Commonwealth Consolidated Acts Commonwealth Consolidated Acts(1) A person commits an offence if:
(a) the person has a boat in his or her possession, or under his or her control; and
(b) the boat is a foreign boat; and
(c) the boat is equipped for taking fish; and
(d) the boat is at a place that is in a part of the territorial sea of Australia that is in an area of Australian jurisdiction.
(a) if the offender was the master of the boat at the time the offence was committed--2,500 penalty units or 3 years imprisonment, or both; or
(b) in any other case--500 penalty units or 2 years imprisonment, or both.
(1A) Strict liability applies to paragraph (1)(d).
Note: For strict liability , see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code .
(2) It is a defence to a prosecution for an offence against subsection (1) if the person charged proves that, at the time of the alleged offence:
(a) the boat's equipment for taking fish was stowed; and
(b) the boat was travelling through an area of Australian jurisdiction from a point outside an area of Australian jurisdiction to another point outside an area of Australian jurisdiction by the shortest practicable route.
Note: The defendant bears a legal burden in relation to the matters in subsection (2). See section 13.4 of the Criminal Code .
(2A) For the purposes of paragraph (2)(a), a boat's equipment for taking fish is not stowed unless all of the boat's:
(a) nets, traps and other fishing equipment; and
(b) associated equipment, including buoys and beacons;
are disengaged and secured, and where practicable stored inside the boat, in such a manner as not to be readily available for fishing.
(3) Subsection (1) does not apply if:
(a) a licence under section 19 is in force in respect of the boat; or
(b) a Treaty endorsement is in force in respect of the boat; or
(c) the boat is being used for traditional fishing or community fishing.
Note: The defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matters in subsection (3). See subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code .
(4) A reference to an area of Australian jurisdiction in this section does not include a reference to Protected Zone coastal waters of Queensland.
Note: For what are Protected Zone coastal waters of Queensland, see section 4.