(5) Where a relevant British fishing boat was absent from port in the cod recovery zone carrying regulated gear in excess of its allocation of days in respect of a previous management period, there shall be deducted the number of days during which the boat was so absent from the next management period.

(6) Where the management period includes the month of February, any number of days spent absent from port in the cod recovery zone carrying the regulated gear by a relevant British fishing boat in the first February stage shall be deducted from the allocation of days for that month.

(7) Where during the management period, a relevant British fishing boat is absent from port in the circumstances as set out in point 13 of Annex IVa, the person in charge of the relevant British fishing boat shall apply to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for an adjustment of the allocation of days in respect of those circumstances.

(8) For the purposes of paragraph (2) and (7), where additional days are allocated by the Secretary of State to a relevant fishing boat, the allocation does not have effect until the person in charge of the relevant fishing boat is notified of the allocation by the Secretary of State.