(1)Subject to subsection (2) below, no information with respect to any particular undertaking which has been obtained by or on behalf of the Authority under this Act shall, without the consent of the person carrying on the undertaking, be disclosed otherwise than for the purpose of the discharge of the Authority's functions.
(2)Subsection (1) above shall not preclude the disclosure of information by or on behalf of the Authority—
(a)to the Ministers or any of them for the purposes of any of their functions relating to the sea fish industry or to the regulation of sea fishing ; or
(b)for the purposes of any legal proceedings or of any report of any such proceedings.
(3)If any person discloses information in contravention of this section he shall be guilty of an offence and liable—
(a)on conviction on indictment, to a fine or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both ;
(b)on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the prescribed sum or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or to both.
(4)In subsection (3)(b) above " the prescribed sum " means—
(a)in the case of an offence committed in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 32 of the [1980 c. 43.] Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 (£1,000 at the passing of this Act);
(b)in the case of an offence committed in Scotland the prescribed sum within the meaning of section 289B of the [1975 c. 21.] Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (£1,000 at the passing of this Act);
and for the purposes of the application of this definition in Northern Ireland the provisions of the said Act of 1980 which relate to the sum mentioned in paragraph (a) above shall extend to Northern Ireland.