Commonwealth Consolidated Acts

TORRES STRAIT FISHERIES ACT 1984 - SECT 51A

             (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.

Penalty:

                     (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.