General presumptions

(1) All fish found on board a fishing vessel which has been used in the commission of an offence under this Act shall be presumed to have been caught in the commission of that offence, unless the contrary is proved. (2) Where, in any legal proceedings under this Act, the place in which an event is alleged to have taken place is in issue, the place stated in the relevant entry in the logbook or other official record of any enforcement vessel or aircraft as being the place in which the event took place shall be prima facie evidence of the place in which the event took place, unless the contrary is proved. Fisheries Resources [CAP. 210 73 (3) Prima facie evidence of an entry in a logbook or other official record, digital or otherwise, of an enforcement vessel or aircraft may be given by the production of a written copy or extract of the entry certified by a Fisheries Officer as a true copy of accurate extract. (4) For the purposes of any proceedings under this Act, the act or omission of any member of the crew of a fishing vessel while aboard that vessel or engaged in fishing activity related to that vessel shall be deemed to be also that of the master of the (5) An entry in writing or other mark in or on any log, chart or other document required to be maintained under this Act or used to record the activities of a fishing vessel shall be deemed to be that of the master of the vessel. (6) Where in any legal proceedings for an offence under this Act– (a) a Fisheries Officer gives evidence of reasonable grounds to believe that any fish to which the charge relates were taken in a specified area of the fisheries waters; and (b) the Court considers that, having regard to that evidence the grounds are reasonable, the fish shall be presumed to have been so taken, unless the contrary is proved. (7) In any proceedings for an offence against this Act, an allegation made by the informant in any information or charge relating to whether or not a person was the master of any vessel shall be presumed to be true in the absence of proof to the 74 Fisheries Resources (8) For the purposes of this section, enforcement vessel means any means of conveyance used by a Fisheries Officer in the carrying out of the provisions of this Act.