Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013

Exceptions

34.—(1) A person is not guilty of an offence under section 32 or 33 if the act which is alleged to constitute the offence—

(a) was done in accordance with section 22(2) by a public authority;

(b) was expressly authorised by an authorisation granted in accordance with section 23, or was necessarily incidental to such an act;

(c) was done in accordance with a permit issued by the Department (whether under section 26(5) or otherwise);

(d) was necessary in the interests of the prevention or detection of crime, or was necessary for securing public health;

(e) was necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of any vessel, aircraft or marine installation;

(f) was done for the purpose of saving life.

(2) Subsection (1)(e) does not apply where the necessity was due to the fault of the person or of some other person acting under the person’s direction or control.

(3) A person is not guilty of an offence under section 32 by reason of doing anything that is an offence under section 33.

(4) It is a defence for a person who is charged with an offence under section 33 to show that—

(a) the act which is alleged to constitute the offence was—

(i) an act done for the purpose of, and in the course of, sea fishing, or

(ii) an act done in connection with such an act, and

(b) the effect of the act on the protected feature in question could not reasonably have been avoided.

(5) The Department may by order amend this section so as to remove, or restrict the application of, the defence provided by subsection (4).