UK Act of Parliament 1967 United Kingdom

Sea Fish (Conservation) Act 1967

An Act to consolidate (with corrections and improvements made under the Consolidation of Enactments (Procedure) Act 1949) certain enactments which provide for regulating the commercial use of, fishing for, and landing of, sea fish, and for authorising measures for the increase or improvement of marine resources.

Read the Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)
Status
Amended (in force with amendments)
Penalty ceiling
Imprisonment 9 of 11 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 1 carries different penalties and 1 has no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Any Person10 Director or Officer1

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts
Director or Officer — also bound by 429 other Acts
Companies Act 2006 126 duties

What it requires

Sections creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

s.001 Size limits, etc. for fish. (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Land, sell, or carry undersized fishAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.002 Size limits for fish for use in course of any business. (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Possess prohibited fish for business useAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.003 Regulation of nets and other fishing gear. (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Use of illegal nets or prohibited fishing gearAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.004 Licensing of vessels receiving trans-shipped fish Prosecution
  • Receive trans‑shipped fish without a licence or breach licence conditionsAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.004 Restrictions on time spent at sea—appeals. Regulated
  • Apply to the Sea Fish Licence Tribunal to review sea-time restrictionsAny Person
s.005 Power to restrict fishing for sea fish. (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Breach of sea fishing restrictions or gear stowage rulesAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.006 Prohibition on landing of sea fish caught in certain areas. (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Land or trans‑ship prohibited sea fishAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.007 Declarations required for purposes of orders under s. 6. (opens in a new tab) Imprisonment
  • Providing false declarations or failing to declare fish landingsAny Person
s.012 Offences by directors, partners, etc (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Liability of directors or partners for corporate fish offencesDirector or Officer

Unlimited fine

s.015 Powers of British sea-fishery officers for enforcement of Act. (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Obstruct or fail to assist a British sea-fishery officerAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.016 Enforcement of orders under ss. 1 and 2. (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Obstruction of or assault on a fishery enforcement officerAny Person

Unlimited fine

22 other provisions — procedural and definitional
s.004 Licensing of fishing boats. (opens in a new tab)
s.004 Regulations supplementary to section 4A.
s.004 Proceedings for offences relating to licences —evidence.
s.005 Powers to restrict fishing for marine environmental purposes.
s.008 Regulation of landing of foreign-caught sea fish. (opens in a new tab)
s.009 Exemption for operations for scientific and other purposes. (opens in a new tab)
s.010 Measures for increase or improvement of marine resources. (opens in a new tab)
s.011 Penalties for offences. (opens in a new tab)
s.013 Institution of proceedings by local fisheries committee. (opens in a new tab)
s.014 Jurisdiction of court to try offences. (opens in a new tab)
s.017 Enforcement of orders under s. 3. (opens in a new tab)
s.018 Enforcement of orders in relation to salmon and migratory trout. (opens in a new tab)
s.019 Financial provisions. (opens in a new tab)
s.020 Orders. (opens in a new tab)
s.021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. (opens in a new tab)
s.022 Interpretation. (opens in a new tab)
s.022 Application to Scotland
s.023 Northern Ireland. (opens in a new tab)
s.024 Isle of Man and Channel Islands. (opens in a new tab)
s.025 Repeals, savings and consequential amendment. (opens in a new tab)
s.026 Citation and commencement. (opens in a new tab)
s.enactments repealed ENACTMENTS REPEALED

Help complying

Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.

Commercial fishing licence and compliance

How to get a commercial fishing licence and comply with UK fishing regulations. Covers vessel licensing, quota allocation, catch recording, I-VMS requirements, …
1 more guide that reference this instrument
Meet your sea fishing vessel duties

Connected legislation

Instruments made under this Act. They carry the detail the Act delegates.

The Sea Fishing (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Wales) Order 2018 SI 2018/1095 Welsh Statutory Instrument
The Sea Fishing (Miscellaneous Revocations) (Scotland) Order 2017 SI 2017/324 Scottish Statutory Instrument

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.