§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland whether he will list the present differences in offences and penalties affecting salmon fisheries a.s between that part of the River Tweed which is in England and that part which is governed by the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976.
§ Mr. YoungerThe following is the information:
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Provision of Enactment Creating the Offence Description of Offence Penalties for First Offence Penalties for Second and Subsequent Offence Section 3 Illegal fishing by two or more persons acting together £50 or 3 months £200 or 3 months £100 and/or 3 months £400 and/or 6 months Section 4 Use of explosives, poisons and electrical devices £50 or 3 months £200 or 3 months £100 and/or 3 months £400 and'or 3 months Section 6 Unauthorised removal of dead salmon or trout £20 £100 £50 and/or 3 months £200 Section 10(6) Obstruction of a water bailiff, constable etc. £20 £100 and/or 3 months £50 and/or 3 months £100 and/or 3 months Section 13 (a) Fishing for salmon in the weekly close time (other than) by rod and line £20 £100 £50 and/or 3 months £200 (b) Fishing for salmon on Sundays by rod and line Section 15(2) Refusing or neglecting to provide statistics £20 £100 £50 and/or 3 months £100 Section 16 Contravening of regulations relating to the packing of salmon and trout £20 £50 £50 and/or 3 months £1000
§ Mr. Beithasked the Secretary of State for Scotland (1) on what evidence the Minister based his statement in column 261 of the report of Standing Committee D on the Fisheries Bill, that it was in error that the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976 contained a provision confining its application to Scotland;
what were the decisions of the Berwick magistrates to which the Minister referred in column 261 of the report of Standing Committee D on the Fisheries Bill, which he considered had brought to light an anomaly in section 6 of the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976;
what consultations took place with hon. Members affected and with interested bodies in England before the Government tabled a new clause to the Fisheries Bill, extending section 6 of the Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976 to that part of the River Tweed which is in England.
§ Mr. YoungerI am answering these questions in view of my responsibility for the 1976 Act.
By long-standing convention, Scottish salmon and freshwater fisheries legislaton generally applies to the whole of the River Tweed, including that part which flows 474W through England. The Freshwater and Salmon Fisheries (Scotland) Act 1976 inter alia raised the penalties for certain fishing offences. I am satisfied that the intended effect of the relevant provision was to apply the revised penalties to the whole of the Tweed in so far as the provisions in the earlier Scottsh legislation creating the offences so applied.
I recently received representations from the River Tweed commissioners and others following cases brought by the commissioners in which the Berwick magistrates imposed penalties which appeared to be related to the penalties applying prior to the 1976 Act. In the light of these representations and of the legal advice which I received, my right hon. Friend the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and 1 concluded that there was a defect in the Act which should be remedied. The circumstances of the matter were explained to the Committee which considered the relevant amendments which we tabled to the Fisheries Bill. Since this was not a question of introducing new policy, but simply of removing an anomaly from existing statutory provisions, it would have been inappropriate to consult hon. Members or interested parties in advance about the amendments.