Article 7 Powers of British sea-fishery officers on land

(1)

Any British sea-fishery officer may—

(a)

enter at any reasonable time any premises used for carrying on any business in connection with the operation of fishing boats or activities connected therewith or ancillary thereto or with the treatment, storage or sale of sea fish;

(b)

take with him such other persons as appear to him to be necessary;

(c)

examine any fish on the premises and require persons on the premises to do anything which appears to him to be necessary for facilitating the examination;

(d)

require any person on the premises to produce any documents which are in his custody or possession relating to the catching, landing, trans-shipment, sale or disposal of any sea fish;

(e)

take copies of any such document.

(2)

If a justice of the peace is satisfied on information on oath that there is reasonable ground for suspecting that an offence under article 3 of this Order has been committed, and that evidence of the commission of such an offence is to be found on any such premises, he may issue a warrant in writing authorising a British sea-fishery officer to enter those premises, if necessary by force, at any time within fourteen days from the time of the issue of the warrant and search them; and any British sea-fishery officer who enters the premises under the authority of the warrant may—

(a)

take with him such other persons as appear to him to be necessary; and

(b)

seize and remove any documents or other things whatsoever found on the premises which he has reasonable cause to believe may be required as evidence for the purposes of proceedings in respect of such an offence.

(3)

In the application of paragraph (2) of this article to Scotland, the reference to a justice of the peace includes a reference to the sheriff and a stipendiary magistrate.