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14 1959

FISHERIES (CONSOLIDATION) ACT, 1959

Chapter IV.

Ancillary Provisions Relating to Chapters II and III of Part XIII.

Liability of master of boat for offences under Chapter II of Part XIII.

232. —Where any offence under any section contained in Chapter II of this Part has been committed by any person on board a sea-fishing boat, the following provisions shall have effect:—

(a) the master of such boat shall, if not the actual offender, but without prejudice to the liability of such offender, be deemed to be guilty of such offence and may be proceeded against accordingly;

(b) where the master of a boat is so charged with having committed such offence it shall be a good defence for him to prove—

(i) that he used due diligence to prevent the commission of the acts alleged to constitute the offence, and

(ii) that the acts alleged to constitute such offence were not done by him personally, and

(iii) that the said acts were done without his consent, connivance or wilful default, and

(iv) that on being charged with the offence he gave to the person charging him all information in his power with respect to the person who did the said acts.

Special powers of sea fisheries protection officers for enforcing Chapters II and III of Part XIII.

233. —(1) Every sea fisheries protection officer may, for the purpose of enforcing Chapter II of this Part or any instrument made thereunder or for the purpose of enforcing Chapter III of this Part or any order made thereunder, do with respect to any sea-fishing boat within the exclusive fishery limits of the State and (subject to the rules of International Law) outside those limits all or any of the following things:—

(a) he may order such boat to be stopped for the purpose of identification or of allowing him to go on board it;

(b) he may board such boat;

(c) he may require the owner, master or crew of such boat, or any of them, to produce any certificates of registry, licences, log-books, papers or other documents relating to such boat, or to the crew, or to any member thereof, which are in the respective possession or control of any of them, the said owner, master and crew, and inspect and take extracts from or copies of any such certificates, licences, log-books, papers or other documents;

(d) he may require the master of such boat to give an explanation concerning such boat, and the said certificates of registry, licences, log-books, papers or other documents;

(e) he may search such boat;

(f) he may demand and take the name and the address of any person on board such boat;

(g) if he suspects that there has been a contravention by any person on board such boat of the provisions of Chapter II or III of this Part he may without summons, warrant or other process take such boat and all persons on board such boat to the nearest or most convenient port and, pending the taking by him of the steps required by section 234, detain such boat and such persons;

(h) he may for the purpose of exercising any of the powers conferred on him by any of the foregoing paragraphs of this subsection use such force as he may consider necessary and in particular, if an order given by him to such boat in the manner prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this section to stop is disobeyed or disregarded, he may, after first causing a gun to be fired as a signal, fire at or into such boat.

(2) If any person obstructs or impedes any sea fisheries protection officer in the exercise of any of the powers conferred on such officer by this section, or refuses or neglects to comply with any requisition or direction lawfully made or given by such officer or to answer any question lawfully asked by such officer in pursuance of this section, such person shall be guilty of an offence under this section, and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or to imprisonment, with or without hard labour, for any term not exceeding three months.

(3) No action or other legal proceedings whatsoever, whether civil or criminal, shall be instituted in any Court in respect of the doing of anything authorised to be done by a sea fisheries protection officer under this section, whether such thing is done personally by a sea fisheries protection officer or by a person acting under the orders of a sea fisheries protection officer.

(4) The Minister may make regulations in relation to any thing referred to in this section as prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this section.

Detention of boat and persons pending prosecution.

234. —Where a sea fisheries protection officer has in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 233 taken any boat and the persons on board such boat to a port he shall, as soon as may be, bring the master of such boat and any other person on board such boat against whom proceedings for any offence under any section contained in Chapter II or III of this Part have been or are about to be instituted before a District Justice or, where no District Justice is immediately available, a Peace Commissioner, and thereupon such District Justice or Peace Commissioner (as the case may be) shall, if he is satisfied that such proceedings have been or are about to be instituted against such master or other person, by order directed to a sea fisheries protection officer or officers require such officer or officers to detain at a specified port in the State such boat and all persons on board such boat until such proceedings have been adjudicated upon by a District Justice, and such boat and persons shall be detained accordingly.

Detention of boat pending appeal against conviction of offence under Chapter II or III of Part XIII.

235. —(1) Where a person is convicted by a District Justice of an offence under any section contained in Chapter II or III of this Part and sentenced to pay any fine, and the boat to which such person belongs has been detained under section 234, such District Justice shall, by order directed to a sea fisheries protection officer or officers, require such officer or officers in the event of an appeal being lodged against such conviction, to detain further, pending the determination of such appeal, at a specified port in the State such boat, and such boat shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, be detained accordingly.

(2) Where an order is made under subsection (1) of this section requiring any boat to be detained pending the determination of an appeal against a conviction a District Justice may, if security, which in the opinion of such District Justice is satisfactory, is given for payment, in the event of such conviction being affirmed on such appeal, of a sum to be fixed by such District Justice sufficient to cover the amount of the fine and costs (if any) awarded on such conviction, the estimated value of forfeitures (if any) and the costs of the prosecutor on such appeal, direct such boat to be released, and such boat shall be released accordingly.

Recovery of fine for offence under Chapter II or III of Part XIII and of possession of articles forfeited under the said Chapter II or III.

236. —(1) The following provisions shall have effect in relation to the recovery of a fine for an offence under any section contained in Chapter II or III of this Part and the costs (if any) ordered to be paid by the person convicted of such offence:—

(a) the Court shall fix a time within which such costs and fine (if any) are to be paid;

(b) where the boat to which such person belongs is, at the time of the hearing of the proceedings for such offence, detained under this Chapter, the Court shall by order directed to a sea fisheries protection officer or officers require such officer or officers to detain further, until such fine and costs (if any) are paid, at a specified port in the State such boat, and such boat shall be detained accordingly;

(c) in the event of such fine and costs (if any) not being paid within the said time, such fine and costs (if any) may be recovered by distress and the sale of such boat;

(d) nothing in the foregoing paragraphs of this subsection shall prevent such fine and costs (if any) being recovered from such person by ordinary process of law.

(2) Where—

(a) any article on board a boat is ordered, under Chapter II of this Part, by a court to be forfeited or, as a statutory consequence of conviction by a court, stands, under Chapter II or III of this Part, forfeited, and

(b) the boat is detained under this Chapter,

the Court may, on the application of the prosecutor, by order directed to a sea fisheries protection officer, authorise such officer to detain such boat until possession has been taken of the article forfeited, and such boat may be detained accordingly.

(3) (a) Where an article on board a boat is forfeited under Chapter II or III of this Part, a sea fisheries protection officer may request the master of such boat to make available such facilities (including the moving of the boat from place to place and the doing of things upon, to or with such boat, its equipment or machinery) as such sea fisheries protection officer may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling him to take possession of the article.

(b) Where the master of a boat fails or refuses to comply with a request made to him under paragraph (a) of this subsection, he shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds.

(4) If any person wilfully impedes or obstructs a sea fisheries protection officer while the latter is engaged in taking possession of any article forfeited under Chapter II or III of this Part, that person shall be guilty of an offence under this subsection and shall be liable on summary conviction thereof to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds or, at the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for any term not exceeding three months.