Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Amendment Regulations 2022

2022/42

Coat of Arms of New Zealand

Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Amendment Regulations 2022

Cindy Kiro, Governor-General

Order in Council

At Wellington this 21st day of February 2022

Present:
Her Excellency the Governor-General in Council

These regulations are made under section 297(1)(nb) of the Fisheries Act 1996 on the advice and with the consent of the Executive Council.

Regulations

1 Title

These regulations are the Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Amendment Regulations 2022.

2 Commencement

These regulations come into force on 25 March 2022.

3 Principal regulations

These regulations amend the Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013.

4 Schedule 20 replaced

Replace Schedule 20 with the Schedule 20 set out in the Schedule of these regulations.

Schedule Schedule 20 replaced

r 4

Schedule 20 Form of infringement notice and reminder notice

r 156(4), (5)

Form 1 Infringement notice

Section 260A(1)(b), Fisheries Act 1996

Infringement notice No:Date of notice:
Enforcement authority

This infringement notice is issued by [full name of enforcement officer, identification number of enforcement officer, or full name of other person authorised to issue an infringement notice].

Address for correspondence:

Details of person infringement notice issued to

Full name:

Full address:

†Date of birth:

*†Gender:

*†Occupation:

*Telephone number:

*Client number:

*Specify only if known.
†Omit if the notice is served on a company or other body corporate.
Details of alleged infringement offence

The offence is one against [specify provision].

Date:

Time:

Place:

Nature of alleged infringement: [details of alleged infringement, including (if applicable) species, maximum allowable daily limit, minimum legal size, and minimum net mesh size]

Infringement fee payable:

Service details

This infringement notice was served by [method of service] on [date].

Payment of infringement fee

This infringement fee is payable within 28 days after [date infringement notice served].

This infringement fee may be paid to [name of enforcement agency] by [specify method(s)].

What you need to know

If you pay the infringement fee in full as shown above, no further action will be taken. For a more detailed statement of your rights, see below. This includes—

  • what happens if you are late paying the fee or do not pay the fee at all (see paragraphs 4 to 6):

  • what to do if you want to query this notice (see paragraphs 7 to 15).

Statement of rights

If there is anything in this statement you do not understand, you should consult a lawyer.

1

This notice sets out an alleged infringement offence.

Payments
2

If you pay the infringement fee in full as shown above in Payment of infringement fee, no further enforcement action will be taken for the offence. Please note that unless you have an arrangement as described in paragraph 3, part payment of an infringement fee is not sufficient to avoid further enforcement action for the offence.

3

If [name of enforcement agency] offers the ability to pay an infringement fee by instalments and you enter into an instalment arrangement,—

(a)

the time to pay will be agreed with [name of enforcement agency]:

(b)

the enforcement action in paragraphs 4 to 6 may be taken if you default on a payment:

(c)

you cannot request a court hearing about the infringement offence (see paragraph 14).

What happens if you do not pay on time
4

If you do not pay the infringement fee on time as shown above and do not request a hearing (see paragraph 9 for your ability to do this), you will be served with a reminder notice (unless [name of enforcement agency] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence). Please note that in some circumstances if you do not receive a reminder notice you may still become liable to pay a fine and court costs as set out in paragraph 5.

5

If you do not pay the infringement fee and do not request a hearing within 28 days after being served with the reminder notice,—

(a)

[name of enforcement agency] may, unless it decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence, provide particulars of the reminder notice for filing in the District Court; and

(b)

if so, you will become liable to pay court costs as well as a fine.

6

The fine will be equal to the amount of the infringement fee or the amount of the infringement fee remaining unpaid.

Defences
7

You have a complete defence against proceedings for the alleged infringement offence if the infringement fee has been paid in full to [name of enforcement agency] in the manner specified in this notice before, or within 28 days after, a reminder notice for the alleged offence is served on you. Late payment or payment made in any other manner is not a defence.

8

You may have a further defence against any proceedings for the alleged infringement offence under section 241 of the Fisheries Act 1996. If you believe you have a defence, you should refer to that Act.

Further action you may take
9

You may—

(a)

ask [name of enforcement agency] to consider any matter relating to the circumstances of the alleged offence; or

(b)

deny liability for the alleged offence and request a court hearing; or

(c)

admit liability for the alleged offence, but have a court consider written submissions as to penalty or otherwise.

10

To take an action listed in paragraph 9, you must write to [name of enforcement agency] at the address shown on this notice. You must sign the written communication and it must be delivered within 28 days after you have been served with this notice, or within any further time that [name of enforcement agency] allows.

11

If, in your written communication to [name of enforcement agency] referred to in paragraph 9, you deny liability for the alleged offence and request a court hearing, [name of enforcement agency] will serve you with a notice of hearing that sets out the place and time at which the court will hear the matter (unless [name of enforcement agency] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence).

Note: If the court finds you guilty of the offence, the court is entitled to take into account any maximum fine for the offence, and not just the infringement fee. So the court may impose a fine that is greater than the infringement fee. Also, if the court finds you guilty of the offence, costs will be imposed in addition to any penalty and you will be required to pay a hearing fee. You cannot get a conviction for an infringement offence.

12

If you admit liability for the alleged offence but want the court to consider your submissions as to penalty or otherwise, you must, in your written communication to [name of enforcement agency],—

(a)

request a hearing; and

(b)

admit liability for the offence; and

(c)

set out the submissions you wish the court to consider.

13

If you take the action in paragraph 12, [name of enforcement agency] will file your written communication with the court (unless [name of enforcement agency] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence). If you follow this process, there will be no oral hearing before the court.

Note: The court is entitled to take into account any maximum fine for the offence, and not just the infringement fee. So the court may impose a fine that is greater than the infringement fee. Also, costs will be imposed in addition to any penalty. You cannot get a conviction for an infringement offence.

14

If [name of enforcement agency] offers the ability to pay an infringement fee by instalments and you enter into an instalment arrangement, paragraphs 9(b) and (c) and 10 to 13 do not apply, and you are not entitled to request a hearing to deny liability or to ask the court to consider any submissions (as to penalty or otherwise).

Contacting the enforcement authority
15

When writing, please specify—

(a)

the date of the alleged infringement offence; and

(b)

the infringement notice number; and

(c)

your full name and address for replies.

Note: All correspondence regarding the infringement offence must be directed to [name of enforcement agency] at the address shown on this notice.

Further details of your rights and obligations
16

Further details of your rights and obligations are set out in section 21 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.

Form  2 Reminder notice

Section 21(2), Summary Proceedings Act 1957

Reminder notice No:Date of notice:

This notice is to remind you that you have been issued with an infringement notice. The details of the notice are as follows:

Enforcement authority

The infringement notice was issued by [full name of enforcement officer, identification number of enforcement officer, or full name of other person authorised to issue an infringement notice].

Address for correspondence:

Details of person to whom infringement notice issued

Full name:

Full address:

†Date of birth:

*†Gender:

*†Occupation:

*Telephone number:

*Client number:

*Specify only if known.
†Omit if the notice is served on a company or other body corporate.
Details of alleged infringement offence

The offence is one against [specify provision].

Date:

Time:

Place:

Nature of alleged infringement: [details of alleged infringement, including (if applicable) species, maximum allowable daily limit, minimum legal size, and minimum net mesh size]

Infringement fee payable:

Amount of infringement fee remaining unpaid:

Service details

(To be provided for filing in court.)

Infringement notice served by [method of service] on [date].

Reminder notice served by [method of service] at [full address of service] on [date].

Payment of infringement fee

The infringement fee was payable to [name of enforcement agency] within 28 days after [date infringement notice served]. The infringement fee has not been paid.

The last day for payment of the infringement fee is [date], being 28 days after the date of service of this notice.

The infringement fee may be paid to [name of enforcement agency] by [specify method(s)].

What you need to know

If you pay the infringement fee in full as shown above, no further action will be taken. For a more detailed statement of your rights, see below. This includes—

  • what happens if you are late paying the fee or do not pay the fee at all (see paragraphs 3 and 4):

  • what to do if you want to query this notice (see paragraphs 5 to 13).

Statement of rights

If there is anything in this statement you do not understand, you should consult a lawyer.

1

You have not paid the infringement fee described in this notice, or asked for a hearing, within 28 days after you were served with the infringement notice. That is why you have been served with this reminder notice.

Payments
2

If you pay the infringement fee in full within 28 days after you are served with this notice, no further enforcement action will be taken for the offence. Payments should be made to [name of enforcement agency] as shown above in Payment of infringement fee.

What happens if you do not pay on time
3

If you do not pay the infringement fee on time as shown above and do not request a hearing (see paragraph 7 for your ability to do this), you will become liable to pay court costs as well as a fine (unless [name of enforcement agency] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence).

4

The fine will be equal to the amount of the infringement fee or the amount of the infringement fee remaining unpaid.

Defences
5

You have a complete defence against proceedings for an alleged infringement offence if the infringement fee has been paid in full to [name of enforcement agency] in the manner specified in this notice before, or within 28 days after, this reminder notice is served on you. Late payment or payment made in any other manner is not a defence.

6

You may have a further defence against any proceedings for the alleged infringement offence under section 241 of the Fisheries Act 1996. If you believe you have a defence, you should refer to that Act.

Further action you may take
7

You may—

(a)

ask [name of enforcement agency] to consider any matter relating to the circumstances of the alleged offence; or

(b)

deny liability for the alleged offence and request a court hearing; or

(c)

admit liability for the alleged offence but have a court consider written submissions as to penalty or otherwise.

8

To take an action listed in paragraph 7, you must write to [name of enforcement agency] at the address shown on this notice. You must sign the written communication and it must be delivered within 28 days after you have been served with this notice, or within any further time that [name of enforcement agency] allows.

9

If, in your written communication to [name of enforcement agency] referred to in paragraph 8, you deny liability for the alleged offence and request a court hearing, [name of enforcement agency] will serve you with a notice of hearing that sets out the place and time at which the court will hear the matter (unless [name of enforcement agency] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence).

Note: If the court finds you guilty of the offence, the court is entitled to take into account any maximum fine for the offence, and not just the infringement fee. So the court may impose a fine that is greater than the infringement fee. Also, if the court finds you guilty of the offence, costs will be imposed in addition to any penalty and you will be required to pay a hearing fee. You cannot get a conviction for an infringement offence.

10

If you admit liability for the alleged offence but want the court to consider your submissions as to penalty or otherwise, you must, in your written communication to [name of enforcement agency],—

(a)

request a hearing; and

(b)

admit liability for the offence; and

(c)

set out the submissions you wish the court to consider.

11

If you take the action in paragraph 10 [name of enforcement agency] will file your written communication with the court (unless [name of enforcement agency] decides to take no further action to require payment for the alleged offence). If you follow this process, there will be no oral hearing before the court.

Note: The court is entitled to take into account any maximum fine for the offence, and not just the infringement fee. So the court may impose a fine that is greater than the infringement fee. Also, costs will be imposed in addition to any penalty. You cannot get a conviction for an infringement offence.

12

If [name of enforcement agency] offers the ability to pay an infringement fee by instalments and you enter into an instalment arrangement, paragraphs 7(b) and (c) and 8 to 11 do not apply, and you are not entitled to request a hearing to deny liability or to ask the court to consider any submissions (as to penalty or otherwise).

Contacting the enforcement authority
13

When writing, please specify—

(a)

the date of the alleged infringement offence; and

(b)

the number of this reminder notice; and

(c)

your full name and address for replies.

Note: All correspondence regarding the infringement offence must be directed to [name of enforcement agency] at the address shown on this notice.

Further details of your rights and obligations
14

Further details of your rights and obligations are set out in section 21 of the Summary Proceedings Act 1957.

Michael Webster,
Clerk of the Executive Council.

Explanatory note

This note is not part of the regulations, but is intended to indicate their general effect.

These regulations, which come into force on 25 March 2022, amend the Fisheries (Amateur Fishing) Regulations 2013 by updating the structure and content of the infringement notice and reminder notice in Schedule 20 to align with standardised forms.

Issued under the authority of the Legislation Act 2019.

Date of notification in Gazette: 24 February 2022.

These regulations are administered by the Ministry for Primary Industries.