Section 7 - Marine enforcement officers’ functions
22.Section 7 contains provisions in relation to the enforcement of regulations made under section 5(1) and enforcement notices served under section 6.
23.Section 7(1) enables marine enforcement officers (MEO), as defined by section 63 to exercise the powers available in Part 7 and section 150 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, for the purpose of enforcing regulations made under section 5(1). Section 7(2) authorises such officers to take any action the officer considers necessary in order to fulfil the requirements of an enforcement notice served by the Scottish Ministers under section 6. Section 7(6) enables the Scottish Ministers to recover any costs incurred by the marine enforcement officer in pursuance of the provisions of section 7(2).
24.Section 7(3)(a) modifies the effect of sections 151 to 155 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 such that references in those sections to the powers conferred by Part 7 of the 2010 Act are to be read as including a reference to those powers as applied by section 7(1) (to enforce section 5 regulations) and as conferred by section 7(2) (to take action to meet the requirements of an enforcement notice under section 6). For example, in practice this means that, where a MEO wishes to exercise search or examination powers available under Part 7 of the 2010 Act in order to determine whether a person has complied with regulations under section 5, the officer may be required by the person to produce evidence of the officer’s authorisation to exercise the power in question (section 151 of the 2010 Act).
25.Section 7(3)(b) makes equivalent provision as regards references to the functions of a marine enforcement officer. Sections 151 to 155 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 are modified such that references in those sections to the functions under the 2010 Act of MEOs are to be read as including a reference to those functions as applied by section 7(1) (to enforce section 5 regulations) and as conferred by section 7(2) (to take action to meet the requirements of an enforcement notice under section 6). For example, in practice this means that a MEO who takes action to fulfil the requirements of an enforcement notice issued under section 6 is not liable in civil or criminal proceedings for anything the officer did as regards that action (section 154 of the 2010 Act).
26.Section 7(4) makes provision in relation to the geographical limits of a MEO’s powers, specifying that those powers are exercisable in the Scottish marine area (as defined in section 1 of the 2010 Act) and any other part of Scotland. Section 7(7) contains a definition for the purposes of this section.