section 15
Penalties for contravention by fishing vessels
The Lakshadweep Marine Fisheries Regulation, 2026General202627 sections5 chapters
Chapter IV CONTRAVENTIONS AND PENALTIES
Statutory text
- (1) If the adjudicating officer, after following the procedure under section 13, is satisfied that any owner or Master, as the case may be, has used or caused or allowed to be used any fishing vessel in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 6, he shall by an order––
- (a) impose a penalty on such owner or Master, as the case may be, of not more than ten thousand rupees in case of a fishing vessel of less than twelve metres in length and seize the fishing vessel along with its catch, fishing gear, equipment, stores or cargo onboard for a period up to six months or till the time a valid licence is presented to the adjudicating officer, by the owner or Master, whichever is earlier;
- (b) impose a penalty on such owner or Master, as the case may be, of not more than twenty-five thousand rupees in case of a fishing vessel of equal to or more than twelve metres in length and seize the fishing vessel along with its catch, fishing gear, equipment, stores or cargo onboard for a period of not more than six months or till the time a valid licence is presented to the adjudicating officer, by the owner or Master, whichever is earlier: Provided that upon presentation of a valid licence by the owner or Master of the fishing vessel before the expiry of six months, the adjudicating officer shall release the vessel, in such manner as may be prescribed: Provided further that upon the expiry of six months, if no valid licence has been presented before the adjudicating officer, the adjudicating officer shall declare that the seized fishing vessel as abandoned and upon such declaration, the fishing vessel shall vest with the Administration, free from all encumbrances and such fishing vessel may be disposed of by the Administration in such manner as may be prescribed.
- (2) If the adjudicating officer, after following the procedure under section 13, is satisfied that any owner or Master, as the case may be, has used or caused or allowed to be used any fishing vessel in contravention of the provisions of this Regulation, other than sub-section (1) of section 6 or of any order, notification or rules issued or made thereunder or any of the conditions of the licence granted under section 6, he shall by an order––
- (a) impose a penalty on such owner or Master, as the case may be, of not more than five thousand rupees in case of a fishing vessel of less than twelve metres in length and not more than ten thousand rupees for a fishing vessel equal to or more than twelve metres in length for the first contravention;
- (b) impose a penalty on such owner or Master, as the case may be, of not more than ten thousand rupees in case of a fishing vessel of less than twelve metres in length and not more than twenty thousand rupees for a fishing vessel equal to or more than twelve metres in length for the second contravention;
- (c) impose a penalty on such owner or Master, as the case may be, of not more than twenty thousand rupees in case of a fishing vessel of less than twelve metres in length and not more than forty thousand rupees for a fishing vessel equal to or more than twelve metres in length for a third contravention;
- (d) suspend the licence of the fishing vessel for a period of one month and impose a penalty of not more than forty thousand rupees for a vessel of less than twelve metres in length and not more than eighty thousand rupees for a fishing vessel equal to or more than twelve metres in length for a fourth contravention; or
- (e) cancel the licence of the fishing vessel and forfeit any security deposit made by the licence holder for any subsequent contravention: Provided that no licence shall be suspended or cancelled by the adjudicating officer without providing an opportunity of being heard to the licence holder.
- (3) Without prejudice to any penalty that may be imposed under the preceding sub-sections, if the adjudicating officer, after following the procedure under section 13, has sufficient reason to believe that fishing gear seized under sub-section (3) of section 12 was used in contravention of any provisions of this Regulation, he shall direct the authorised officer to destroy such gear beyond use before two independent witnesses, by adopting such procedure as may be prescribed. Explanation.––For the purposes of this section, the expression “metres in length” means the overall length of the fishing vessel.
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