Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A person, being the master of a foreign fishing boat who, otherwise than in accordance with:
(a) a foreign fishing licence or a port permit; or
(b) the provisions of a prescribed agreement between the Commonwealth and another country; or
(c) the direction of a person exercising powers under a law of the Commonwealth or a law of a State or Territory;
brings the boat into a port in Australia or in an external Territory commits an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units.
(2) Where:
(a) a foreign fishing boat is brought into a port in Australia or in an external Territory under a port permit; and
(b) the permit is subject to a condition limiting the period during which the boat may remain in that port; and
(c) the boat remains in the port in contravention of that condition;
then, except where the master of the foreign fishing boat ought in the circumstances to be excused, the master commits an offence punishable on conviction by a fine not exceeding 500 penalty units.
(3) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) if the person charged satisfies the court that:
(a) the boat was brought into the port at a time when the boat was engaged in operations that included the carrying of cargo, in the ordinary course of trade, between Australia and a foreign country, between Australia and an external Territory or between an external Territory and a country other than Australia; or
(b) the boat was being lawfully imported into Australia or the external Territory, as the case may be, by or on behalf of a person who was, or by or on behalf of persons each of whom was, at the time when the boat was brought into the port:
(i) a resident of Australia or of an external Territory; or
(ii) a company incorporated in Australia or in an external Territory; or
(c) an unforeseen emergency rendered it necessary to bring the boat into a port in Australia or in an external Territory in order to secure the safety of human life or of the boat.
(4) An offence against this section is an indictable offence but may be heard and determined, with the consent of the prosecutor and the defendant, by a court of summary jurisdiction.
(5) If an offence is dealt with by a court of summary jurisdiction, the penalty that the court may impose is a fine not exceeding 250 penalty units.
(5A) An offence under this section is an offence of strict liability.
Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .
(6) In this section:
"foreign fishing boat" means a foreign boat:
(a) that is equipped for fishing; or
(b) that AFMA has reasonable grounds to believe is being used, or is intended to be used, in activities in support of fishing by foreign boats.