Power to return shellfish to the sea before forfeiture
206.Paragraph 13 of schedule 2 provides that shellfish which may be liable for forfeiture under section 47 may be returned to the sea to continue to grow and mature even when such shellfish have not yet been forfeited under schedule 2 or ordered forfeit by a sheriff in response to an application made under paragraph 7 of schedule 2. This allows for the likely contingency that shellfish found below any minimum reference sizes may still be alive and could continue to grown and continue to contribute to the biomass of the species if they were returned immediately to the sea. Paragraph 12(2)-(5) of schedule 2, which makes provision for a sheriff to order the Scottish Ministers to pay compensation, also applies to shellfish.