Hansard

Fishing: Obstruction of Government Agents

Volume 701: debated on Tuesday 20 May 2008

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Baroness Byford

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Why Article 12 (obstruction of officers) of the Sea Fishing (Prohibition on the Removal of Shark Fins) Order 2007 (SI 2007/2554) does not include provision for a term of imprisonment; and whether obstruction of government agents on land is a more serious offence than obstruction at sea or on land in relation to sea-going matters. [HL3526]

The Minister of State, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
(Lord Rooker)

According to Article 73(3) of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS):

“Coastal State penalties for violations of fisheries laws and regulations in the Exclusive Economic Zone may not include imprisonment, in the absence of agreements to the contrary by the States concerned, or any other form of Corporal Punishment”.

The penalties in the shark-finning order derive from the Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967, and these do not include imprisonment in line with UNCLOS.

Obstruction of British sea-fishery officers at sea or on land is treated very seriously. Where this amounts to assault or compromises safety at sea, offences will be prosecuted under the appropriate legislation.