UK Offence Report

Regulation of fishing operations

article 3(2) of The Sea Fishing Operations (Monitoring Devices) (Wales) Order 2022

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

2 Where the fishing boat is used in contravention of paragraph (1), the person in charge is guilty of an offence.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a person
Conduct
contravening a requirement of the instrument
Fault element
Strict liability
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove that the conduct happened. This is a strict liability offence as drafted: the provision uses no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence, so there is no need to show that a person meant to do it, knew about it, or was careless.

Intention, knowledge and carelessness are irrelevant to guilt. They may still matter a great deal to sentence.

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: no word of intention, knowledge, recklessness or negligence in the offence or its provision.

What would breach article 3(2)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Doing the thing the provision prohibits under the Sea Fishing Operations (Monitoring Devices) (Wales) Order 2022, whatever the reason for doing it.
  2. Where the requirement is a positive duty, letting the time for performing it pass without performing it.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
24 January 2022
In force from
15 February 2022
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Order) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

This Order applies in relation to Welsh fishing boats (wherever they may be) and relevant fishing boats fishing in Wales or the Welsh zone. It regulates fishing at sea and comes into force on 15 February 2022. Article 2 of this Order defines terms used in this Order, including the definition of “Welsh fishing boat” and “relevant fishing boat” for the purpose of this Order. Article 3, paragraph (1) of this Order requires Welsh fishing boats, when fishing at sea, and relevant fishing boats, when fishing in Wales or the Welsh zone, to have a monitoring device on board, to notify the Welsh Ministers of certain matters and for certain information (the required information) to be transmitted to the Welsh Ministers at least once in every ten minute period. Paragraph (2) of article 3 provides the owner, master and charterer (if any) (the person in charge) is guilty of an offence if the fishing boat is used on contravention of paragraph (1). Article 4 prescribes the required information that must be transmitted to the Welsh Ministers. Article 5 provides for continuing obligations on the person in charge regarding the monitoring device. Article 6 sets out certain requirements which apply to the person in charge in the event of the monitoring device becoming incapable of transmitting the required information. By virtue of section 5(4) of the Sea Fisheries Act 1968 (c. 77), breach of this Order constitutes an offence punishable on summary conviction by an unlimited fine. The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to this Order. As a result, a Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with this Order. A copy can be obtained from the Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff, CF10 3NQ.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person is “guilty of an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source