Sea Fishing (Enforcement of Community Satellite Monitoring Measures) (Wales) Order 2000 (S.I. No. 1078 (W. 71 of 2000).

This Order creates offences in respect of breaches of the provisions referred to in art. 4 of this Order, including breaches of Articles 6.1 and 6.2 of Commission Regulation (EC) No. 1489/97. Articles 6.1 and 6.2 require the required information (as defined in art. 2(1) of the Order) to be sent to the flag Member State and the concerned coastal Member State by alternative means, at least every 24 hours, in the event of a technical failure or non-function of either a satellite tracking device installed on a fishing boat or the vessel monitoring system of the flag Member State. Also, in the event of a technical failure or non-function of a satellite tracking device the owner is required to have it repaired or replaced within one month or, where such event occurs during a fishing trip that lasts for more than one month, as soon as the fishing boat enters a port. The master of the fishing boat is not authorized to commence a new fishing trip until the satellite tracking device has been so repaired or replaced. Penalties for contravention of the provisions referred to in art. 4 of this Order are to be found in art. 5 of the Order. For the purpose of enforcing this Order British sea-fishery officers are given, within the territorial sea adjacent to Wales, powers to board fishing boats, to search, examine and test the equipment of the boat, to require the production of documents and to take the boat to the nearest convenient port (art. 7). Provision is also made for the prosecution of offences of changing the identification of a satellite tracking device installed on a fishing boat or removing the device from the boat without prior authorization (art. 4(3)), interfering with transmissions from the device or knowingly furnishing false information (art. 4(4)), and obstruction of British sea-fishery officers (art. 9). Penalties following conviction are set out in arts. 5(2) and 9.