Powers of entry and examination
30 Powers of entry and examination
This section applies if:
(a) a Fisheries Officer believes on reasonable grounds that a person is or has been engaged in:
(i) taking, processing for sale, selling or buying fish or aquatic life; or
aquaculture; and
(b) the Fisheries Officer believes it is necessary to exercise a power under subsection (2):
to assist in the conservation or management of a fishery; or
for the enforcement of this Act.
(2) Subject to section 32, the Fisheries Officer may at all reasonable times without warrant:
do any of the following:
stop, enter and examine a vehicle or vessel;
enter and examine premises or a place;
(iii) detain and examine a record, document, article, fishing gear, container, apparatus or device;
open and examine the contents of a container; and
(b) require a person to unlock a vehicle, vessel, premises, place or container, if the person:
(i) is the owner of, is in possession of, or is the person who locked the item or place required to be unlocked; and
is in the immediate vicinity; and
take samples and conduct tests; and
require:
a person to answer a question; and
(ii) the master of a vessel, or any other person, to give an explanation or information about the vessel or a vehicle, place, fish, aquatic life, fishing method, fishing gear, container, apparatus, record, document, article, device or other thing; and
require a person mentioned in paragraph (d):
(i) to produce within 7 days a licence, permit, special permit or other authority or certificate issued in relation to the vessel, vehicle, person or thing; and
to produce immediately evidence of the person's identity.
A person commits an offence if:
the person intentionally engages in conduct; and
(b) the conduct results in a contravention of a requirement made under subsection (2)(b), (d) or (e) and the person is reckless in relation to the result.
Maximum penalty: 100 penalty units.
(4) A person is not excused from answering a question or giving an explanation or information if required to do so under subsection (2)(d), on the ground that the answer, explanation or information might tend to incriminate the person or make the person liable to a penalty.
(5) However, the answer, explanation or information is not admissible in evidence against the person in a civil or criminal proceeding except a proceeding for an offence against section 35A in relation to the answer, explanation or information.
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