Sea Fisheries Act 1968

White fish and herring subsidies

1 Removal of special provisions for, and relaxation of restrictions on, white fish and herring subsidies

(1) Section 2 of the [1962 c. 31.] Sea Fish Industry Act 1962 (special provisions with respect to white fish subsidy for larger vessels, including provision for progressive reduction of grants) shall cease to have effect.

(2) Section 4 of the [1957 c. 22.] White Fish and Herring Industries Act 1957 and section 1(6) of the Sea Fish Industry Act 1962 (which respectively limit the aggregate amount of grants by way of white fish and herring subsidy, subject to a power to increase the limit by order, and limit increases in the aggregate amount of those grants) shall also cease to have effect.

(3) The date before which applications for grants in pursuance of a scheme under section 5 of the [1953 c. 17.] White Fish and Herring Industries Act 1953 (white fish subsidy) or section 3 of the [1957 c. 22.] White Fish and Herring Industries Act 1957 (herring subsidy) must be received by the appropriate Minister shall be postponed from 1st January 1973 to 1st January 1974.

(4) In this section and section 2 below " the appropriate Minister " means, in relation to England and Wales and Northern Ireland, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and, in relation to Scotland the Secretary of State concerned with the sea fishing industry in Scotland.

2 Extension of scope of white fish and herring subsidies

(1) The power of the appropriate Minister to make grants in pursuance of a scheme under section 5 of the White Fish and Herring Industries Act 1953 (power to pay white fish subsidy with a view to promoting the landing in the United Kingdom of a continuous and plentiful supply of white fish) or section 3 of the White Fish and Herring Industries Act 1957 (power to pay herring subsidy for a similar purpose) shall include power to make such grants with a view to promoting the landing in the United Kingdom of a continuous and plentiful supply of products of white fish or herring, as the case may be.

(2) For the purposes of those sections the trans-shipment of white fish and herring and their respective products in a port in the United Kingdom or within the exclusive fishery limits shall be treated as the landing of white fish and herring and their respective products in the United Kingdom.

(3) In this section " white fish " has the same meaning as in the said section 5.

3 Offences in connection with white fish and herring subsidies

(1) Any person who—

(a) in furnishing any information in purported compliance with a requirement imposed by a scheme under section 5 of the White Fish and Herring Industries Act 1953 (white fish subsidy) or section 3 of the White Fish and Herring Industries Act 1957 (herring subsidy) makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular ;

(b) for the purpose of obtaining for himself or any other person any sum payable under such a scheme makes a statement which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material particular ;

(c) in purported compliance with a requirement imposed by such a scheme produces a document which he knows to be false in a material particular or recklessly produces a document which is false in a material particular ; or

(d) wilfully refuses to supply any information, make any return or produce any document when required to do so by or under any such scheme,

shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £400.

(2) Where an offence under this section which has been committed by a body corporate is proved to have been committed with the consent or connivance of or is attributable to any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he as well as the body corporate shall be deemed to be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.