No. 37.-1883, August 2: British Statute, 46 and 47 Vict., Cap. 22.

An Act to carry into effect an International Convention concerning the fisheries in the North Sea, and to amend the Laws relating to British Sea Fisheries.

[2nd August 1883.]

Be it enacted by the Queen's Most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

1. This Act may be cited as the Sea Fisheries Act, 1883.

CONFORMATION OF CONVENTION.

2. The Convention set out in the first schedule to this Act (referred to in this Act as the Convention) is hereby confirmed, and the Articles thereof shall be of the same force as if they were enacted in the body of this Act.

FISHERY REGULATIONS.

3. It shall be lawful for Her Majesty from time to time, by Order in Council, to make, alter, and revoke regulations for carrying into execution this Act, and the intent and object thereof, and for the maintenance of good order among sea fishing boats, and the persons belonging thereto, and to impose fines not exceeding ten pounds for the breach of such regulations.

4. If within the exclusive fishery limits of the British Islands any person, or if outside those limits any person belonging to a British sea-fishing boat,

(a.) acts in contravention of Articles thirteen to twenty-two (both inclusive) of the first schedule to this Act, or any of them; or,

(b.) causes injury to any person in any one or more of the following ways, namely, by assaulting any one belonging to another sea-fishing boat, or by causing damage to another seafishing boat, or to any property on board thereof, or belonging thereto; or

(c.) fishes for oysters or has on board his boat any oyster dredge within any seas and during any time within and during

which oyster fishing is prohibited by law, or by any Convention, Treaty, or Arrangement to which this Act may be hereafter applied;

such persons shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or, in the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, with or without hard labour.

5. If within the exclusive fishery limits of the British Islands, and person, or if outside those limits any person belonging to a British sea-fighting boat,

(a.) Uses any instrument for the purpose of damaging or destroying, by cutting or otherwise, any fishing implement belonging to another sea-fishing boat, except in the cases provided for by Articles twenty and twenty-one of the first Schedule to this Act; or,

(b.) Takes on board or has on board such boat any instrument serving only or intended to damage or destroy fishing implements, by cutting or otherwise;

such person shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or in the discretion of the Court to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, with or without hard labour, and the instrument shall be liable to be forfeited.

6. The regulations respecting lights for the time being in force under the Acts relating to merchant shipping shall, so far as they relate to sea-fishing boats, be deemed to be provisions of this Act and may be enforced accordingly, and a sea-fishery officer shall for that purpose, in addition to his powers under this Act, have the same powers as are given to any officer by the said Acts relating to merchant shipping.

EXCLUSIVE FISHERY LIMITS.

7. (1.) A foreign sea-fishing boat shall not enter within the exclusive fishery limits of the British Islands, except for purposes recognized by international law, or by any Convention, Treaty, or Arrangement for the time being in force between Her Majesty and any Foreign State, or for any lawful purpose.

(2.) If a foreign sea-fishing boat enters the exclusive fishery limits of the British Islands,

(a.) The boat shall return outside of the said limits so soon as the purpose for which it entered has been answered;

(b.) No person on board the boat shall fish or attempt to fish while the boat remains within the said limits;

(c.) Such regulations as Her Majesty may from time to time prescribe by Order in Council shall be duly observed.

(3.) In the event of any contravention of this section on the part of any foreign sea-fishing boat, or of any person belonging thereto, the master or person for the time being in charge of such boat, shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding, in the case of the first offence, ten pounds, and in the case of a second or any subsequent offence, twenty pounds.

REGISTRY OF BRITISH SEA-FISHING BOATS.

8. (1.) Sections twenty-two, twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-six of the Sea Fisheries Act, 1868 (which relate to the registry of British sea-fishing boats), shall have effect as if Articles five to twelve (both inclusive) of the first Schedule to this Act were therein referred to in addition to the Articles of the first Schedule to that Act in the said sections mentioned, and as if offences under this Act were offences in the said sections mentioned; provided that nothing in the said sections shall be deemed to authorize any foreign sea-fishery officer to do anything which he is not, under the first Schedule to this Act, authorized to do.

577 (2.) Section one hundred and seventy-six of the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, shall not apply to any British seafishing boat entered or registered in pursuance of the said sections of the Sea Fisheries Act, 1868.

MISCELLANEOUS.

9. (1.) There shall not be manufactured or sold or exposed for sale at any place within the British Islands, any instrument serving only or intended to damage or destroy fishing implements, by cutting or otherwise.

(2.) In the event of any contravention of this section a person guilty thereof shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or, in the discretion of the Court, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three months, with or without hard labour, and the instrument shall be liable to be forfeited.

10. The boats and things specified in Article twenty-five of the first Schedule to this Act shall be deemed to be "wreck" within the meaning of any Acts relating to merchant shipping, so however that the provisions of the said Article shall be duly observed.

ENFORCEMENT OF ACT.

11. (1.) The provisions of this Act and of any Order in Council under this Act or under the sections of the Sea-Fisheries Act, 1868, amended by this Act shall be enforced by sea-fishery officers, either British or foreign.

(2.) The following persons shall be British sea-fishery officers; that is to say, every officer of or appointed by the Board of Trade, every commissioned officer of any of Her Majesty's Ships on full pay, every officer authorized in that behalf by the Admiralty, every British Consular Officer, every Collector and Principal Officer of Customs in any place in the British Islands, and every officer of Customs in the British Islands authorized in that behalf by the Commissioners of Customs, every divisional officer of the Coastguard, and every principal officer of a Coastguard station.

(3.) The following persons shall be foreign sea-fishery officers, that is to say, the commander of any vessel belonging to the Government of any foreign State bound by the Convention, and any officer appointed by a foreign State for the purpose of enforcing the Convention, or otherwise recognized by Her Majesty as a sea-fishery officer of a foreign State.

12. For the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Act and of any Order in Council under this Act or under the Sea Fisheries Act, 1868, as amended by this Act, a British sea-fishery officer may with respect to any sea-fishing boat within the exclusive limits of the British Islands and with respect to any British sea-fishing boat outside of those limits exercise the following powers:

(1.) He may go on board it;

(2.) He may require the owner, master, and crew, or any of them, to produce any certificates of registry, licences, official logbooks, official papers, articles of agreement, muster rolls, and other documents relating to the boat, or to the crew, or to any member thereof, or to any person on board the boat,

which are in their respective possession or control on board the boat, and may take copies thereof or of any part thereof; (3.) He may muster the crew of the boat;

(4.) He may require the master to appear and give any explana

tion concerning his boat and her crew, and any person on board his boat, and the said certificates of registry, licences, official logbooks, official papers, articles or agreement, muster rolls, and other documents, or any of them;

(5.) He may examine all sails, lights, small boats, anchors, grapnels, and fishing implements belonging to the boat;

(6.) He may seize any instrument serving only or intended to damage or destroy fishing implements, by cutting or otherwise, which is found on board the boat or in the possession of any person belonging to the boat;

(7.) He may make any examination or inquiry which he deems necessary to ascertain whether any contravention of the provisions of this Act, or of any such Order of Council as aforesaid has been committed, or to fix the amount of compensation due for any damage done to another sea-fishing boat, or to any person or property on board thereof or belonging thereto, and may administer an oath for such purpose; and

(8.) In the case of any person who appears to him to have committed any such contravention he may, without summons, warrant, or other process, both take the offender and the boat to which he belongs and the crew thereof to the nearest or most convenient port, and bring him or them before a competent Court, and detain him, it, and them in the port until the alleged contravention has been adjudicated upon. 13. For the purpose of carrying into effect the Convention, and of exercising and performing the powers and duties thereby vested in and imposed on cruisers and commanders of cruisers, a foreign sea-fishery officer may, with respect to any British sea-fishing boat and any sea-fishery officer, whether British or foreign, may, with respect to any foreign sea-fishing boat to which this Act for the time being applies, exercise any of the powers conferred by this Act on British sea-fishery officers.

Provided that

(a.) Nothing in this section shall authorize a sea-fishery officer to do anything not authorized by the Convention; and

(b.) The port to which any sea-fishing boat or any person belonging thereto is taken shall, except where the nationality of such boat is not evidenced by official papers, be a port of the State to which such boat belongs.

14. (1.) A sea-fishery officer shall be entitled to the same protection in respect of any action or suit brought against him for any 578 act done or omitted to be done in the execution of his duty

under this Act, as is given to any officer of Customs by the Customs Consolidation Act, 1876, or any Act amending the same, and (with reference to the seizure or detention of any ship) by any Act relating to the registry of British ships.

(2.) If any person obstructs any sea-fishery officer in acting under the powers conferred by this Act, or refuse or neglect to comply with any requisition or direction lawfully made or given by, or to

answer any question lawfully asked by, any sea-fishery officer in pursuance of this Act, such person shall be liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds, or to be imprisoned for a term not exceeding three months, with or without hard labour.

LEGAL PROCEEDINGS.

15. (1.) Where on the conviction of any person under this Act for an offence it appears to the Court that any injury to person or property has been caused by the offence, the Court may by such conviction adjudge the person convicted to pay in addition to any fine a reasonable sum as compensation for such injury, and such sum may be recovered as a fine under this Act and when recovered shall be paid to the person injured.

(2.) Any compensation specified in a document signed in accordance with Article thirty-three of the first Schedule to this Act or fixed by a sea-fishery officer in accordance with any submission to arbitration may be recovered as a simple contract debt, and in England may also be recovered as a civil debt before a Court of summary jurisdiction.

(3.) In a proceeding against any person for recovery of such last-mentioned compensation, the formal document referred to in the said Article, or an award of a sea-fishery officer in pursuance of a submission to arbitration signed by the person liable to pay such compensation, shall be sufficient evidence that such person is liable to pay the compensation specified in such document or award. 16. (1.) Öffences under this Act may (save as otherwise provided) be prosecuted, and fines under this Act may be recovered in a summary manner; that is to say,—

(a.) In England before a Justice or Justices, in manner provided by the Summary Jurisdiction (English) Acts;

(b.) In Scotland in manner provided by the Summary Jurisdiction (Scotland) Acts, 1864 and 1881;

(c.) In Ireland within the police district of Dublin metropolis in manner provided by the Acts regulating the powers and duties of the Justices of the peace of such district, or of the police of such district, and elsewhere in Ireland in manner provided by the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Acts, 1851, and the Acts amending the same;

(d.) In the Isle of Man, and the Islands of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, and Sark respectively, before any Court, Governor, Deputy Governor, Deemster, Jurat, or other Magistrate, in the manner in which the like offences and fines are by law prosecuted and recovered, or as near thereto as circumstances admit.

(2.) If any person feels aggrieved by any conviction under this Act by a Court of summary jurisdiction, or by any determination_or adjudication of such Court with respect to any compensation under this Act, he may, where imprisonment is awarded without the option of a fine, or the sum adjudged to be paid exceeds five pounds, appeal therefrom as follows:

(a.) In England the appeal shall be to Quarter Sessions in manner provided by the Summary Jurisdiction (English) Acts;