Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 2000

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Amendment of Part 3 of Act of 1999.

3.—The Act of 1999 is amended—

(a) in section 24—

(i) by the substitution for subsection (6) of the following subsections:

“(6) Subject to subsection (6A), a person (other than the Central Board or a regional board) who contravenes or fails to comply with any regulation made under this section is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction—

(a) in the case of a first offence, to a fine not exceeding £500,

(b) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, other than an offence referred to in paragraph (c), to a fine not exceeding £750, and

(c) in the case of a third or subsequent offence which is the third or subsequent offence in any period of 12 consecutive months, to a fine not exceeding £1,000.

(6A) Subsection (6) does not apply to an authorised agent (within the meaning of section 70 (1) of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 ), in respect of any requirement under any regulation made under this section to issue tags or logbooks.

(6B) A person shall not affix a tag to any wild salmon or sea trout, which he or she knows or in the circumstances ought to know, has been unlawfully caught.

(6C) A person shall not forge or fraudulently alter, or cause to have forged or fraudulently altered, any tag, logbook or document.

(6D) A person shall not have in his or her possession any tag, logbook or document which he or she knows, or in the circumstances ought to know, has been forged or fraudulently altered.

(6E) A person shall not give false information to obtain any tag, logbook or document.

(6F) A person who contravenes subsection (6B), (6C), (6D) or (6E) is guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,500 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 3 months, or to both.”,

(ii) in subsection (7), by the insertion after “regulations under this section” of “(other than any regulation altering the commencement of any regulations made under this section)”,

(iii) in subsection (8), by the substitution for “In this section” of “In this Part”,

(iv) in subsection (8), by the substitution for the definition of “authorised officer” of the following definition:

“‘authorised officer’ means a person who is an authorised officer (within the meaning of paragraphs (b) (inserted by paragraph 1 (vv) of the Fourth Schedule to the Act of 1980) and (c) of section 301 (1) of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 );”, and

(v) by the insertion after subsection (8) of the following subsection:

“(9) A reference in this section to a tag, logbook or document is a reference to a tag, logbook or document provided for in regulations made under this section.”,

and

(b) by the substitution for section 25 of the following section:

“25.—(1) This section applies to an offence under section 24(6), in respect of such contraventions of regulations made under section 24, as may be declared by the Minister by regulations to be contraventions to which this section applies.

(2) Where an authorised officer has reasonable grounds for believing that a person is contravening or has contravened a regulation made under section 24, being a contravention to which this section applies, he or she may serve the person with a notice in the prescribed form stating that—

(a) the person is alleged to have so contravened,

(b) the person may, during the period of 21 days beginning on the date of the notice, make to the regional board concerned at the address specified in the notice, a payment of £50 accompanied by the notice, and

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged contravention will not be instituted during the period specified in the notice and, if the payment specified in the notice is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged contravention will be instituted.

(3) Where notice is given under subsection (2)—

(a) a person to whom the notice applies may, during the period specified in the notice, make to the regional board concerned at the address specified in the notice the payment specified in the notice accompanied by the notice;

(b) the regional board specified in the notice may receive the payment, issue a receipt for it and retain the money so paid, and any payment so received shall not be recoverable in any circumstances by the person who made it;

(c) a prosecution in respect of the alleged contravention shall not be instituted in the period specified in the notice, and if the payment so specified is made during that period, no prosecution in respect of the alleged contravention shall be instituted.

(4) In a prosecution for an offence under section 24(6) the onus of proving that a payment pursuant to a notice under this section has been made shall lie on the defendant.

(5) The Minister may by regulations vary the amount standing specified for the time being in subsection (2) (b).

(6) In this section a reference to a contravention of a regulation made under section 24 includes a reference to a failure to comply with such a regulation.”.