Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1978

Detention of boats and persons charged or to be charged pending prosecution.

13.—Chapter IV of Part XIII of the Principal Act is hereby amended by the substitution of the following section for section 234:

“234.—(1) Where a sea fisheries protection officer has in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 233 detained a boat and the persons on board the boat at a port he shall, as soon as may be, bring the master of the boat and any other persons on board the boat against whom proceedings for an offence under a provision of Chapter II or III of this Part have been or are about to be instituted before a District Justice or, where no District Justice is immediately available, a Peace Commissioner, and thereupon the District Justice or Peace Commissioner (as the case may be) shall, if he is satisfied that such proceedings have been or are about to be instituted against the master and those other persons or any one or more of them, by order directed to a sea fisheries protection officer require the officer to detain at a specified port in the State the boat and each person (including the master) aforesaid in respect of whom he is so satisfied until such proceedings have been adjudicated upon by a District Justice under section 8 or 13 of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1967 , or under section 2 (2) of the Fisheries (Amendment) Act, 1978, or otherwise in the exercise of his summary jurisdiction.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the District Justice concerned may, in his discretion, order the release on bail of a person against whom proceedings for any such offence as aforesaid have been instituted before those proceedings have been adjudicated upon as aforesaid by the District Justice.”.