The Sea Fishing (Restriction on Days at Sea) (Scotland) Order 2003

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order provides for the enforcement in Scotland of the provisions of Annex XVII (“the Annex”) to Council Regulation 2341/2002 (O.J. No. L 356, 31.12.02, p.12) (“the Council Regulation”) fixing for certain fish stocks and groups of fish stocks the fishing opportunities in Community waters for 2003.

The Order contains provisions relating to the calculation of the number of days on which a vessel may be absent from port for the purposes of the Annex (article 3(2) to (7)) and makes clear, in particular in relation to the types of gear at paragraph 4(a) of the Annex, that the number of fishing days available cannot exceed the total calculated under paragraph 6 of the Annex (article 3(8)). It also contains provisions relating to absence from port in specified circumstances (article 4) and the transfer of days from one period to another (article 5) and from one vessel to another (article 6).

By virtue of article 8(2), the ports named in the Schedule are designated, for the purposes of paragraph 14 of the Annex.

The Order creates offences in respect of contraventions, by a person in charge of a relevant British fishing boat (as defined in the Order), of the provisions of paragraphs 6 (absence from port in excess of number of permitted days), 7 (single type of gear), 8 (use of gear in different areas) and 9 (use of gears in different periods) of the Annex (article 3(1)).

The Order also creates offences in respect of contraventions by certain persons of other provisions of the Annex (articles 8, 9, 10 and 11) and in respect of the making of a false statement by any person in a notification under article 6(2) (article 6(6)) and extends the application of the Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Control Measures) (Scotland) Order 2000 (S.S.I. 2000/7) in pursuance of the Annex (article 7).

The Order provides for the recovery of fines imposed in respect of a relevant offence as defined in the Order (article 13).

For the purposes of enforcing provisions of the Annex the Order confers on British sea-fishery officers the powers to enter premises, to go on board fishing boats, to stop and search vehicles transporting fish, to examine fish, to require the production of documents, to search for and seize documents, to take a boat to the nearest convenient port and to seize fish and fishing gear (articles 14 to 17).

A Regulatory Impact Assessment in the relation to the Annex has been prepared and placed in SPICE. Copies can be obtained from the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, Robb’s Loan, Edinburgh, EH14 1TY.