Sea-Fisheries (Lobster and Crab Etc. Licensing) Bye-Laws 2003 (No. 604/03)

Statutory Document No. 604/03 THE SEA-FISHERIES ACT 1971 THE SEA-FISHERIES (LOBSTER AND CRAB ETC. LICENSING) BYE-LAWS 2003 Approved by Tynwald 23rd October 2003 Coming into operation 4th August 2003 WHEREAS the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has — (a) consulted such organisations and authorities as is required by section 2(2A)(a) of the Sea-Fisheries Act 1971'; (b) satisfied itself as required by section 2(2A)(b) of that Act; and (c) obtained the concurrence of the Secretary of State to the making of the following Bye-laws, AND in exercise of the powers conferred on the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry by section 2 of the Sea-Fisheries Act 1971, and of all other enabling powers, the following Bye-laws are hereby made: 1. Citation, commencement and application These Bye-laws may be cited as the Sea-Fisheries (Lobster and Crab Etc. Licensing) Bye-laws 2003 and, subject to section 3(1) of the Sea-Fisheries Act 1971 and bye-law 3(2), shall come into operation on the 4th August 2003. 2. Interpretation In these Bye-laws — "the Act" means the Sea-Fisheries Act 1971; 1971 c.18 Price: £1.15 Price Code: A 1 "crab" means fish of the species Cancer pagurus, Maia squinado or any other edible crab; "crawfish" means fish of the species Palinurus vulgaris; "the Department" means the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry; "lobster" means fish of the species Homarus gammarus or any other edible lobster but shall not include fish of the species Nephrops norvegicus; "registered fishing vessel" means a fishing vessel registered in the Island, United Kingdom or Channel Islands; "pot" means any baited pot, receptacle or container with one or more openings or entrances other than a whelk pot and which is capable of being left at sea to catch crawfish, crab or lobster; "registered and licensed fishing vessel" means a fishing vessel registered in the Island, United Kingdom or Channel Islands and to which a licence to fish in the territorial sea has been granted by the Department; "stock cage" means a cage or pot used to store lobsters, crabs, crawfish or any other sea-fish in the sea after capture but prior to landing; "territorial sea" means those waters lying within 12 miles of the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea adjacent to the Isle of Man is measured, but not extending beyond a line every point of which is equidistant from the nearest points of such baselines adjacent to the United Kingdom; "three-mile area" means that part of the territorial sea of the Island lying within 3 nautical miles of the baseline from which the breadth of the territorial sea adjacent to the Island is measured. 3. Restrictions on fishing for lobster and crab (1) No person shall fish in the sea for lobster, crab or crawfish by using a pot of any kind from any vessel otherwise than under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence granted by the Department. (2) Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) shall be guilty of an offence. (3) Subject to bye-law 9(2), a person requiring a licence under these Bye-laws shall make written application to the Department which, in the case of a person requiring a licence for a registered and licensed fishing vessel, shall be in writing and the person shall supply the Department with such information relating to the application and the intended fishing activities as the Department may require. 2 (4) The grant of a licence under this bye-law shall not be taken as exempting the person to whom the licence is granted from the provisions of bye-law 3 of the Sea-Fisheries (Consolidation) Bye-laws 1984' in respect of the three-mile area. (5) A licence shall not be transferable and shall expire on the sale or change of ownership of a vessel. (6) Where a person who has been granted a licence under paragraph (1) in respect of a registered and licensed fishing vessel gives prior notice to the Department in writing that the vessel named in the licence is to be replaced by another vessel, the Department shall grant a licence to the vessel owner in respect of the replacement vessel, provided that, unless the Department is satisfied as to the reason for any further delay, no more than three calendar months shall elapse between the date of expiry of the licence in respect of the former vessel and the granting of a licence in respect of the replacement vessel. 4. Conditions of licence (1) Except in the case to which paragraph (2) applies, the maximum number of pots which may be used shall be five. (2) The maximum number of pots which may be used under authority of a licence granted in respect of a registered and licensed fishing vessel shall be 500, of which no more than the number specified in the licence shall be used within the three-mile area, which number shall not, subject to bye-law 9(2) and 10, exceed 300. (3) In the case to which paragraph (1) applies, no person shall take, kill or land in any one day — (a) more than one lobster; (b) more than five crabs. (4) Subject to paragraph (5), no person shall lift, raise, haul, take fish from, re-bait or in any way use or interfere with any pot other than a pot in respect of which that person has been granted a licence under bye-law 3(1). (5) It shall not be unlawful for a person to lift, haul, raise or take fish from pots in order to bring the pots ashore on behalf of other licence holders provided that — (a) the licence holders who wish their pots to be lifted and brought ashore have applied to the Department in writing for permission, giving details of — (i) the reason for their temporary incapacity or inability to attend their pots; G.C. No. 270/84 3 (ii) the date on which the pots are to be lifted on their behalf; and (iii) the person by whom the pots are to be lifted on their behalf, and the Department has given prior written approval to both the applicant and the person lifting the pots on their behalf; (b) the person lifting the pots is not engaged in fishing on the way to lifting pots on any other licence holder's behalf or before any pots lifted on another licence holder's behalf are brought ashore; (c) any fish in pots lifted on another licence holder's behalf are immediately returned to the sea before the pots are brought ashore. (6) Any person who contravenes paragraph (1), (2), (3) or (4) of this bye-law shall be guilty of an offence. 5. Stock cages (1) No person shall use a stock cage in the sea unless — (a) he is the holder of a licence granted under bye-law 3 in respect of a registered fishing vessel; (b) he has notified the Department, in writing, at least 7 days before such use, of the exact location of the stock cage. (2) Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) of this bye-law shall be guilty of an offence. 6. Catch returns (1) To facilitate compliance with sections 2(1)(gg), 2A(7) and 8 of the Act, the holder of a licence granted under bye-law 3 in respect of a registered and licensed fishing vessel shall keep and preserve records giving information concerning the vessel, gear and fishing operations by means of a logsheet issued by the Department, and shall furnish to the Department the original(s) of the logsheet within 48 hours of the end of the week to which the logsheet relates. (2) If the holder of a licence granted under bye-law 3 in respect of a registered fishing vessel fails to comply with paragraph (1), the licence shall immediately cease to be valid. (3) Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) of this bye-law shall be guilty of an offence. 4 7. Marking of pots, stock cages, floats and markers (1) No person shall use a pot or stock cage unless it is clearly and indelibly marked so as to indicate the number of the licence granted under bye-law 3. (2) No person shall use a float or marker attached to a pot or stock cage unless it is clearly and indelibly marked so as to indicate the number of the licence granted under bye law 3. (3) Any person who contravenes paragraph (1) or (2) of this bye-law shall be guilty of an offence. 8. Penalties Any person who is guilty of an offence under bye-law 3(2), 4(6), 5(2), 6(3) or 7(3) shall be liable on summary conviction — (a) in the case of a first offence, to a fine of £5,000; (b) in the case of a second or subsequent offence, to a fine of £10,000. 9. Revocation (1) The documents specified in columns 1 and 2 of the Schedule are revoked to the extent shown in column 3. (2) Any licence in respect of the three-mile area which is in force on the day on which these Bye-laws come into operation and issued under the Sea-Fisheries (Lobster and Crab, Etc. Licensing) (Three-Mile Area) Bye-laws 2003' shall, notwithstanding the provisions of bye-law 3(3), continue to have effect as if it had been issued under these Bye laws in respect of the territorial sea until such time as the original vessel to which it relates or of a replacement vessel is sold or otherwise disposed of by the person who was the owner at the date of issue of the licence. 10. Transitional arrangements (1) If any licence having effect by virtue of bye-law 9(2) (in this bye-law referred to as a "saved licence") is revoked by the Department, the Department may, notwithstanding the provisions of bye-law 4(2), issue a licence (in this bye-law referred to as a "replacement licence") in respect of the original vessel or of a replacement vessel in the same ownership as the original vessel to which the saved licence related. G.C. No. 291/03 5