Explanatory note

Article 3(1) prohibits the keeping or release in Wales, without a licence issued under the Import of Live Fish (England and Wales) Act 1980 (“the Act”), of any species of live non-native freshwater fish, or the live eggs of any such fish, belonging to the taxonomic orders listed in the table in Part 1 of the Schedule.

This Order does not apply where a person holds a permit for the introduction of those fish under Council Regulation (EC) No. 708/2007 concerning use of alien and locally absent species in aquaculture or has been served with a notice permitting movement in relation to those fish under the Alien and Locally Absent Species in Aquaculture (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/2292) (article 1(4)). This Order also does not apply to the keeping or release of live fish in inland waters (article 1(5)). The prohibition in article 3(1) does not apply in relation to fish listed in the table in Part 2 of the Schedule (article 3(2)).

It is an offence under section 3 of the Act for any person to keep or release any of the species of fish listed in Part 1 of the Schedule to this Order without a valid licence. Section 3 also makes it an offence to contravene the terms of a licence. A person who breaches the offences in section 3 is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

Article 4 of this Order revokes the Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) Order 1998 (S.I. 1998/2409) (“the 1998 Order”) in relation to Wales. It also revokes the Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (Amendment) (Wales) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/416 (W.60)) and regulation 29 of the Alien and Locally Absent Species in Aquaculture (England and Wales) Regulations 2011 (S.I. 2011/2292) (“the 2011 Regulations”), both of which made amendments to the 1998 Order. The 1998 Order, the Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (Amendment) (England) Order 2003 (S.I. 2003/25) and regulation 29 of the 2011 Regulations were revoked in relation to England by the Prohibition of Keeping or Release of Live Fish (Specified Species) (England) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/143).

The Welsh Ministers’ Code of Practice on the carrying out of Regulatory Impact Assessments was considered in relation to this Order. As a result, a Regulatory Impact Assessment has been prepared as to the likely costs and benefits of complying with this Order. A copy can be obtained from Welsh Government, Cathays Park, Cardiff CF10 3NQ.