The Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (Scotland) Order 2003

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2003 No. 560

RIVERS

The Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (Scotland) Order 2003

Made

18th November 2003

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

19th November 2003

Coming into force in accordance with article 1(2) and (3)

The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 1(1) of the Import of Live Fish (Scotland) Act 1978(1) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf and, in accordance with section 1(2)(2) of that Act, after consultation with Scottish Natural Heritage and such other persons as the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate and being of the opinion that the species of live fish to which this Order applies might compete with, displace, prey on or harm the habitat of any freshwater fish, shellfish or salmon in Scotland, hereby make the following Order:

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (Scotland) Order 2003.

(2) Articles 1, 2 and 4 of this Order shall come into force on 10th December 2003.

(3) Article 3 of this Order shall come into force–

(a) in relation to fish specified in Schedule 1 first kept before 10th December 2003 on 10th June 2004;

(b) in relation to fish specified in Schedule 2 first kept before 10th December 2003, on that date; and

(c) in relation to fish specified in Schedules 1 and 2 first kept or released on or after 10th December 2003, on that date.

Interpretation

2.  In this Order “Scotland” has the same meaning as in section 126(1) of the Scotland Act 1998(3).

Prohibition of keeping or release of specified fish

3.  No person shall keep or release in Scotland any live fish or the live eggs of fish of the species specified in Schedules 1 and 2 to this Order, except under the authority of a licence granted by the Scottish Ministers.

Revocations and savings

4.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the Orders specified in Schedule 3 to this Order are hereby revoked.

(2) The Orders specified in Schedule 3 to this Order shall continue to apply for the purposes of the legal process of such charges as may be brought for contravening the provisions of the Orders prohibiting the keeping or release of live fish or live eggs of fish without a valid licence.

ALLAN WILSON

A member of the Scottish Executive

Pentland House, Edinburgh

18th November 2003

Article 3

SCHEDULE 1 SPECIES OF FISH (INCLUDING LIVE EGGS) WHOSE KEEPING OR RELEASE IN SCOTLAND IS PROHIBITED EXCEPT UNDER AUTHORITY OF A LICENCE GRANTED BY THE SCOTTISH MINISTERS

Common name	Scientific name
Asp	Aspius aspius
Barbel	species of the genus Barbus (excluding the native Barbus barbus)
Bass (including striped bass, white bass and their crosses e.g. hybrid striped bass)	species of the genus Morone
Bighead carp	Hypophthalmichthys nobilis
Bitterling	Rhodeus sericeus/Rhodeus amarus
Blacknose Dace	Rhinichthys atratulus
Blageon	Leuciscus souffia
Blue bream	Abramis ballerus
Blue Sucker	Cycleptus elongatus
Burbot	Lota lota
Catfish	species of the genera Ictalurus, Ameiurus and Silurus
Charr	species of the genus Salvelinus (excluding the native Salvelinus alpinus)
Chinese black or snail-eating carp	Myopharyngodon piceus
Chinese Sucker (also known as Zebra Hi Fin, banded shark/sucker)	Myxocyprinus asiaticus
Common White Sucker	Catostomus commersoni
Danubian bleak	Chalcalburnus chalcoides
Danubian Salmon & Taimen	species of the genus Hucho
Eastern Mudminnow	Umbra pygmaea
European Mudminnow	Umbra krameri
Fathead minnow (or Roseyreds)	Pimephales promelas
Freshwater minnow, Dragon Fish or Pale chub	Zacco platypus
Grass carp	Ctenopharyngodon idella
Landlocked salmon	non anadromous varieties of the species Salmo salar
Largemouth bass	Micropterus salmoides
Marbled trout	Salmo marmoratus
Nase	Chondrostoma nasus
Northern Redbelly Dace (common minnow	Phoxinus/Chrosomus eos
Pacific salmon and trout	species of the genus Oncorhynchus (excluding Oncorhynchus mykiss and Oncorhynchus kisutch)
Paddlefish	species of the genera Polyodon and Psephurus
Perch	species of the genus Perca (excluding the native Perca fluviatilis)
Pike	species of the genus Esox (excluding the native Esox lucius)
Red shiner	Cyprinella/Notropis lutrensis
Rock bass	Ambloplites rupestris
Ruffe	Gymnocephalus cernuus
Schneider	Alburnoides bipunctatus
Silver carp	Hypophthalmichthys molitrix
Small mouth bass	Micropterus dolomieu
Snakehead	species of the genus Channa
Southern Redbelly Dace (common minnow)	Phoxinus/Chrosomus erythrogaster
Sturgeon or sterlet	species of the genera Acipenser, Huso, Pseudoscaphirhynchus and Scaphirhynchus
Sunbleak (Sundace), also known as Belica or Motherless Minnow	Leucaspius delineatus
Sunfish, including pumpkinseed (also basses, crapies & bluegills)	species of the genus Lepomis
Topmouth gudgeon	Pseudorasbora parva
Toxostome (or French nase)	Chondrostoma toxostoma
Vimba	Vimba vimba
Weatherfish	Misgurnus fossilis
Whitefish	species of the genus Coregonus (excluding the native Coregonus lavaretus and Coregonus albula)

Article 3

SCHEDULE 2 SPECIES OF FISH (INCLUDING LIVE EGGS) WHOSE KEEPING OR RELEASE IN SCOTLAND IS PROHIBITED EXCEPT UNDER AUTHORITY OF A LICENCE GRANTED BY THE SCOTTISH MINISTERS

Common name	Scientific name
Coho salmon	Oncorhynchus kisutch
Crayfish	freshwater decapod crustacean of the Families Astacidae, Cambaridae or Parastacidae, (excluding Austropotamobius pallipes)
Pikeperch	species of the genus Stizostedion lucioperca

Article 4

SCHEDULE 3 REVOCATIONS

Orders	Revoked
The Import of Live Fish (Coho Salmon) (Prohibition) (Scotland) Order 1980	S.I. 1980/376
The Prohibition of the Keeping or the Release of Live Fish (Pikeperch) (Scotland) Order 1993	S.I. 1993/1288
The Prohibition of Keeping of Live Fish (Crayfish) (Scotland) Order 1996	S.I. 1996/1107

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order is made under section 1(1) of the Import of Live Fish (Scotland) Act 1978 (“the Act”). The Order prohibits the keeping or release in Scotland of any species of fish or the live eggs of fish specified in Schedules 1 and 2 to the Order, except under authority of a licence granted by the Scottish Ministers (article 3). The prohibition comes into force, in relation to fish specified in Schedule 1 and first kept before 10th December 2003 on 10th June 2004. The prohibition comes into force on 10th December 2003 in relation to fish specified in Schedule 2 and first kept before 10th December 2003 and fish specified in Schedules 1 and 2 first kept or released on or after 10th December 2003.

Section 3 of the Act provides that any person who keeps or releases any of the species of fish specified in Schedules 1 and 2 on the date the Order comes into force without a valid licence or who contravenes the terms of a licence shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

In addition to prohibiting the keeping or release of certain fish specified for the first time in the Order, the Order consolidates three other Orders – the Import of Live Fish (Coho Salmon) (Prohibition) (Scotland) Order 1980 (S.I. 1980/376), the Prohibition of the Keeping or the Release of Live Fish (Pikeperch) (Scotland) Order 1993 (S.I. 1993/1288) and the Prohibition of Keeping of Live Fish (Crayfish) (Scotland) Order 1996 (S.I. 1996/1107). The species which were specified in these three Orders are now specified in Schedule 2 to the Order. The Order revokes the three Orders that it consolidates, subject to a saving provision (article 4).

A Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared in relation to this Order and placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre. Copies may be obtained from the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, Pentland House, 47 Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh, EH14 1TY.

(1)

1978 c. 35. The functions of the Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46).

(2)

Section 1(2) was amended by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 (c. 43), Schedule 9, paragraph 7 and the Natural Heritage (Scotland) Act 1991 (c. 28), Schedule 2, paragraph 6.

(3)

Waters adjacent to Scotland are defined in the Scottish Adjacent Waters Boundaries Order 1999 (S.I. 1999/1126).