The Sea Fishing (Penalty Notices) (England) Order 2011
Title, commencement and application1.
(1)
This Order may be cited as the Sea Fishing (Penalty Notices) (England) Order 2011 and comes into force on 6th April 2011.
(2)
This Order applies—
(a)
in relation to England;
(b)
in relation to English or Welsh fishing boats wherever they may be except where they are in Wales or the Welsh zone; and
(c)
in relation to other fishing boats within British fishery limits except where they are in—
(i)
the Northern Ireland zone;
(ii)
the Scottish zone;
(iii)
Wales or the Welsh zone; or
(iv)
the territorial sea adjacent to the Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey.
Interpretation2.
(1)
In this Order—
“authorised officer” means—
(a)
a marine enforcement officer within the meaning of section 235(1)(a) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009; or
(b)
an inshore fisheries and conservation officer within the meaning of section 165(1) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009;
“penalty” means the amount specified in a penalty notice;
“penalty notice” means a notice offering the opportunity, by payment of a specified amount in accordance with this Order, to discharge any liability to be convicted of the penalty offence to which the notice relates;
“penalty offence” means an offence (other than one involving assault, obstruction or failure to comply with a requirement imposed by a person) listed in the Schedule.
(2)
The expressions “Northern Ireland zone”, “Scottish zone” and “Welsh zone” have the meaning they bear in section 322(1) of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009.
Issue of penalty notice3.
(1)
Where an authorised officer has reason to believe that a person has committed a penalty offence, the authorised officer may issue that person with a penalty notice for an amount not exceeding £10,000.
(2)
In determining the penalty, an authorised officer must have regard to any guidance given by the MMO on matters to be taken into account when making such a determination.
(3)
A penalty notice is issued at the time when it is sent by post or delivered by hand to the person to whom it relates.
Content of penalty notice4.
A penalty notice issued under article 3 must—
(a)
give particulars of the penalty offence;
(b)
state the amount of the penalty;
(c)
state the period during which, by virtue of article 5, proceedings will not be taken for the offence;
(d)
state the person to whom, and the address at which, the penalty may be paid; and
(e)
state that payment must not be in cash.
Restriction on proceedings for penalty offence5.
(1)
Where a person is issued with a penalty notice—
(a)
no proceedings may be brought against that person for the penalty offence to which that notice relates before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the notice was issued; and
(b)
that person may not be convicted of the offence if the penalty is paid before the end of that period.
(2)
Paragraph (1)—
(a)
is subject to article 10; and
(b)
does not apply if the penalty notice is withdrawn in accordance with article 9.
Payment of penalty6.
(1)
Payment of a penalty must be made to the person specified in the penalty notice by sending it by post or by such method as may be specified in the notice.
(2)
It may not be made in cash.
Payment of one penalty treated as payment of connected penalties7.
(1)
Where a person (“A”) pays the penalty in accordance with article 6, an authorised officer must give a notice (a “notice of deemed payment”) to all other persons who have been issued with a connected penalty notice.
(2)
A penalty notice is a “connected penalty notice” if the penalty offence to which that notice relates is the same as, and arises out of the same set of circumstances as, the penalty offence to which the penalty notice issued to, and paid by, A relates.
(3)
A notice of deemed payment must—
(a)
be sent by post or delivered by hand;
(b)
indicate that A has paid the penalty for A’s connected penalty notice;
(c)
indicate that the penalty notice issued to the recipient of the notice of deemed payment will be treated as having been paid unless that person gives written notice indicating that it should not be so treated (a “notice of objection”); and
(d)
state the name and address of the person to whom any notice of objection must be given.
(4)
A notice of objection must be sent by post or delivered by hand to the person stated in paragraph (3)(d) within—
(a)
28 days beginning with the date on which the penalty notice was issued; or
(b)
if later, 5 days beginning with the date on which the notice of deemed payment was given.
(5)
If no notice of objection is given in accordance with this article, the penalty notice issued to a person who has been given a notice of deemed payment is to be treated as having been paid.
Certificate of payment or non-payment of penalty notice8.
In any proceedings a certificate purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the Secretary of State stating that payment in respect of a penalty notice was or was not received on or before a date specified in the certificate is evidence of the facts stated.
Withdrawal of penalty notices9.
(1)
A penalty notice may be withdrawn by an authorised officer who has reason to believe that it ought not to have been issued (whether to the person named in the penalty notice or otherwise).
(2)
A penalty notice may be withdrawn before or after payment of the penalty.
(3)
If a penalty notice is withdrawn any penalty paid must be repaid.
Commencement of proceedings after payment of penalty in relation to fishing boats from outside the United Kingdom10.
(1)
This article applies in relation to a penalty notice issued to the master, owner or charterer of a fishing boat other than an English, Northern Ireland, Scottish or Welsh fishing boat.
(2)
Where a person in receipt of a penalty notice has paid the penalty, that person may give written notice requesting that proceedings be brought for the penalty offence to which the penalty notice relates.
(3)
Such notice must—
(a)
indicate that the person giving the notice wishes proceedings to be brought for the penalty offence to which the penalty notice relates; and
(b)
be given no later than the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the date on which the penalty notice was issued.
(4)
Where a person has given such notice, proceedings may be brought against that person.
(5)
Where such proceedings are discontinued or the person is acquitted of the offence, the penalty notice is to be treated as never having been issued and any penalty paid must be repaid.
(6)
Where a person is convicted of the offence, the penalty notice is to be treated as never having been issued and paragraph (7) or (8) applies, as appropriate.
(7)
If a fine is imposed on the person in respect of the penalty offence an authorised officer must—
(a)
apply so much of the penalty as does not exceed the amount of the fine in or towards payment of the fine; and
(b)
repay any amount of the penalty in excess of the amount of the fine.
(8)
If no fine is imposed on the person in respect of the penalty offence, any penalty paid must be repaid.
Transitional provision11.
(1)
This article applies where—
(a)
(b)
the penalty has not been paid in accordance with article 6, nor has the penalty notice been withdrawn under article 9, of that Order.
(2)
The penalty notice is deemed to have been issued under this Order.
Revocation12.
The Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Measures) (Penalty Notices) Order 2008 is revoked, except in so far as it applies in Wales or to the Welsh zone.
SCHEDULEOffences relating to sea fishing
1.
2.
(a)
section 3 (effect of grant of right of regulating a fishery);
(b)
section 7 (protection of fisheries);
(c)
section 14 (supplementary provisions as to orders under ss 12 and 13);
(d)
section 16 (oysters not to be sold between certain dates);
(e)
section 17 (taking and sale of certain crabs and lobsters prohibited).
3.
(a)
section 1 (size limits, etc for fish);
(b)
section 2 (size limits for use in course of any business);
(c)
section 3 (regulation of nets and other fishing gear);
F1(d)
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(e)
section 4A (licensing of vessels receiving trans-shipped fish);
(f)
section 5 (power to restrict fishing for sea fish);
(g)
section 6 (prohibition on landing of sea fish caught in certain areas);
(h)
section 8 (regulation of landing of foreign-caught sea fish).
4.
F25.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
6.
An offence under section 30 of the Fisheries Act 1981(enforcement of Community rules).
7.
8.
An offence under section 163 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 (offences).
9.
10.
11.
F311A.
In the Fisheries Act 2020, an offence under—
(a)
section 12(3) (access to British fisheries by foreign fishing boats);
(b)
section 14(6) (British fishing boats required to be licensed);
(c)
section 16(6) (foreign fishing boats required to be licensed if within British fishery limits);
(d)
paragraph 1(4) of Schedule 3 (sea fishing licences: further provision).
12.
In this Schedule, reference to a section includes subordinate legislation made under that section.
This Order creates a scheme for the issuing and payment of penalty notices for certain offences relating to sea fishing. It revokes the Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Measures) (Penalty Notices) Order 2008 except in so far as it applies to Wales or to Welsh fishing boats and replaces it with a scheme that applies to offences created under domestic legislation as well as those arising as a result of a breach of an enforceable community restriction or other obligation.
It provides for the issuing of a penalty notice (article 3), the content of such a notice (article 4), and the effect and method of paying a penalty (articles 5 and 6). It also makes provision for penalty notices to be issued to different persons for the same offence arising out of the same set of circumstances whereby payment by one person is treated as being payment by another, in the absence of objection from the other (article 7). Provision is also made for the withdrawal of a penalty notice (article 9).
A master, owner or charterer of a fishing boat that is from outside the United Kingdom and who has paid a penalty may request to be tried for the offence (article 10), in which case the penalty notice will be treated as never having been issued and the penalty will be repaid in the event of acquittal or discontinuance of the related court proceedings. In the event of conviction, the penalty notice will also be treated as never having been issued, but the penalty must be applied towards paying any fine imposed.
An impact assessment has been prepared and placed in the library of each House of Parliament. It is available on the Defra website at www.defra.gov.uk or from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Nobel House, 17 Smith Square, London SW1P 3JR.