1.—(1) The title of this Order is the Shrimp Fishing Nets (Wales) Order 2008 and comes into force on 30 July 2008.
(2) This Order applies in relation to Wales.
2.—(1) In this Order:
“British fishing boat” (“cwch pysgota Prydeinig”) means a fishing boat which is either registered in the United Kingdom under Part II of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(1) or is owned wholly by persons qualified to own British ships for the purposes of that part of that Act;
“codend” (“pen y cwd”) means the rearmost part of a net, being made up of one or more panels comprising pieces of netting of the same mesh size attached to one another along their sides in the long axis of the net by a lacing;
“equivalent Order” (“Gorchymyn cyfatebol”) means an order extending to any other part of the United Kingdom made under section 3 of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 containing a similar provision to that in article 3; and
“Wales” (“Cymru”) has the meaning given to it in section 158(1) of the Government of Wales Act 2006(2).
(2) For the purpose of this Order, the mesh of a net or netting is to be measured in accordance with Commission Regulation (EC) No. 129/2003 of 24 January 2003 laying down detailed rules for determining the mesh size and thickness of twine of fishing nets(3).
(3) Any reference in this Order to a Community instrument is a reference to that instrument as amended from time to time.
3.—(1) British fishing boats are prohibited from carrying or deploying a net, the mesh of which measures between 16 and 31 millimetres unless —
(a)netting, the mesh of which measures at least twice that of the codend and no more than 70 millimetres, is fitted across the entire cross-section of the net in such a way that —
(i)fish cannot reach the codend without first passing through the netting; and
(ii)there is a hole in the net through which all fish that do not pass through the netting are able to escape;
(b)a rigid grid, the spacing between the bars of which is no more than 20 millimetres, is fitted across the entire cross-section of the net in such a way that —
(i)fish cannot reach the codend without first passing through the grid; and
(ii)there is a hole in the net through which all fish that do not pass through the grid are able to escape;
(c)no fish have been retained on board the boat; or
(d)the retention of fish on board the boat is consistent with Article 25(3) of Council Regulation 850/98 of 30 March 1998 for the conservation of fishery resources through technical measures for the protection of juveniles or marine organisms(4).
4.—(1) For the purposes of enforcing this Order or any equivalent Order, a British sea fishery officer may exercise the powers conferred by this article in relation to any British fishing boat to which this Order applies.
(2) The officer may go on board the boat, with or without persons assigned to assist in the officer’s duties, and for that purpose may require the boat to stop and do anything else which will facilitate the boarding of the boat.
(3) The officer may require the attendance of the master and other persons on board the boat and may make any examination and inquiry which appears to the officer to be necessary for the purpose of enforcing this Order, and, in particular —
(a)may examine any fish on that boat and the equipment of the boat, including the fishing gear, and require persons on board the boat to do anything which appears to the officer to be necessary for facilitating the examination; and
(b)may require any person on board the boat to produce any document relating to the boat, to its fishing operations or other operations ancillary thereto or to the persons on board which is in that person’s custody or possession and may take copies of any such document;
(c)for the purpose of ascertaining whether the master, owner or charterer of the boat has committed an offence under section 3(5) of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 as read with this Order or any equivalent Order, may search the boat for any such document and may require any person on board the boat to do anything which appears to the officer to be necessary for facilitating the search;
(d)where the boat is one in relation to which the officer has reason to suspect that such an offence has been committed, may seize and detain any such document produced to the officer or found on board for the purpose of enabling the document to be used as evidence in proceedings for the offence;
but nothing in sub-paragraph (d) above permits any document required by law to be carried on board the boat to be seized and detained except while the boat is detained in a port.
(4) Where it appears to a British sea-fishery officer that a contravention of any provision of this Order has at any time taken place, the officer may —
(a)require the master of the boat in relation to which the contravention took place to take, or the officer may take, the boat and its crew to the port which appears to the officer to be the nearest convenient port; and
(b)detain or require the master to detain the boat in the port;
and where such an officer detains or requires the detention of a boat, the officer must serve on the master a notice in writing stating that the boat will be or is required to be detained until the notice is withdrawn by the service on the master of a further notice in writing signed by a British sea-fishery officer.
5. The Shrimp Fishing Nets (Wales) Order 2003(5) is revoked.
Elin Jones
Minister for Rural Affairs, one of the Welsh Ministers
8 July 2008