Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026

44 Report on penalties in sea fisheries legislation

(1) The Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013 is modified as follows.

(2) After section 60, insert—

“Report on penalties

60A Report on penalties in sea fisheries legislation

(1) The Scottish Ministers must publish a report on the effectiveness of relevant penalties in ensuring compliance with the sea fisheries legislation—

(a) within the Scottish enforcement area, and

(b) by Scottish fishing boats (wherever they are operating).

(2) The report must, in particular—

(a) set out the relevant penalties covered by the report,

(b) explain why those penalties have been selected,

(c) assess the effectiveness of those penalties in ensuring compliance with the sea fisheries legislation, and

(d) identify any changes to the penalties that the Scottish Ministers consider likely to improve compliance with the sea fisheries legislation.

(3) The report may include any other matters related to the sea fisheries legislation that the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate.

(4) In preparing the report, the Scottish Ministers must consult such persons as they consider appropriate.

(5) The Scottish Ministers must—

(a) publish the report within the period of 2 years beginning with the day on which this section comes into force, and

(b) before publishing the report, lay the report before the Scottish Parliament.

(6) The Scottish Ministers may by regulations modify a penalty in the sea fisheries legislation in connection with a change identified under subsection (2)(d).

(7) In this section—

(a) a “relevant penalty” is a penalty—

(i) contained in the legislation, and

(ii) which the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate to review.

(b) “Scottish enforcement area” and “sea fisheries legislation” are to be construed in accordance with section 53.”.

(3) In section 62(2)(a), at end insert—

“(aa) regulations under section 60A(6),”.