Subject to the provisions of this section and of section 9(1) of this Act, no person shall land in F2England and Wales any sea fish of any description F15which does not meet such requirements as to size as may be prescribed in relation to sea fish of that description by an order of the Ministers.

Subject to the provisions of this section, no person shall, in F2England and Wales, sell, expose or offer for sale or have in his possession for the purpose of sale, any sea fish of any description F14which does not meet such requirements as to size as may be prescribed in relation to sea fish of that description by an order of the Ministers.

Sea fish of any description which do not meet the requirements as to size prescribed in relation to sea fish of that description by an order of the appropriate national authority shall not be carried, whether within or outside relevant British fishery limits, on a relevant British vessel; and an order under this subsection may prohibit the carrying by a Scottish or Northern Ireland fishing boat or a foreign vessel in waters to which subsection (3A) applies of sea fish of any description prescribed by the order which do not meet the requirements as to size so prescribed in relation to sea fish of that description.

This subsection applies to the sea within British fishery limits, other than the Scottish zone and the Northern Ireland zone.

“Northern Ireland zone” has the meaning given by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 (see section 98 of that Act).

F10Different requirements as to size may be prescribed for the purposes of each of the foregoing provisions of this section; and an order under subsection (1) above may prescribe F6different requirements as to size in relation to different areas and in relation to fish of different sexes.

Where an order under subsection (1) above prescribes F5requirements as to size for fish of any description (or of any description and sex), whether generally or in relation to any particular area, then, except so far as provision to the contrary is made by such an order, a person who in F2England and Wales or, as the case may be, in that area lands a part of a fish of that description (or of that description and sex) shall, subject to section 9(1) of this Act, be deemed to contravene subsection (1) above F11if the part does not meet the requirements as to size so prescribed.

An order under this section may confer exemptions from any prohibition imposed by or by virtue of this section; and any such exemption may be general or subject to conditions and may relate to all fish to which the order applies or to fish of any specified description.

Any person who contravenes subsection (1) or (2) above shall be guilty of an offence under that subsection.

If subsection (3) above is contravened in the case of F7a relevant British vessel, a Scottish fishing boat or a Northern Ireland fishing boat the master, the owner and the charterer (if any) shall each be guilty of an offence under that subsection; and if a prohibition imposed by virtue of that subsection is contravened in the case of a F12foreign vessel, the master shall be guilty of an offence under that subsection.

In this section—

• “the appropriate national authority” means—

  1. a

     in relation to Wales F9or the Welsh zone (within the meaning of the Government of Wales Act 2006), the Welsh Ministers;

  2. b

     in any other case, the Secretary of State;

• “foreign vessel” means any vessel other than a relevant British vessel, a Scottish fishing boat or a Northern Ireland fishing boat;

• “Northern Ireland fishing boat” means a fishing boat which is registered in the United Kingdom under Part 2 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 and whose entry in the register specifies a port in Northern Ireland as the port to which the boat is to be treated as belonging;

• “relevant British vessel” means a vessel, other than a Scottish fishing boat or a Northern Ireland fishing boat, which—

  1. a

     is registered in the United Kingdom under Part 2 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995, or

  2. b

     is owned wholly by persons qualified to own British ships for the purposes of that Part of that Act.

Subject to any exemption granted under this section, no person shall in F3England and Wales have in his possession any fish to which this section applies for the purpose of processing or otherwise using it in the course of any business.

This section applies to any fish which under section F41(2) of this Act is prohibited from being sold in F3England and Wales.

Where it appears to an officer authorised in that behalf by the appropriate Minister that any fish which have been caught are fish to which this section applies, the officer may grant to any person such exemption from subsection (1) above as the officer considers requisite to enable the fish to be disposed of.

Any person who contravenes this section shall be guilty of an offence under this section.