(1)The provisions of this Act and of any Order in Council under this Act or under the sections of the Sea Fisheries Act, 1868, amended by this Act shall be enforced by sea-fishery officers, either British or foreign.
(2)The following persons shall be British sea-fishery officers ; that is to say, every officer of or appointed by the Board of Trade, every commissioned officer of any of Her Majesty's ships on full pay, every officer authorised in that behalf by the Admiralty, every British Consular Officer, every collector and principal officer of customs in any place in the British Islands, and- every officer of Customs in the British Islands authorised in that behalf by the Commissioners of Customs, every divisional officer of the coast guard, and every principal officer of a coastguard station.
(3)The following persons shall be foreign sea-fishery officers, that is to say, the commander of any vessel belonging to the Government of any Foreign State bound by the Convention, and any officer appointed by a Foreign State for the purpose of enforcing the Convention, or otherwise recognised by Her Majesty as a sea-fishery officer of a Foreign State
For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Act and of any Order in Council under this Act or under the Sea Fisheries Act, 1868, as amended by this Act, a British sea-fishery officer may with respect to any sea-fishing boat within the exclusive limits of the British Islands and with respect to any British sea-fishing boat outside of those limits, exercise the following powers :
(1)He may go on board it;
(2)He may require the owner, master, and crew, or any of them, to produce any certificates of registry, licences, official logbooks, official papers, articles of agreement, muster rolls, and other documents relating to the boat or to the crew, or to any member thereof, or to any person on board the boat, which are in their respective possession or control on board the boat, and may take copies thereof or of any part thereof;
(3)He may muster the crew of the boat;
(4)He may require the master to appear and give any explanation concerning his boat and her crew, and any person on board his boat, and the said certificates of registry, licences, official logbooks, official papers, articles of agreement, muster rolls, and other documents, or any of them ;
(5)He may examine all sails, lights, small boats, anchors, grapnels, and fishing implements belonging to the boat;
(6)He may seize any instrument serving only or intended to damage or destroy fishing implements, by cutting or otherwise, which is found on board the boat or in the possession of any person belonging to the boat;
(7)He may make any examination or inquiry which he deems necessary to ascertain whether any contravention of the provisions of this Act, or of any such Order of Council as aforesaid has been committed, or to fix the amount of compensation due for any damage done to another sea-fishing boat, or to any person or property on board thereof or belonging thereto, and may administer an oath for such purpose ; and
(8)In the case of any person who appears to him to have committed any such contravention he may, without summons, warrant, or other process, both take the offender and the boat to which he belongs and the crew thereof to the nearest or most convenient port, and bring him or them before a competent court, and detain him, it, and them in the port until the alleged contravention has been adjudicated upon.
For the purpose of carrying into effect the Convention, and of" exercising and performing the powers and duties thereby vested in and imposed on cruisers and commanders of cruisers, a foreign sea-fishery officer may, with respect to any British sea-fishing boat, and any sea-fishery officer, whether British or foreign, may, with respect to any foreign sea-fishing boat to which this Act for the time being applies, exercise any of the powers conferred by this Act on British sea-fishery officers.
Provided that—
(a)Nothing in this section shall authorise a sea-fishery officer to do anything not authorised by the Convention ; and
(b)The port to which any sea-fishing boat or any person belonging thereto is taken shall, except where the nationality of such boat is not evidenced by official papers, be a port of the state to which such boat belongs.
(1)A sea-fishery officer shall be entitled to the same protection in respect of any action or suit brought against him for any act done or omitted to be done in the execution of his duty under this Act, as is given to any officer of customs by the [39 & 40 Vict. c. 36.] Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, or any Act amending the same, and (with reference to the seizure or detention of any ship) by any Act relating to the registry of British ships.
(2)If any person obstructs any sea-fishery officer in acting under the powers conferred, by this Act, or refuses or neglects to comply with any requisition or direction lawfully made or given by, or to answer any question lawfully asked by, any sea-fishery officer in pursuance of this Act, such person shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three months, with or without hard labour.