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SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - LONG TITLE

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.{1}
[2nd August 1883]
Preliminary

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 1

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

Confirmation of Convention.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 2

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.

Power to make regulations.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 3

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.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 4
Punishment for violation of Articles 13 to 22 of Convention, and
for other offences.

4. If within [British fishery limits] 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 anyone belonging to another sea-fishing
boat, or by causing damage to another sea-fishing 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;

Punishment for violation of Article 23 of Convention.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 5

5. If within [British fishery limits], any person, or if outside
those limits any person belonging to a British sea-fishing 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;

Ss.610 rep. by 1894 c.60 s.745(1) sch.22; 1953 c.14 (NI) s.1(2);
1968 c.77 s.22 sch.2 Pt.II

Who are to be British and foreign sea-fishery officers.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 11

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 authorised in that behalf by the [Secretary of
State], 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 authorised 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 recognised by Her Majesty as a sea-fishery
officer of a Foreign State.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 12
Powers of British sea-fishery officers.

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 [British fishery
limits] 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 explanation
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 of agreement, muster rolls, and
other documents, or any of them;

(5)He may examine all sales, 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.

S.13 rep. by 1968 c.77 s.22 sch.2 Pt.II

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 14
Protection of and punishment for obstructing sea-fishery officer.

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 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 refuses or neglects 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, ....

Compensation for damage caused by offence.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 15

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 the 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.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 16
Summary prosecution of offences and recovery of fines.

16.(1) Offences 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

(c)In Ireland ... in manner provided by the Petty Sessions (Ireland)
Act, 1851, and the Acts amending the same;

(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:

(b)In Ireland the appeal shall be to the court of quarter sessions
in manner directed by the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act, 1851, and
the Acts amending the same.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 17
Evidence.

17.(1) Any document drawn up in pursuance of the first schedule to
this Act shall be admissible in any proceeding, civil or criminal,
as evidence of the facts or matters therein stated.

(2) If evidence contained in any such document was taken on oath
in the presence of the person charged in such evidence, and such
person had an opportunity of cross-examining the person giving such
evidence and of making his reply to such evidence, the sea-fishery
officer drawing up such document may certify the said facts, or any
of them.

(3) Any document or certificate in this section mentioned purporting
to be signed by a sea-fishery officer shall be admissible in
evidence without proof of such signature, and, if purporting to be
signed by any other person, shall, if certified by a sea-fishery
officer to have been so signed, be deemed until the contrary is
proved to have been signed by such other person.

(4) If any person forges the signature of a sea-fishery officer to
any such document as above mentioned, or makes use of any such
document knowing the signature thereto to be forged, such person
shall be liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding three months ....

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 18
Jurisdiction of courts.

18. For the purpose of giving jurisdiction to courts under this
Act, a sea-fishing boat shall be deemed to be a ship within the
meaning of any Act relating to offences committed on board a ship,
and every court shall have the same jurisdiction over a foreign
sea-fishing boat within [British fishery limits], and persons
belonging thereto, as such court would have if such boat were a
British sea-fishing boat.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 19
Service to be good if made personally or on board ship.

19. Service of any summons or other matter in any legal proceeding
under this Act shall be good service if made personally on the
person to be served, or at his last place of abode, or if made
by leaving such summons for him on board any sea-fishing boat to
which he may belong, with the person being or appearing to be in
command or charge of such boat.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 20
Masters of boats liable to fines imposed.

20.(1) Where any offence against this Act has been committed by
some person belonging to a sea-fishing boat, the master or person
for the time being in charge of such boat shall in every case be
liable to be deemed guilty of such offence; provided that if he
proves that he issued proper orders for the observance, and used
due diligence to enforce the observance, of this Act, and that the
offence in question was actually committed by some other person
without his connivance, and that the actual offender has been
convicted, or that he has taken all practical means in his power
to prosecute such offender (if alive) to conviction, he shall not
be liable to any further punishment than payment of compensation for
any injury caused by the offence.

(2) Any fine or compensation adjudged under this Act may be
recovered in the ordinary way, or, if the court think fit so to
order, by distress or poinding and sale of the sea-fishing boat to
which the offender belongs, and her tackle, apparel, and furniture
and any property on board thereof or belonging thereto, or any part
thereof; provided that, where the boat is a foreign sea-fishing
boat, the court may order that in lieu of any such distress the
boat may be detained in some port in the British Islands for a
period not exceeding three months from the date of the conviction,
and the boat may be detained accordingly, and in such case shall
not be distrained.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 21
Application of fines.

21.(1) The court adjudging any fine or forfeiture under this Act
may, if it think fit, direct the whole or any part thereof to be
applied in or towards payment of the expenses of the proceedings;
and, subject to such direction, all fines and the proceeds of all
forfeitures recovered under this Act shall, notwithstanding anything
in any Act relating to municipal corporations or otherwise, be paid
into the Exchequer, in such manner as the Treasury may direct.

(2) Forfeitures may be destroyed, sold, and disposed of as the
court adjudging the forfeiture may direct.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 22
Saving of liability and rights.

22.(1) Nothing in this Act shall prevent any person being liable
under any other Act or otherwise to any indictment, proceeding,
punishment, or penalty, other than is provided for any offence by
this Act, so that no person be punished twice for the same
offence.

(2) Nothing in this Act, or in any Order in Council made
thereunder, nor any proceedings under such Act or Order with respect
to any matter, shall alter the liability of any person in any
action or suit with reference to the same matter, so that no
person shall be required to pay compensation twice in respect of
the same injury.

Ss.23 (with saving), 24 rep. by 1968 c.77 s.22 sch.2 Pt.II

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 25
General application of Act.

25. ... this Act shall apply to the whole of the British Islands
as defined by this Act, and to the seas surrounding the same,
whether within or without [British fishery limits] ...

Publication of Orders in Council.

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 26

26. Orders in Council made in pursuance of this Act shall be
published in the London Gazette, or otherwise published in such
manner as the Board of Trade may direct for such sufficient time
before they come into force as to prevent inconvenience.

S.27 rep. by 1952 c.44 s.320 sch.12 Pt.I

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 28
Definitions.

28. In this ActThe expression "sea-fishing" ... means the fishing
for every description both of fish, and shell fish, found in the
seas to which this Act applies; and the expression "sea fisherman"
and other expressions relating to sea-fishing shall be construed
accordingly:The expression "sea-fishing boat" includes every vessel of
whatever size, and in whatever way propelled, which is used by any
person in sea-fishing, or in carrying on the business of a sea
fisherman:The expression "fishing implement" means any net, line,
float, barrel, buoy, or other instrument, engine, or implement used
or intended to be used for the purpose of sea fishing:The
expression "British Islands" includes the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Ireland, the Isle of Man, the Islands of Guernsey,
Jersey, Alderney, and Sark, and their dependencies:

Definitions rep. by SLR 1898; 1964 c.72 s.3 sch.2The expression
"person" includes a body of persons corporate or unincorporate:The
expression "court" includes any tribunal or magistrate exercising
jurisdiction under this Act.

S.29 rep. by SLR 1898. S.30 rep. by SLR 1898; 1964 c.72 s.3 sch.2

SEA FISHERIES ACT 1883 - SECT 31
Continuance of Act.

31. So much of this Act as has effect outside of [British fishery
limits] shall, if the Convention ceases to be binding on Her
Majesty, cease to apply to the boats and officers of any Foreign
State bound by the Convention, and if the Convention ceases to be
binding on any Foreign State shall cease to apply to the boats and
officers of such State, but subject as aforesaid this Act shall
continue in force notwithstanding the determination of the Convention.

Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland; His Majesty the Emperor of Germany, King of Prussia; His
Majesty the King of the Belgians; His Majesty the King of Denmark;
the President of the French Republic; and His Majesty the King of
the Netherlands, having recognised the necessity of regulating the
police of the fisheries in the North Sea, outside territorial
waters, have resolved to conclude for this purpose a Convention, and
have named their Plenipotentiaries as follows:

Names and styles of plenipotentiaries

Who, after having communicated the one to the other their full
powers, found in good and due form, have agreed upon the following
Articles:

Arts.IXII rep. by 1968 c.77 s.22 sch.2 Pt.II

The nationality of a boat must not be concealed in any manner
whatsoever.

No fishing boat shall anchor, between sunset and sunrise, on grounds
where drift-net fishing is actually going on.

This prohibition shall not, however, apply to anchorings which may
take place in consequence of accidents or of any other compulsory
circumstances.

Boats arriving on the fishing grounds shall not either place
themselves or shoot their nets in such a way as to injure each
other, or as to interfere with fishermen who have already commenced
their operations.

Whenever, with a view of drift-net fishing, decked boats and
undecked boats commence shooting their nets at the same time, the
undecked boats shall shoot their nets to the windward of the decked
boats.

The decked boats, on their part, shall shoot their nets to leeward
of the undecked boats.

As a rule, if decked boats shoot their nets to windward of
undecked boats which have begun fishing, or if undecked boats shoot
their nets to leeward of decked boats which have begun fishing, the
responsibility as regards any damages to nets which may result shall
rest with the boats which last began fishing, unless they can prove
that they were under stress of compulsory circumstances, or that the
damage was not caused by their fault.

No net or any other fishing engine shall be set or anchored on
grounds where drift-net fishing is actually going on.

No fisherman shall make fast or hold on his boat to the nets,
buoys, floats, or any other part of the fishing tackle of another
fisherman.

When trawl fishermen are in sight of drift-net or of long-line
fishermen, they shall take all necessary steps in order to avoid
doing injury to the latter. Where damage is caused, the
responsibility shall lie on the trawlers, unless they can prove that
they were under stress of compulsory circumstances, or that the loss
sustained did not result from their fault.

When nets belonging to different fishermen get foul of each other,
they shall not be cut without the consent of both parties.

All responsibility shall cease if the impossibility of disengaging
the nets by any other means is proved.

When a boat fishing with long lines entangles her lines in those
of another boat, the person who hauls up the lines shall not cut
them except under stress of compulsory circumstances, in which case
any line which may be cut shall be immediately joined together
again.

Except in cases of salvage and the cases to which the two
preceding articles relate, no fisherman shall, under any pretext
whatever, cut, hook, or lift up nets, lines, or other gear not
belonging to him.

The use of any instrument or engine which serves only to cut or
destroy nets is forbidden.

The presence of any such engine on board a boat is also forbidden.

The high contracting parties engage to take the necessary measures
for preventing the embarkation of such engines on board fishing
boats.

Arts.XXIVXXIX rep. by 1968 c.77 s.22 sch.2 Pt.II

The commanders of the cruizers of the Signatory Powers shall
exercise their judgment as to the gravity of facts brought to their
knowledge, and of which they are empowered to take cognizance, and
shall verify the damage, from whatever cause arising, which may be
sustained by fishing boats of the nationalities of the high
contracting parties.

They shall draw up, if there is occasion for it, a formal
statement of the verification of the facts as elicited both from
the declarations of the parties interested and from the testimony of
those present.

The commander of the cruizer may, if the case appears to him
sufficiently serious to justify the step, take the offending boat
into a port of the nation to which the fishermen belong. He may
even take on board the cruizer a part of the crew of the fishing
boat in order to hand them over to the authorities of her nation.

The formal statement referred to in the preceding Article shall be
drawn up in the language of the commander of the cruizer, and
according to the forms in use in his country.

The accused and the witnesses shall be entitled to add, or to have
added, to such statement, in their own language, any observations or
evidence which they make think suitable. Such declarations must be
duly signed.

Art.XXXII rep. by 1968 c.77 s.22 sch.2 Pt.II

When the act alleged is not of a serious character, but has
nevertheless caused damage to any fisherman, the commanders of
cruizers shall be at liberty, should the parties concerned agree to
it, to arbitrate at sea between them, and to fix the compensation
to be paid.

Where one of the parties is not in a position to settle the
matter at once, the commanders shall cause the parties concerned to
sign in duplicate a formal document specifying the compensation to
be paid.

One copy of this document shall remain on board the cruizer, and
the other shall be handed to the master of the boat to which
compensation is due, in order that he may, if necessary, be able
to make use of it before the Courts of the country to which the
debtor belongs.

Where, on the contrary, the parties do not consent to arbitration,
the commanders shall act in accordance with the provisions of
Article XXX.

Arts.XXXIVXXXIX rep. by 1968 c.77 s.22 sch.2 Pt.II

The Government of His Majesty the King of Sweden and Norway may
adhere to the present convention, for Sweden and for Norway, either
jointly or separately.

This adhesion shall be notified to the Netherlands Government, and
by it to the other Signatory Powers.

In witness whereof the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present
convention, and have affixed thereto their seals.

Done at the Hague, in six copies, the 6th May 1882.

Signatures of plenipotentiaries

Second Schedule rep. by SLR 1898; 1964 c.72 s.3 sch.2






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