Fisheries (Amendment)

Fisheries (Amendment) A LAW TO AMEND THE FISHERIES ORDINANCE. BE it enacted by the National State Assembly of the Republic of Sri Lanka as follows: – Short title. 1. This Law may be cited as the Fisheries (Amendment) Law, No. 20 of 1973. Replacement of section 15 of Chapter 212 2. Section 15 of the Fisheries Ordinance, hereinafter referred to as the ” principal enactment ” is hereby repealed and the following new section is substituted therefor: – ” Prohibition of possession, sale and transport of fish taken by poison, &c. 15. No person shall possess, sell, expose for sale or transport, any fish which has been taken by the use of any poisonous, explosive or stupefying substance, whether such fish has been taken in Ceylon waters or outside Ceylon waters: Provided that it shall be a defence for a person prosecuted for the possession or transport of any fish, to prove that he did not know, or had no reasonable cause to believe, that such fish had been taken by the use of any poisonous, explosive or stupefying substance.”. Amendment of section 20 of the principal enactment. 3. Section 20 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the substitution, for subsection (11) thereof, of the following new subsection: – ” (11) The Minister, after considering the report published under subsection (9) in respect of any fishing dispute and any representations made to him under subsection (10) with reference to that report, may make regulations regarding the subject-matter of that dispute or any matter relating thereto, connected therewith or arising therefrom, including regulations for the purpose (a) prohibiting, restricting or regulating the taking of fish in any specified part of Ceylon waters by persons not belonging to any specified group or section of persons; or (b) fixing different days or times during which different groups or sections of persons engaged in fishing may take fish in any specified part of Ceylon waters; or (c) cancelling the registration of any fishing net and of the owner thereof and registering, in place of such fishing net and owner, any other fishing net and the owner thereof.”. Insertion of new section 20a in the principal enactment. 4. The following new section is hereby inserted immediately after section 20, and shall have effect as section 20A, of the principal enactment: – “Interim Orders in respect of fishing disputes. 20A. (1) Where the Minister apprehends that any fishing dispute which has been referred for public inquiry and report under section 20 is likely to result in a breach of the peace, the Minister may, by Order published in the Gazette, make all such provisions in respect of the matters referred to in paragraph (a) or paragraph (6) or paragraph (c) of subsection (11) of that section as he may deem necessary to prevent such breach of the peace. (2) Any Order made by the Minister under subsection (1) in respect of any fishing dispute shall come into force on the date of its publication in the Gazette and shall cease to be in force on the date of the coming into force of regulations made by the Minister under section 20 in respect of that dispute: Provided that the Minister may, before the coming into force of such regulations, revoke the said Order by Order published in the Gazette.”. Amendment of section 22 of the principal enactment. 5. Section 22 of the principal enactment is hereby amended, by the substitution, for subsection (1) thereof, of the following new subsection: – ” (1) Any officer appointed under section 2 (1) may, if he has reason to believe that any offence under this Ordinance has been committed, seize and detain any fishing boat, or any fishing net or stake, or other equipment or instrument or any vehicle used in or in connection with the commission of the offence, or any fish in respect of which the offence is believed to have been committed.”. Amendment of section 23 of the principal enactment. 6. Section 23 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows:- (a) by the renumbering of that section as subsection (1) of that section; and (b) by the addition, at the end of that section, of the following new subsection: – ” (2) In any prosecution for a contravention of any of the provisions of section 14 in respect of any fish, it shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, that such fish was taken in Ceylon waters.”. Amendment of section 26 of the principal enactment. 7. Section 26 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the substitution, for subsections (2) and (3) of that section, of the following new subsections: – ” (2) Any person who acts in contravention of any provision of any regulation or of any Order made under section 20A or of any condition lawfully inserted in any fishing licence or permit granted under this Ordinance, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to a fine not exceeding five hundred rupees. (3) A person who acts in contravention of any provision of any regulation or of any Order made under section 20A shall, in addition to any other penalty which may be imposed under subsection (2), be liable to a fine of one hundred rupees for each day during which the contravention is continued after conviction thereof.”. Amendment of section 27 of the principal enactment. 8. Section 27 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the substitution, for subsection (1) of that section, of the following new subsection: – ” (1) Any person who acts in contravention of any of the provisions of section 14 or section 15 shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction after summary trial before a Magistrate, be liable to a fine not less than two thousand five hundred rupees or to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment or on a second or subsequent conviction to a fine not less than three thousand rupees or to imprisonment of either description for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.” Amendment of section 30 of the principal enactment. 9. Section 30 of the principal enactment is hereby amended by the substitution, for subsection (2) of that section, of the following new subsection:- ” (2) The Magistrate may, on the conviction of any person of any offence under this Ordinance, make order declaring that any fishing boat, or any fishing net or stake, or other equipment or instrument or any vehicle used in or in connection with the commission of the offence, or any fish in respect of which the offence was committed shall be forfeited to the Republic: Provided that in the case of a conviction of an offence under section 14 or section 15, the Magistrate shall make order as aforesaid unless it is proved that the fishing boat, fishing net or stake, or other equipment or instrument or vehicle belongs to a person other than the person convicted and that the owner thereof had no knowledge that it would be used in or in connection with the commission of the offence.”. Amendment of section 35 of the principal enactment. 10. Section 35 of the principal enactment is hereby amended as follows: – (a) by the substitution, for the definition of ” Ceylon waters “, of the following new definition: – ‘ ” Ceylon waters ” includes- (a) the territorial sea of Sri Lanka; and (b) all public bays, rivers, lakes, lagoons, estuaries, streams, tanks, pools, ponds and channels and all other public inland waters; “; and (b) by the omission of the definition of ” territorial waters “, and the substitution therefor, of the following new definition: – ” territorial sea of Sri Lanka ” means the part of the sea within a distance of twelve nautical miles measured from the appropriate baseline.’.