Supplementary
Section 228: Theft of fish from private fisheries etc
602.This section raises the penalty for committing the offence of taking or destroying fish under paragraph 2 of Schedule 1 to the Theft Act 1968 to £5,000. Previously, it was £200 for an offence committed during the day and £1,000 for an offence committed at night to £5,000. It also omits the requirement for the offence to have taken place during the hours between sunset and sunrise, removes the custodial element of the penalty, and removes the link to a previous conviction.
Section 229: Handling fish
603.Section 32 of the Salmon Act 1986 makes it an offence to handle salmon or sea trout in suspicious circumstances. A person is guilty of the offence if, at a time when he believes or it would be reasonable for him to suspect that an offence involving taking, killing or landing a salmon or sea trout has been committed, he receives the salmon or sea trout, or undertakes or assists in its retention, removal or disposal by or for the benefit of another person, or if he arranges to do so.
604.This section extends the offence to eels, lampreys, smelt, freshwater fish, and other specified fish (by order under section 40A of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975). Salmon, trout, eel, smelt, fish and freshwater fish are given the same meaning as in section 41(1) of that Act.
605.Subsection (3)(c) removes the requirement for the undertaking or assisting to have been “for the benefit of another person”. The effect is that a person commits an offence if he undertakes, for instance, the disposal of fish for his own benefit and knows or suspects that the fish was unlawfully taken.
606.Subsection (5) adds the sale of fish to the list of offences relevant to the commission of an offence under section 32. This means it becomes an offence to handle a fish sold in contravention of, for example, byelaws.
Section 230: Duties of the Environment Agency
607.Section 6(6) of the Environment Act 1995 requires the Environment Agency to maintain, improve and develop salmon fisheries, trout fisheries, freshwater fisheries and eel fisheries.
608.This section extends the duty to lampreys and smelt fisheries, and fisheries of other specified fish (by order under section 40A of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975).
Section 231: Tweed and Esk fisheries
609.Historically, English legislation on salmon and freshwater fisheries has applied to the Scottish as well as the English River Esk and its tributaries. Conversely, Scottish legislation has applied to the English as well as the Scottish Tweed. Section 111 of the Scotland Act 1998 allows this position to be maintained post-devolution by means of an Order in Council. Currently such orders may only relate to salmon, trout, eels and freshwater fish.
610.Subsection (2) amends section 111 to extend the scope of the order-making power to eels, lampreys and smelt. Section 111(4) defines “conservation “in relation to salmon, trout, eels and freshwater fish to include the protection of the environment. Subsection (3) extends this definition to the protection of the environment of lampreys, smelt and shad. Subsection (4) allows the Order in Council to amend section 111(1) to add or remove any species of fish listed and to which the order-making power applies.
Section 232: Keeping, introduction and removal of fish
611.This section allows the appropriate national authority to make regulations to prohibit persons from keeping any fish, introducing any fish into inland waters or removing any fish from inland waters without prior authorisation.
612.Section 30 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975 prohibits the introduction of fish into inland waters unless the person introducing the fish has the prior consent in writing of the Agency. Regulations made under section 232 may make consequential amendments to legislation, which would allow section 30 to be replaced by any such regulations.
Section 233: Consequential and supplementary amendments
613.This section omits sections 4(2), 23 and 24 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
614.Section 4 of the 1975 Act makes it an offence to allow any liquids or solid matter into waters that cause those waters to be poisonous or injurious to fish, spawning grounds, spawn or food of fish. Section 4(2) disapplies this offence in relation to those exercising any lawful rights, or continuing a method in use in connection with the same premises before 18 July 1923.
615.As water pollution legislation (from Rivers Prevention of Pollution Act 1951 through to Water Resources Act 1991) has removed any right to pollute without the prior consent of the Environment Agency, the disapplication under section 4 no longer applies.
616.Section 23 of the 1975 Act prohibits the export of unclean salmon or trout or any salmon or trout caught during a period when the sale of salmon or trout is prohibited. It also sets conditions on the export of salmon or trout between 31 August and the following 1 May. These provisions serve no useful purpose.
617.Section 24 of the 1975 Act requires consignments or packages containing salmon and trout to be so marked. The requirement to carry a consignment note under Council Regulation (EC) 1/2005 on the Protection of Animals During Transport and Related Operations makes this section redundant.
