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A decision made 11 December 2009 regarding: Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994 - commissioning of amendments.

Decision Reference: MD-E-2009-0217
Decision Summary Title :	Commissioning amendments to the Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994		Date of Decision Summary:	27/11/09
Decision Summary Author:	Senior Fisheries Inspector		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 :	Commissioning amendments to the Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994		Date of Written Report:	27/11/09
Written Report Author:	Senior Fisheries Inspector		Written Report : Public or Exempt? (State clauses from Code of Practice booklet)	Public
Subject: Commissioning of two minor amendments to the Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994
Decision(s): The Minister gave approval to the commissioning of two minor amendments to the Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994
Reason(s) for Decision: One amendment to the Law is necessary to enable the Minister to introduce appropriate fisheries management measures in a more efficient and timely manner. A further minor amendment is required to increase the authority of Fishery Officers to inspect catches and equipment onboard boats.
Resource Implications: The first amendment, if adopted, is likely to lead to a reduction in the use of law drafting and other administrative resources. There are no other resource implications.
Action required: The Senior Fisheries Inspector is to submit law drafting instructions to the Senior Law Draftsman.
Signature: Senator Alan Maclean		Position: Minister for Economic Development
Date Signed:		Date of Decision (If different from Date Signed):

Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994 - commissioning of amendments

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

Purpose of the Report

For the Minister to commission two amendments to the Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994. These amendments are described as amendment (a) and amendment (b) below.

Background

Fisheries and methods to exploit them both need dynamic, evolving management measures. The Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994 only makes provision for the Minister to legislate for such measures by the introduction of Regulations. The Regulation making process is resource heavy and does not always allow for the rapidity that is required to introduce measures relating to the closure of a fishery or area or the banning of certain fishing methods on a seasonal basis.

In order to inspect catches and equipment at sea, Fishery Officers need the authority to instruct a boat to stop and the authority to then board that boat. The Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994 only permits such acts if the boat is a fishing boat but it is not always apparent prior to inspection whether a boat is a fishing boat or otherwise within the definition of the Law. A minor amendment is therefore needed to overcome this issue.

Discussion

As an alternative to imposing management measures by Regulation or Order, the Law could be amended to allow the Minister to impose such measures by direction. Such directions would need to be published in exactly the same manner as regulations, but would not need to be created by the Law Draftsmen and would not need the approval of the States Assembly. They would however still need agreement from the United Kingdom Secretary of State and if applicable to French fishermen, approval from the Joint Management Committee established under the terms of the Granville Bay Agreement.

Directives would not be used as an alternative to regulations such as those used to control minimum sizes, but would be used to establish seasonal closures or seasonal restrictions on fishing equipment and areas. A typical example would be an annual closure of the spider crab fishery in the late summer and the prohibition of the use of nets in an area agreed by fishermen during that period.

Whilst normally Fishery Officers are able to board and inspect all manner of boats by request, they do need the authority to instruct a boat to stop and to then board and inspect that boat if it will not stop on request. It is not always easy to identify a boat as a fishing boat before such an inspection, particularly in the case of small recreational boat carrying divers or other members of the public who might or might not have been involved in fishing. The ability to instruct all boats to stop and permit boarding and inspection is therefore required. Fishery Officers already have such powers in relation to vehicles.

The normal practice of asking a boat to stop and be boarded would continue and if with the proposed extra authority a boat that is boarded is found not to have been fishing, then officers would cease any inspection and disembark.

Recommendation

The Minister commissions the following two amendments to the Sea Fisheries (Jersey) Law 1994:

A new enabling power for the Minister to close areas, fisheries or methods of exploiting fisheries on a seasonal or time basis by directive.

An amended power for Fishery Officers to permit them to stop, board and inspect any boat.

The Minister instructs the Senior Fisheries Inspector to submit appropriate law drafting instructions to the Senior Law draftsman.

Written by:	Senior Fisheries Inspector

Approved by:	Andrew Scate – CEO Planning and Environment

Attachments:

Ministerial Decision ref: MD-E-2009 -0217

27/11/09