S.I. No. 224/1987:

HERRING (RESTRICTION ON FISHING IN THE IRISH SEA) ORDER, 1987.

HERRING (RESTRICTION ON FISHING IN THE IRISH SEA) ORDER, 1987.

I, BRENDAN DALY, Minister for the Marine, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 223A (inserted by section 9 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1978 (No. 18 of 1978), and amended by section 4 of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1983 (No. 27 of 1983)) of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 (No. 14 of 1959), and the Fisheries (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order, 1977 ( S.I. No. 30 of 1977 ) (as adapted by the Tourism, Fisheries and Forestry (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order, 1987 ( S.I. No. 82 of 1987 )) hereby order as follows:

1. This Order may be cited as the Herring (Restriction on Fishing in the Irish Sea) Order, 1987.

2. This Order shall come into operation on the 8th day of September, 1987.

3. (1) In this Order:

"the Communication" means the Communication from the Commission of the European Communities on the description of the ICES sub-areas and divisions used for the purposes of fisheries statistics and regulations in the North East Atlantic¹;

¹ O.J. No. C 140/3 of 3.6 1982.

"the specified area" means that part of the ICES Division VIIa) bounded to the south of the line of latitude 52 30' North;

"ICES Division VIIa)", means the part of the sea described in the Annex to the Communication and therein referred to as Division VIIa).

4. Neither an Irish sea-fishing boat nor a person on board an Irish sea-fishing boat shall engage in fishing for herring in the specified area and the master of an Irish sea-fishing boat shall not cause or permit the boat or any person on board to engage in such fishing in the specified area.

5. ( a ) An Irish sea-fishing boat shall not have herring on board within the specified area.

( b ) The master of an Irish sea-fishing boat shall not cause or permit the boat or any person on board to have herring on board within the specified area.

6. (1) The master of an Irish sea-fishing boat shall not cause or permit the boat to be used within the specified area for the transhipment of herring from an Irish sea-fishing boat.

(2) The master of a sea-fishing boat which is not an Irish sea-fishing boat shall not cause or permit the boat to be used within those parts of the exclusive fishery limits of the State which lie in the specified area for the transhipment of herring from an Irish sea-fishing boat.

7. (1) In a prosecution for an offence under Article 6 of this Order the following shall be prima facie evidence that the sea-fishing boat concerned was, at the time of the alleged offence, used for the transhipment of herring in contravention of that Article:

( a ) evidence that such sea-fishing boat had on board any books papers or other documents from which it appears to the court that on the day on which the offence is alleged to have been committed herring were received on board the boat otherwise than in the course of fishing, or

( b ) any admission by any person who is for the time being the master or other person in charge, or another member of the crew, of such sea-fishing boat that at such time it was so used.

(2) In a prosecution for an offence under Article 5 of this Order it shall be a defence for the defendant to prove that the herring to which the prosecution relates--

( a ) were taken in the course of fishing that did not contravene Article 4 of this Order; or

( b ) were taken outside the specified area.

8. In any proceedings in which a contravention of this Order is alleged prima facie evidence of the Communication may be given by the production of a copy of the Official Journal of the European Communities purporting to contain the Communication.

9. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Order, an Irish sea-fishing boat may have herring on board and land or tranship herring in the specified area if the herring were taken in the course of fishing for other species, and were inextricably mixed with catches of other species and did not exceed 10 per cent by weight of the total catch.

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 4th day of September, 1987.

BRENDAN DALY,

Minister for the Marine.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

This Order prohibits Irish sea-fishing boats fishing for, landing, transhipping or having herring on board in the Irish Sea except for a by-catch of herring comprising not more than ten per cent of the total catch on board at any one time and inextricably mixed with other species with effect from 8th September, 1987.