Commentary on provisions of Act Schedule 1: Fisheries statements and management plans: preparation and publication Part 1: Joint fisheries statement
In relation to the JFS, paragraph 2 requires the fisheries policy authorities to jointly prepare a consultation draft of the statement, publish it and take such steps as they consider appropriate to ensure that it is brought to the attention of "interested persons", which is defined in sub-paragraph (3) and includes members of the public.
	Sub-paragraph (2) requires the fisheries policy authorities to have regard to any responses to the consultation.
	Paragraph (3) requires each fisheries policy authority to specify a period of scrutiny of the draft JFS by their legislature, and to lay a copy of the consultation draft before their legislature on or before the first day of the scrutiny period. If one or more of the legislatures pass a resolution or makes a recommendation on the draft JFS, the fisheries policy authority or authorities in question would then have to lay a statement setting out its response.
	Paragraph 4 states that once the procedure detailed above has been completed and the fisheries policy authorities have decided on the final text of the JFS, they must publish the document as soon as reasonably practicable.