Diseases of Fish Act 1983

3 Infected waters: preliminary precautions

The following shall be substituted for section 4 of the 1937 Act (preliminary precautions where waters of fish farm are suspected to be infected)—

“4 Preliminary precautions: inland waters.

(1) If an inspector has reasonable grounds for suspecting that any inland waters which are the waters of any fish farm are infected waters, he may serve the prescribed notice upon the occupier of the fish farm and (if the inspector serves such a notice) he shall report the facts to the Minister.

(2) Where a notice has been served under subsection (1) of this section—

(a) no live fish and no live eggs of fish shall, without the permission of the Minister, be taken into or out of the fish farm, and

(b) no foodstuff for fish shall, without the permission of the Minister, be taken out of the fish farm,

until after the expiration of thirty days from the service of the notice, unless before the expiration of that period the occupier receives from the Minister a written intimation that such permission is no longer required.

(3) Where a notice has been served upon an occupier under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may if he thinks it desirable authorise an inspector to serve a further prescribed notice upon the occupier so long as no written intimation under subsection (2) above has been given to the occupier; and if the inspector does so before the expiration of thirty days from the service of the first notice, that subsection shall have effect in relation to the fish farm concerned as if for ' thirty' there were substituted ' sixty'.

(4) A person who intentionally takes any fish, eggs or foodstuff into or out of a fish farm while the taking is prohibited by this section shall be guilty of an offence, unless he shows that he did not know that the taking was prohibited.

(5) If any person entitled to take fish from any inland waters, or employed for the purpose of having the care of any inland waters, has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the waters are infected waters, it shall be his duty forthwith to report the facts in writing to the Minister or, if the waters are not a fish farm, to die water authority in whose area the waters are situated; and if without reasonable excuse he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence.

This subsection does not apply to Scotland.

(6) In Scotland if any person entitled to take fish from any inland waters, or employed for the purpose of having the care of any inland waters, has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the waters are infected waters, it shall be his duty forthwith to report the facts in writing to the Secretary of State, or, if the waters are situated in the area of a district board and are not a fish farm, to the board ; and if without reasonable excuse he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence.

4A Preliminary precautions: marine waters.

(1) If an inspector has reasonable grounds for suspecting that any marine waters are infected waters—

(a) he may serve, upon any person who owns or possesses a cage which is situated in the waters and is used by him for the purposes of a business of fish farming carried on by him, the prescribed notice specifying the waters suspected to be infected waters, and

(b) if the inspector serves such a notice, he shall report the facts to the Minister,

and in the following provisions of this section ' the farmer ' means the person so served.

(2) Where a notice has been served under subsection (1) of this section—

(a) no live fish and no live eggs of fish shall, without the permission of the Minister, be taken into or out of any cage which is situated in the waters specified in the notice and is used by the farmer for the purposes of a business of fish farming carried on by him, and

(b) no foodstuff for fish shall, without the permission of the Minister, be taken out of any such cage,

until after the expiration of thirty days from the service of the notice, unless before the expiration of that period the farmer receives from the Minister a written intimation that such permission is no longer required.

(3) Where a notice has been served upon a farmer under subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may if he thinks it desirable authorise an inspector to serve a further prescribed notice upon the farmer so long as no written intimation under subsection (2) above has been given to the farmer; and if the inspector does so before the expiration of thirty days from the service of the first notice, that subsection shall have effect in relation to any cage concerned as if for ' thirty' there were substituted ' sixty '.

(4) A person who intentionally takes any fish, eggs or foodstuff into or out of a cage while the taking is prohibited by this section shall be guilty of an offence, unless he shows that he did not know that the taking was prohibited.

(5) If any person who—

(a) owns or possesses a cage which is situated in marine waters and is used by him for the purposes of a business of fish farming carried on by him, or

(b) is employed for the purpose of having the care of a cage so situated and used for the purposes of a business of fish farming,

has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the waters in which the cage is situated are infected waters, it shall be his duty forthwith to report the facts in writing to the Minister; and if without reasonable excuse he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence.

(6) In Scotland if any person who—

(a) has a right to fish for salmon in any marine waters; or

(b) has a right of fishing in any private non navigable marine waters; or

(c) is employed for the purpose of having the care of any waters mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) above,

has reasonable grounds for suspecting that the waters (excluding any marine waters in which a cage used for the purposes of a business of fish farming is situated) are infected waters, it shall be his duty forthwith to report the facts in writing to the Secretary of State; and if without reasonable excuse he fails to do so, he shall be guilty of an offence.”