FISH MARKETING REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 425.02

FISH MARKETING REGULATIONS

15th July, 1957

GOVERNMENT NOTICE 395 of 1957, as amended by Legal Notices 103

of 1969, 72 of 1978, 124 of 1979, 84 of 1980, 38 of 1986, 126 of 1989, 5 of

1992 and 426 of 2007; Act XIII of 2015; and Legal Notice 429 of 2015.

The title

of

these

regulations

is

Fish

Marketing

Regulations.

In

these

regulations,

unless

the

context

otherwise

requires -

"director" means the Director of Agriculture and Fisheries or any

official of his department authorised by him to act on his behalf;

"fisherman" means a person actively engaged in the pursuit of

fishing;

"imported fish" means fresh fish, other than fish caught by a

fishing boat registered in these Islands;

"Minister" means the Minister who, for the time being, is

responsible for the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries;

"pitkal" means a person who undertakes to sell fish by wholesale

on behalf of any other person;

"retailer" means a person who sells fish by retail from a shop,

from a stall or by hawking;

"sale " includes any disposal under any onerous title whatsoever,

and "sell" shall be construed accordingly.

No person shall act as pitkal, either of local or imported

fish, without a licence from the Director.

4. (Deleted by L.N. 429 of 2015).

(Mħassar bl-A.L. 429 tal-2015).

A pitkal licensed to sell local fish may not act as pitkal for

the sale of imported fish.

A pitkal shall not, without the permission in writing of the

Director, exercise his trade except at the wholesale fishmarket at

Troubridge Street, Marsa.

A pitkal may not have any interest in the fish trade which is

extraneous to his business as pitkal.

Pitkali shall not sell local or imported fish except by public

auction; in such auction, bidding shall be made viva voce and in

such manner as to be clearly understood by all persons present.

The times at which sales by auction may start shall be as

follows -

From the 1st of September to the 31st October, 4.00 a.m.

From the 1st of May to the 31st August, 4.00 a.m.

From the 1st to the 30th November, 4.30 a.m.

From the 1st December to the 30th April, 5.00a.m.

No sales shall be held before such times.

All sales are to be effected on a weight basis and only

officially recognized weights shall be used.

A pitkal may not bid either on his own behalf or on behalf

of any other person.

A pitkal licensed to sell local fish shall not sell fish on

behalf of any person who is not a fisherman.

Where fish is sold in containers, the correct weight of the

fish contained in such containers shall be clearly marked thereon to

the satisfaction of the Director.

A pitkal may not refuse to accept for sale any fish

consigned to him

Provided that if it is proved to the satisfaction of the

Director that any fish consigned to a pitkal does not conform to the

requirements of these regulations, the pitkal shall be at liberty to

refuse acceptance for sale by him of that particular parcel of fish.

A pitkal shall record every individual sale on a form of

voucher to be furnished by the Director, giving all the details

required thereon, and shall consign such voucher to the retailer

making the relative purchase.

A copy of all such vouchers, duly and correctly filled in,

shall be consigned to the Director as soon as every day’s sales are

concluded.

The Director shall furnish to every fisherman and to every

importer of fish a statement of all sales effected on his behalf by

t h e pi t k al i . S u c h sta te m e n t sh a l l b e ba s e d o n t h e vo uc he r s

consigned to the Director in terms of regulation 16. The relative

payment to the fisherman or importer and to the pitkali shall be

made by the Director.

(1) When making payment in terms of regulation 17, the

Director shall deduct an amount equivalent to six point three per

cent or ten per cent from the amounts due to the fisherman or to the

importer respectively, and except for the provisions of regulation

21, the amount to be paid to the pitkal as remuneration for his

services shall in both cases be six point three per cent on the

amount of the registered sales.

(2) The Director shall deduct from the amounts due to the

pitkal any amount due by any retailer for fish sold to such retailer

by such pitkal.

(3)

Where the amount due by retailers for fish sold to them by

a pitkal is more than the amount due to such pitkal, the Director

may notify the pitkal to pay such sum in excess of the amount due

to him within a period fixed by the said Director, such period being

not less than fifteen days, and if the pitkal does not effect the said

payment the Director may suspend the relative licence until such

payment is effected, so however that, if the amount is not settled

within a period of three months from the date of such notification,

the relative licence shall be deemed to have been revoked, saving

the Director’s right to claim the amount involved.

(4) Where any amount due by a retailer has been deducted from

the amount due to a pitkal or has been paid by a pitkal in

accordance with this regulation, such pitkal shall notwithstanding

the provisions of regulation 27 have a right to claim such amount

directly from the retailer.

A pitkal may not demand, require or accept from any

fisherman or importer, directly or indirectly, any commission or

other remuneration whatsoever in respect of any fish sold by him.

A pitkal may not accept payment from retailers in respect

of any sale effected by him.

A co-operative society registered under the Co-operative

Societies Act, shall be paid by the Director a commission of four

point four per cent of the value of fish sold, insofar as the society

sells is ware from an adequate outlet to the satisfaction of the

Director.

No person may act as retailer without a licence from the

Director.

A retailer may not purchase or otherwise acquire fish by

wholesale except from a licensed pitkal.

A retailer may neither purchase fish from nor sell fish to

another retailer.

A retailer may not remove any fish purchased by him from

the fishmarket before the relative sale vouchers have been vetted

and stamped by the Director.

(1) There shall be exhibited on any fish or species of fish

exposed for sale a white label showing the price per kilogram

which such fish or species of fish is offered for sale.

(2) The figures on the said label shall be clearly written in ink

and shall be at least two point five centimetres high.

Payment for fish purchased by retailers shall be made only

to the Director; such payment shall be effected within such time as

may be specified by the Director.

The Director, and any pitkal in respect of any fish sold by

him, may, at his discretion, require payment to be effected before

any fish is removed from the fishmarket.

Any retailer who does not effect payment as required by

regulations 27 and 28 shall be precluded from making any further

purchases. A list of such defaulters shall be furnished to every

pitkal.

A retailer shall carry with him the purchase vouchers in

respect of any fish he is offering for sale and he shall produce such

vouchers on demand to any Fishery Officer or to any member of the

Police.

Every fish hawker shall wear conspicuously on his arm a

badge indicating the number of the licence issued to him by the

Director. Such badge shall be issued by the Director on payment of

a fee of twenty-five cents and shall be returned to the Director

within two days of the day on which the licence is in any way

cancelled or suspended.

A fish hawker may sell fish only in the district or area

specified in his licence.

Except as provided in regulations 22, 31 and 32, nothing in

these regulations shall prevent a fisherman or a member of his

family from selling by retail any fish caught by the said fisherman.

Imported fish shall be placed in a cold store licensed by the

Commissioner of Police directly it is landed in these Islands, unless

the immediate sale thereof is authorised by the Director.

Fish placed in cold storage as above shall not be taken out

of cold storage or sold without the previous permit in writing from

the Director, who may, at his discretion, limit the quantity of fish

that may be taken out or sold.

Importers shall, as soon as possible, and in no case later

than twenty-four hours after the completion of each operation,

furnish the Director with a return showing the quantity and quality

of all fish placed in cold storage as well as of that taken out thereof.

The Director shall have the right to enter any cold store or

other premises where he has reason to believe that imported fish is

being stored and shall be given all facilities for the purpose of

checking the correctness of returns furnished to him by importers.

(1) The Minister may, by order in the Gazette, specify -

(a) which fish crates have been approved for use at the

fish sales outlets; and

(b) which fish that is being taken in or out of the fish sales

outlets may only be transported in the mentioned fish

crates.

(2) Whosoever knowingly breaks, damages or destroys a fish

crate referred to in sub-regulation (1)(a) of this regulation, or

peruses such fish crate for any other purpose except the

transportation of fish, shall be guilty of an offence.

All fresh fish, whether locally caught or imported, shall, on

landing, be subject to inspection by any Fishery Officer. Where a

Fishery Officer has reason to believe that any fish is not in a

wholesome condition, he may seize the fish and cause it to be

examined by the sanitary authorities.

The licenses issued in terms of regulations 3 and 22 -

(a) shall be valid until the 31st day of December of the

year of issue and thereafter may be renewed from year

to year: provided that no such renewal may be effected

after the 31st March of the year to which the renewal

refers; and without prejudice to the grant subsequent to

that date of a new licence; and

(b) shall not exempt the holder thereof from the

requirement of any licence under any other law that is

or may be in force.

Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of

these regulations shall be guilty of an offence against these

regulations.

Any person guilty of an offence against regulations 22, 31

and 32 shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) of not less

than one euro and sixteen cents (€1.16) but not exceeding four euro

and sixty-six cents (€4.66) for each offence; and any person guilty

of an offence against regulations 13, 23, 25, 26 and 30 shall, on

conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) of not less than eleven euro

and sixty-five cents (€11.65) but not exceeding twenty-three euro

and twenty-nine cents (€23.29) for each such offence.

Any person guilty of an offence against these regulations,

which is not specified in regulation 42, shall on conviction, be

liable to fine (multa) of not less than twenty-three euro and twenty-

nine cents (€23.29) but not exceeding one hundred and sixteen euro

and forty-seven cents (€116.47) for each such offence.

Offences under these regulations are to be deemed

contraventions. The provisions of the Criminal Code relating to

criminal proceedings shall, subject as hereinafter stated, apply in

respect of proceedings for offences under these regulations

Provided that proceedings in respect of an offence under

these regulations may be commenced at any time within one year of

the commission of the offence.