To ask the Scottish Government how many people were prosecuted on the suspicion of committing an offence in Scotland listed in the Sea Fish Conservation Act 1967, broken down by offence, in each year since 2021.
The Scottish Government does not have the powers to prosecute Marine and Fisheries offences, these powers lie with the Crown Office Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) who prosecute on our behalf. This is a technical point.
The 1967 Act is a parent act under which orders were made, it is therefore more likely that any offence would be taken against a subordinate order rather than the act itself. Other acts have also superseded the 1967 Act, such as the Fisheries Act 2020, which is where licensing powers comes from. Any licence breaches are therefore pursued under the 2020 Act.
Additionally, the Scottish Government has powers to issue Fixed Penalty Notices (FPN) in lieu of reporting cases to the COPFS. Most cases where a penalty was deemed appropriate were dealt with in this way. Details of FPNs are published, link Reporting statistics from marine and fisheries compliance - gov.scot
Table detailing cases prosecuted under the 1967 Act or subordinate orders.
Year | Offence type | 1967 Act |
2021 | MPA & other protected/restricted areas | |
2022 | No prosecutions | |
2023 | MPA & other protected/restricted areas | |
| Unlicensed hobby fishermen | 1 with COPFS |
2024 | No prosecutions | |
| | |