Sea Fisheries (Licensing of Fishing Boats) (Jersey) Regulations 2003: Proposed Amendment Law Drafting Instructions

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

A formal published “Ministerial Decision” is required as a record of the decision of a Minister (or an Assistant Minister where they have delegated authority) as they exercise their responsibilities and powers.

Ministers are elected by the States Assembly and have legal responsibilities and powers as “corporation sole” under the States of Jersey Law 2005 by virtue of their office and in their areas of responsibility, including entering into agreements, and under any legislation conferring on them powers.

An accurate record of “Ministerial Decisions” is vital to effective governance, including:

demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
providing a record of decisions and actions that will be available for examination by States Members, and Panels and Committees of the States Assembly; the public, organisations, and the media; and as a historical record and point of reference for the conduct of public affairs

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The Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 is used as a guide when determining what information is be published. While there is a presumption toward publication to support of transparency and accountability, detailed information may not be published if, for example, it would constitute a breach of data protection, or disclosure would prejudice commercial interest.

A decision made 27 September 2012:

Decision Reference: MD-E-2012-0106
Decision Summary Title :	Fishing licence condition variations – ability to publish on a Website		Date of Decision Summary:	03/08/12
Decision Summary Author:	Marine Resources Section Leader		Decision Summary: Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Type of Report: Oral or Written?	Written		Person Giving Oral Report:	n/a
Written Report Title :	Fishing licence condition variations – ability to publish on a Website		Date of Written Report:	03/08/12
Written Report Author:	Marine Resources Section Leader		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Amendment of Sea Fisheries (Licensing of Fishing Boats) (Jersey) Regulations 2003 to facilitate the publication on a Website of variations to fishing vessel licence conditions.
Decision(s): The Minister approved the commencement of law drafting work to modify the regulations to permit the publication on a Website of variations to fishing vessel licence conditions.
Reason(s) for Decision: To improve the efficiency of fisheries management and service delivery.
Resource Implications: The Senior Law Draftsman has agreed that this minor amendment can be accomplished within existing resources. Once the process is completed, there will be some savings in officer time and postage costs.
Action required: Marine Resources Section Leader to provide drafting instructions to the Law Draftsman.
Signature: Senator Alan J Maclean		Position: Minister for Economic Development
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Sea Fisheries (Licensing of Fishing Boats) (Jersey) Regulations 2003: Law Drafting Instructions: Quotas to be publication on internet

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

Fishing licence condition variations – ability to publish on a Website

Purpose of the Report

For the Minister to approve law drafting work to commence on amending the Sea Fisheries (Licensing of Fishing Boats) (Jersey) Regulations 2003 to facilitate the publication on a Website of variations to fishing vessel licence conditions.

Background

The Minister manages commercial fishing effort by British registered fishing vessels in the Territorial Sea by the issue of licences, in accordance with the authority given him by the Sea Fisheries (Licensing of Fishing Boats) (Jersey) Regulations 2003. Fishing vessel licences also contain conditions prescribed by the Minister, as empowered by Article 12 of the Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994 and it is these conditions that permit the detailed management of commercial fishing, most notably by way of quotas for wet fish species.

There are currently 162 vessels licensed by the Minister and licence conditions, particularly those concerning fish quotas are varied regularly, sometimes several times per month. At present, the process depends on mailing licence holders the relevant updated licence conditions, potentially for every change, this is time consuming and costly.

The Jersey licensing system is of necessity based on that of the United Kingdom, where the process of issuing licence variations has changed significantly in recent years. Licence variations are published on a Website, rather than by hard copy and this system has proved both cost effective and efficient. In order for the Minister to adopt a similar process, it is necessary to make a minor amendment to the Sea Fisheries (Licensing of Fishing Boats) (Jersey) Regulations 2003.

Discussion

Regulation 10(3) of the Sea Fisheries (Licensing of Fishing Boats) (Jersey) Regulations 2003 already makes provision for the Minister to give effect to licence variations of all types by publishing a notice in the Jersey Gazette, the new conditions becoming effective 48 hours after publication.

The Gazette method has not been used on a regular basis because it is not always readily available to fishermen on a daily basis and would need almost daily checking by them. What is being proposed is that notices are published on a Website. In other jurisdictions it is a licence condition that licence holders are responsible for checking the Website for the latest conditions on a weekly basis, as specified in their licence. This provides a clear and transparent method for the regular publication of licence conditions, without being subject to the vagaries of the postal system. The very small numbers of fishermen that do not have private access to the internet are still able to view variations by going to their local library or fisheries office.

A survey of the local industry has indicated that 2/3 of local commercial fishermen would willingly accept this system; many of them find the regular volume of paperwork that comes through their door quite difficult to manage and would welcome a simpler system.

Once the legislation has been modified in draft, then a more detailed Ministerial decision would be prepared to cover all aspects of the proposed scheme in detail, prior to the Minister being invited to lodge the draft amendment for debate.

The Senior Law Draftsman has already agreed that the work can be undertaken within the existing law drafting programme.

Recommendation

The Minister is recommended to ask the Marine Resources Section Leader to submit law drafting instructions to enable the publication of licence conditions on a Website.

Written by:	Marine Resources Section Leader

Approved by:	Director Environmental Management and Rural Economy

Ministerial Decision ref: MD-E-2012-0106