Page 35 - Lawtext Environmental Liabilty Journal Example

102 The UK draft Marine Bill : Wotton [2008] 3 Env. Liability
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Agency. IFCAs will have the power to make byelaws for Chapter 3 relates to fisheries enforcement and gives
the management of sea fisheries resources within their powers to officers to inspect and seize objects at sea, to
districts, as well as for wider environmental purposes such seize fish and fishing gear for the purposes of forfeiture, 6
as the protection of species and habitats from fishing activity. to detain vessels in connection with court proceedings, and
They will be funded by local authorities, who in turn will to require production of certain equipment (any automatic
receive funding from Defra. How effective these IFCAs are recording or transmitting equipment used in relation to
will depend a lot on how much funding is committed to licence conditions).
their functions. Chapter 4 deals with marine licensing and enables
Defra is expected to consult later this year on the enforcement officers to require a person to give details of
secondary legislation for establishing the network of any substance or objects on board their vehicle, vessel,
districts. aircraft or marine structure.

Part 7: Fisheries Part 9: Coastal access
Part 7 of the draft Bill makes amendments to the Sea Fish This part of the draft Bill dealing with coastal access falls
(Conservation) Act 1967 and the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) outside the main purpose of the Bill, and was added as result
Act 1967. Notable amendments to the Sea Fish of research carried out by Natural England into the access
(Conservation) Act 1967 include: situation to coastal areas. Previously provision for extending
access to the coast was made in the Countryside and Rights
• Greater flexibility to enable charges for commercial of Way Act 2000.
licences to be levied according to different classes of Briefly, clause 272 imposes a duty on the Secretary of
vessels and gears (in England and Wales). At present State and Natural England to provide access to coastal areas
the government does not use its powers under the Act by way of two objectives: a route around the whole of the
to charge for commercial fishing licences. English coast consisting of one or more long-distance routes
• An extension of powers to regulate recreational sea and available to the public for recreational journeys on foot
angling from the shore and other unregulated fishing or by ferry, and a margin of land along the length of the coast
activity. These powers allow the introduction of which the public can enjoy, known as ‘spreading room’.
restrictions on the number and size of a particular It will be interesting to see how these proposals will fit
species of fish caught (and retained). In light of the in with proposals to protect the marine environment, in
proposals for increased access to coastal areas for particular the creation of MCZs, as there is potentially a
recreational use (Part 9), such regulation is important. conflict between conservation interests and public
recreation (for example, fishing, and power boating).
Amendments to the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967 bring Parts 10 and 11 of the draft Bill deal with Miscellaneous
about changes to reduce the cost and burden, and to and Supplementary Provisions respectively.
improve enforcement, of orders under that Act.
The provisions relating to migratory and freshwater
fisheries in Chapter 3 of Part 7 were not included in the The proposals: seas of change?
Marine Bill White Paper, but implement the principal Without doubt, the provisions of the draft Bill propose a
recommendations of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries system of marine management and protection which has
Review published in March 2000. Responsibility for long been needed and demanded. The current legislation
migratory and freshwater fisheries will remain with the is unwieldy and complex, making it difficult for both
Environment Agency, with the Agency’s management and applicants and decision makers when it comes to activities
enforcement tools being modernised. affecting the marine environment. The complexity of the
system, and lack of regulation and enforcement powers,
Part 8: Enforcement has failed to provide the protection our seas so desperately
This part of the Bill sets out the various powers for officers need.
to carry out their enforcement functions effectively. The
‘common enforcement powers’ set out in Chapter 2 include
power to board and inspect vessels, power to enter and
The power is therefore limited to instances where the court
inspect premises and vehicles, powers to require production 6 may use its powers to order forfeiture of the fish in respect of the
of documents and powers of seizure. offence committed.

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