The Sole, Plaice, etc (Specified Sea Areas) (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 1997

Made: 19th November 1997

Laid before Parliament: 20th November 1997

Coming into force: 21st November 1997

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Secretaries of State respectively concerned with the sea fishing industry in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, acting jointly, in exercise of the powers conferred on them by sections 5(1), 15(3) and 22(2)(a) of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967¹, and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Order:

Title, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Sole, Plaice, etc (Specified Sea Areas) (Prohibition of Fishing) Order 1997 and shall come into force on 21st November 1997.

• (2) In this Order—

• “British fishing boat” means a fishing boat which is registered in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands or which, not being so registered, is British-owned;

• “length”, in relation to a boat, means the length calculated in accordance with the rules specified in Article 2(1) of Council Regulation (EEC) No. 2930/86 defining characteristics for fishing vessels² as amended³;

• “sea area” means a statistical division or sub-area of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea⁴ specified in the Schedule hereto.

Prohibition and Exception

2

• (1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, fishing—

• (a) by any British fishing boat registered in the United Kingdom within any part of a sea area; or

• (b) by any other British fishing boat within any part of a sea area which lies within British fishery limits⁵—

for—

• (i) sole (Solea solea) in sea areas ICES Statistical Sub-Areas VI, XII and XIV and ICES Statistical Divisions Vb and VIIe, h, j, and k;

• (ii) plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) in sea areas ICES Statistical Divisions VIIh, j and k;

• (iii) herring (Clupea harengus) in sea areas ICES Statistical Divisions IVa and b; or

• (iv) other species in that part of sea area ICES Statistical Sub-Area IV which lies with Norwegian fishery limits;

is prohibited during the period beginning with the date of coming into force of this Order and ending immediately before 1st January 1998.

• (2) The prohibition in paragraph (1) above shall not apply to any boat whose length exceeds 10 metres, except in the case of any boat when used for the purpose of conveying persons wishing to fish for pleasure.

• (3) For the purpose of paragraph (1) above “other species” are all species of fish except:

• cod (Gadus morhua),

• haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus),

• whiting (Merlangius merlangus),

• saithe (Pollachius virens),

• plaice (Pleuronectes platessa),

• Norway pout (Trisopterus esmarkii),

• sandeels (Ammodytes tobianus),

• blue whitting (Micromesistius poutassou),

• herrring (Clupea harengus),

• mackerel (Scomber scombrus) and

• shrimps (Crangon vulgaris).

Powers of British sea-fishery officers in relation to fishing boats

3

• (1) For the purpose of the enforcement of this Order a British sea-fishery officer may exercise the powers conferred by paragraphs (2) to (4) below—

• (a) anywhere in relation to any British fishing boat registered in the United Kingdom; and

• (b) in any waters adjacent to the United Kingdom and within British fishery limits in relation to any other British fishing boat.

• (2) He may go on board the boat, with or without persons assigned to assist him in his duties, and for that purpose may require the boat to stop and do anything else which will facilitate the boarding of the boat.

• (3) He may require the attendance of the master and other persons on board the boat and may make any examination and inquiry which appears to him to be necessary for the purpose mentioned in paragraph (1) above and, in particular—

• (a) may examine any fish on the boat and the equipment of the boat, including the fishing gear, and require persons on board the boat to do anything which appears to him to be necessary for facilitating the examination;

• (b) may require any person on board the boat to produce any document relating to the boat, to its fishing operations or other operations ancillary thereto or to the persons on board which is in his custody or possession and may take copies of any such document;

• (c) for the purpose of ascertaining whether the master, owner or charterer of the boat has committed an offence under section 5(1) or (6) of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967⁶ as read with this Order, may search the boat for any such document and may require any person on board the boat to do anything which appears to him to be necessary for facilitating the search; and

• (d) where the boat is one in relation to which he has reason to suspect that such an offence has been committed, may seize and detain any such document produced to him or found on board for the purpose of enabling the document to be used as evidence in proceedings for the offence;

but nothing in sub-paragraph (d) above shall permit any document required by law to be carried on board the boat to be seized and detained except while the boat is detained in a port.

• (4) Where it appears to a British sea-fishery officer that a contravention of this Order has at any time taken place within British fishery limits he may—

• (a) require the master of the boat in relation to which the contravention took place to take, or may himself take, the boat and its crew to the port which appears to him to be the nearest convenient port; and

• (b) detain or require the master to detain the boat in the port;

and where such an officer detains or requires the detention of a boat he shall serve on the master notice in writing stating that the boat will be or is required to be detained until the notice is withdrawn by the service on the master of a further notice in writing signed by a British sea-fishery officer.

SCHEDULE — SEA AREAS IN RESPECT OF WHICH PROHIBITION OF FISHING APPLIES

ICES Statistical Sub-Area IV (North Sea)

The waters bounded by a line beginning at a point on the coast of Norway in 62°00' north latitude; thence due west to 4°00' west longitude; thence due south to the coast of Scotland; thence in an easterly and southerly direction along the coasts of Scotland and England to a point in 51°00' north latitude; thence due east to the coast of France; thence in a north-easterly direction along the coasts of France, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany to the western terminus of its boundary with Denmark; thence along the west coast of Jutland to Thyboron; thence in a southerly and easterly direction along the south coast of the Limfjord to Egenskloster Point; thence across the eastern entrance of the Limfjord to Hals; thence in a westerly direction along the north coast of Limfjord to the southernmost point of Aggen Tange; thence in a northerly direction along the west coast of Jutland to a point in 57°00' north latitude; thence due west to 8°00' east longitude; thence due north to 57°30' north latitude; thence due west to 7°00' east longitude; thence due north to the coast of Norway; thence in a north-westerly direction along the coast of Norway to the point of beginning.

ICES Statistical Division IVa (commonly known as the northern North Sea)

ICES Statistical Division IVb (commonly known as the central North Sea)

ICES Statistical Division Vb (Faroes Grounds)

ICES Statistical Sub-Area VI (Rockall and the West of Scotland)

ICES Statistical Division VIIe (Western English Channel)

ICES Statistical Division VIIh (Little Sole Bank)

ICES Statistical Division VIIj (Great Sole Bank)

ICES Statistical Division VIIk (West of Great Sole Bank)

ICES Statistical Division XII (North of Azores)

ICES Statistical Sub-Area XIV (East Greenland)

Signed

Elliot Morley — Parliamentary Secretary,Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food — 17th November 1997

Sewel — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,Scottish Office — 17th November 1997

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Wales

Win Griffiths — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,Welsh Office — 19th November 1997

Dubs — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State forNorthern Ireland — 17th November 1997

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order prohibits fishing for—

• (a) sole in sea areas ICES Statistical Sub-Areas VI, XII and XIV and ICES Statistical Divisions Vb and VIIe, h, j and k;

• (b) plaice in sea areas ICES Statistical Divisions VIIh, j and k;

• (c) herring in sea areas ICES Statistical Divisions IVa and b; and

• (d) other species in that part of sea area ICES Statistical Sub-Area IV which lies within Norwegian fishery limits;

by any British fishing boat which does not exceed 10 metres in length or which is used wholly for the purposes of conveying persons wishing to fish for pleasure (article 2; a definition of “other species” is given at paragraph (3) of that article.)

The prohibitions of fishing set out above shall apply—

• (a) within any part of a sea area specified in the Schedule to the Order if the boat is registered in the United Kingdom, or

• (b) within any part of such a sea area which lies within British fishery limits if the boat is registered in the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands or, not being registered, is British-owned,

during the period beginning with the date of coming into force of the Order and ending immediately before 1st January 1998 (article 2).

By virtue of section 5(6) of the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967 (as amended by section 22(2) of the Fisheries Act 1981), where, in the course of any fishing operations conducted in any of the above-mentioned sea areas, fish caught in contravention of this Order are taken on board a boat to which this Order applies, those fish shall (subject to section 9 of that Act) be returned to the sea forthwith.

British sea-fishery officers are given certain enforcement powers for the purpose of the enforcement of the Order (article 3).

Footnotes