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Restriction on possession of nets, etc.
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12.—(1) If any person has in his possession or control in any waters or on or near the bank of any waters—
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(a) any net, the use of which in such waters for the purpose of taking fish is prohibited by any provision (other than section 35 of the Act of 1939) of the Acts or by any bye-law made thereunder, or
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(b) any instrument (other than a net) or lure or bait, the use of which in such waters for the purpose of taking fish is prohibited by any provision of the Acts or by any bye-law made thereunder,
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such person shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection.
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(2) If any person has in his possession or control in, or in the vicinity of, a freshwater lake or the freshwater portion of any river any net constructed or mounted so as to be capable of being used for the capture of fish with intent to use it in contravention of section 35 of the Act of 1939, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection.
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(3) Any person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) of this section shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding twenty-five pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding six months.
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(4) Where a person is convicted of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) of this section, the net, other instrument, lure or bait in respect of which the offence was committed shall, as a statutory consequence of conviction, stand forfeited.
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(5) Where—
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(a) a person is charged with an offence under subsection (2) of this section in relation to the possession or control of a net, and
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(b) it is proved that he was found in possession or control of such net in, or in the vicinity of, a freshwater lake or the freshwater portion of any river,
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it shall be presumed that he had the possession or control of such net with intent to use it in such freshwater lake or the freshwater portion of such river in contravention of section 35 of the Act of 1939, unless and until he satisfies the Court that, at the time the offence is alleged to have been committed,—
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(i) he intended and was entitled to use such net in a manner which comes within one of the matters of exception mentioned, in relation to a net of a similar kind, in subsection (1) of section 35 of the Act of 1939, or, if such net is a draft net, in a manner which is permitted by bye-laws made under section 2 of the Act of 1953, or
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(ii) if he was found in possession or control of such net in the vicinity of the boundary between the tidal and freshwater portions of such river, he was the holder of a licence to use such net in the fishery district in which such river is situate and intended and was entitled to use such net in the tidal portion of such river.
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