28.— F40[(1) A person guilty of an offence committed on board a sea-fishing boat under a provision of—

(a) Chapter 2 specified in column (2) of Table 1, or

(b) the Act of 2003 specified in column (2) of Table 2,

is liable, on conviction on indictment, to the fine specified in column (3) of that Table at the reference number at which that provision is specified in respect of the category of sea-fishing boat mentioned in that column and to the forfeiture specified in subsection (5).

(1A) A person guilty of an offence under section 11, 12, 13, 14 or 15, which is not committed on board a sea-fishing boat, in respect of the buying, handling, weighing, trans-shipping, transporting, landing, processing, storing, documenting or selling of fish is liable, on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000. Any fish found to which the offence relates used in the commission of the offence are, as a statutory consequence of the conviction, forfeited.]

(2) A judge of the District Court has jurisdiction to try summarily any offence referred to in F41[subsection (1) or (1A)] if—

(a) the judge is of opinion that the facts proved or alleged against a defendant charged with such an offence constitute a minor offence fit to be tried summarily,

(b) the prosecutor consents, and

(c) the defendant (on being informed by the judge of his or her right to be tried by a jury) does not object to being tried summarily,

and, upon conviction under this subsection, the defendant is liable to a fine not exceeding €5,000 and to the forfeiture specified in subsection (6).

(3) If at any time a judge of the District Court ascertains that a person charged with an offence referred to in subsection (1) wishes to plead guilty and the judge is satisfied that the person understands the nature of the offence and the facts charged, he or she may—

(a) with the consent of the prosecutor, deal with the offence summarily, in which case the accused is liable to a fine not exceeding €5,000 and to the forfeiture specified in subsection (6), or

(b) if the accused signs a plea of guilty, send him or her, with the consent of the prosecutor, forward for sentence with that plea to a court to which, if he or she had not pleaded guilty, he or she could lawfully have been sent forward for trial.

(4) Section 13(1) to (3) of the Act of 1967 does not apply in relation to an offence referred to in subsection (1). In subsection 13(4) (as amended by section 10 of the Act of 1999) of the Act of 1967 a reference to a person sent forward for trial under paragraph (a) of that section shall be read as including a reference to a person sent forward for trial under subsection (3)(b) of this section.

(5) Where a person is convicted on indictment of an offence specified in a Table, in addition to any fine the court may impose under this section—

(a) in the case of a conviction under section 8 or 9, it may order the forfeiture of all or any fish and fishing gear found on the boat to which the offence relates, or

F42[(b) in the case of a conviction under any other provision mentioned in a Table, any fish and fishing gear found on the boat to which the offence relates or found in any other place to which they had been moved from the boat are, as a statutory consequence of the conviction, forfeited.]

(6) Where a person is convicted summarily of an offence specified in a Table, in addition to any fine the court may impose under this section—

(a) in the case of a conviction under section 8 or 9, or a first conviction under any other provision mentioned in a Table, it may order the forfeiture of all or any of the following found on the boat to which the offence relates, namely—

(i) any fish unlawfully caught, and

(ii) any fishing gear used in the commission of the offence or to which the offence relates, or

(b) in the case of a second or subsequent conviction under any provision (other than section 8 or 9) mentioned in a Table, F43[…] the following found on the boat to which the offence relates, namely—

(i) any fish unlawfully caught, and

(ii) any fishing gear used in the commission of the offence or to which the offence relates,

are as a statutory consequence of the conviction, forfeited.

F44[(6A) Where a person who is convicted of an offence to which subsection (1A), (5)(b) or (6)(b) applies demonstrates that the mandatory forfeiture required by the subsection concerned is disproportionate, the court may in those exceptional circumstances adjust, modulate or mitigate the extent of the mandatory forfeiture order. In making this assessment the court shall have regard to the requirement that the severity of the sanctions must be commensurate with the seriousness of the breaches for which they are imposed, in particular by ensuring a genuinely dissuasive effect.]

F44[(6B) Where the Court decides under subsection (6A) to substitute an order of forfeiture that it deems appropriate in place of a mandatory forfeiture required by this section as a statutory consequence of conviction, it shall give reasons for doing so.]

Where the Court decides under paragraph (a) not to order the forfeiture of all or any of the above it shall give reasons for not doing so.

(7) (a) The court may, in addition to any fine and forfeiture which it may impose or is as a statutory consequence of conviction imposed under this section, revoke or suspend, for such period as it sees fit, the sea-fishing boat licence granted in relation to the boat concerned.

(b) A licence revoked or suspended under this subsection shall be delivered as soon as practicable to the licensing authority after it is revoked or suspended.

(c) A person who fails to comply with paragraph (b) commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding €500.

TABLE 1 — Fines - Provisions of Chapter 2

TABLE 2 — Fines - Provisions of Act of 2003