230.This section inserts a new section into the Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2013 (“the 2013 Act”).
231.The new section 60A places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to produce a report on the effectiveness of relevant penalties in ensuring compliance with sea fisheries legislation. The report is in relation to the Scottish enforcement area(22) and Scottish fishing boats, wherever they operate. “Sea fisheries legislation” is defined in section 53 of the 2013 Act and is to be construed in accordance with that definition (subsection (7)(b)). Subsection (2) sets out what the report must, in particular, cover. First, the report must set out the relevant penalties which the report covers, where “relevant penalties” are penalties that are contained in the sea fisheries legislation and that the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate to review (see subsection (7)(a)). Second, the report must set out why those relevant penalties have been selected. Third, the report must assess the effectiveness of those penalties in ensuring compliance with the sea fisheries legislation. Finally, the report must identify any changes to the penalties that the Scottish Ministers consider likely to improve compliance with the sea fisheries legislation. Other than these matters, subsection (3) clarifies that the report may also include anything else that the Scottish Ministers consider appropriate and which is related to the sea fisheries legislation.
232.In preparing the report, the Scottish Ministers must consult such persons as they consider appropriate (subsection (4)), and the report must be published within 2 years of section 60A coming into force (subsection (5)(a)). Before the report is published, it must be laid before the Scottish Parliament (subsection (5)(b)).
233.Subsection (6) allows the Scottish Ministers to make regulations to amend the level of penalties in sea fisheries legislation in connection with a change identified under subsection (2)(d). Any such regulations are subject to the affirmative procedure (section 44(3)).
The Act Report on penalties in sea fisheries legislation Section 44 – Report on penalties in sea fisheries legislation