Search and Surveillance Act 2012

Amendments, repeals, and miscellaneous provisions - Amendments to search and seizure powers in other enactments (and to related provisions) used for law enforcement purposes or for law enforcement and regulatory purposes - Amendments to Fisheries Act 1996

248: New sections 199 and 199A substituted

You could also call this:

"Rules for fishery officers to check if people are following the law"

When a fishery officer is checking if people are following the rules, they can enter and examine vessels, vehicles, or premises. They can look at fish, aquatic life, or seaweed, and check accounts, records, or documents to see if people are complying with the law. They can also use a visual surveillance device to observe public places. A visual surveillance device is an instrument used to observe or record objects or activities. You can find more information about the rules a fishery officer must follow in the Fisheries Act 1996. If a fishery officer thinks someone has broken the law, they can search vessels, vehicles, or premises to find evidence. They can enter and search these places, and look at parcels, packages, or records to find out if someone has broken the law. A fishery officer can stop and detain things like vessels, vehicles, or parcels if they need to examine them to see if someone has broken the law.

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This page was last updated on 24 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM4356307.

Topics:

Crime and justice > Police and safetyEnvironment and resources > Farming and fishing

247: Amendments to Fisheries Act 1996, or

"Changes to the Fisheries Act 1996 law"

249: New section 199B inserted, or

"A new law part, section 199B, explains which Search and Surveillance Act rules apply in certain situations."

Part 5Amendments, repeals, and miscellaneous provisions
Amendments to search and seizure powers in other enactments (and to related provisions) used for law enforcement purposes or for law enforcement and regulatory purposes: Amendments to Fisheries Act 1996

248New sections 199 and 199A substituted

Section 199 is repealed and the following sections are substituted:
199Powers of entry and examination for regulatory purposes
1. In the course of the enforcement and administration of this Act, a fishery officer may, at any reasonable time,—
2. examine any vessel, vehicle, premises, or other place (by stopping or opening the thing or place, as the case requires, where necessary) and—
  1. examine any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed in that thing or at that place; or
  2. examine any accounts, records, returns, or other documents in that thing or at that place that may be relevant to monitoring compliance with this Act or any regulations made under this Act; or
  3. examine any record, authority, approval, permission, licence, or authority in that thing or at that place that may be relevant to monitoring compliance with this Act or any regulations made under this Act; or
  4. examine any article, gear, container, apparatus, device, or thing relating to the taking, sale, purchase, farming, or possession of any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed that is in that thing or at that place:
3. enter, pass across, or remain upon any land for the purpose of observing any public place, including by the use of a visual surveillance device:
4. stop any person and examine any thing referred to in paragraph (a)(i) to (iv) that is in the possession of that person:
5. for the purposes of any examination under paragraph (a) or (c),—
  1. open, or direct any person to open, any thing that may be examined; and
  2. take any sample of a thing that may be examined, for forensic or other scientific testing:
6. for the purposes of exercising any power conferred by paragraph (a), enter or pass across any land.
7. A fishery officer may detain any vessel, vehicle, conveyance of any kind, parcel, package, record, document, article, gear, apparatus, device, container, fish, aquatic life, seaweed, or thing for any period that is reasonably necessary to enable the fishery officer to carry out an examination under this section.
8. In this section and in section 199A, visual surveillance device means any electronic, mechanical, electromagnetic, optical, or electro-optical instrument, apparatus, equipment, or other device that is used or is capable of being used to observe, or to observe and record, any object or activity.
199APowers of entry and search for law enforcement purposes
1. Subsection (2) applies to a fishery officer if he or she believes, on reasonable grounds, that—
2. an offence is being or has been committed against this Act; and
3. there may be concealed or located or held in any vessel, vehicle, conveyance of any kind, premises, place, parcel, package, record, or thing—
  1. any fish, aquatic life, or seaweed taken or thing used or intended to be used in contravention of this Act; or
  2. any article, record, document, or thing that will be evidence as to the commission of an offence against this Act.
4. If this subsection applies to a fishery officer, then, for the purpose of enforcing this Act, that officer may—
5. enter, examine, and search any such premises or place, or any such vessel, vehicle, or conveyance of any kind (by stopping or opening the thing or place, as the case requires, where necessary); and
6. enter, pass across, or remain upon any land for the purpose of observing any public place, including by the use of a visual surveillance device; and
7. examine and search (by opening the thing where necessary) any such parcel, package, record, or thing; and
8. for the purposes of exercising any power conferred by paragraph (a), enter or pass across any land.
9. A fishery officer may detain any vessel, vehicle, conveyance of any kind, parcel, package, record, document, article, gear, apparatus, device, container, fish, aquatic life, seaweed, or thing for such period as is reasonably necessary to enable the fishery officer to carry out an examination or a search under this section.