33Powers of seizure

33 Powers of seizure (1) A Fisheries Officer may seize: (a) any vessel, vehicle or other conveyance, fishing gear, implement, appliance, material, container, goods or equipment (including fishing monitoring equipment and vessel monitoring systems) that the Officer believes on reasonable grounds: (i) is being or has been used, or is intended to be used, in the commission of an offence against this Act; or (ii) may disclose evidence of an offence against this Act; or (b) any fish or aquatic life that the Officer believes on reasonable grounds: (i) is being or has been taken, killed, transported, bought or sold, or is found in the possession of any person, in contravention of this Act; or (ii) is fish or aquatic life with which fish or aquatic life mentioned in subparagraph (i) has been intermixed. (2) A thing seized must be delivered into the custody of the Director or a person authorised by the Director for this subsection (an authorised person) unless it is released under subsection (3). (3) A thing seized may, on application, be released to the person from whom it was seized or, if that person is not the owner of the thing, to the owner, under any sureties and conditions, including the entering into of a bond or other financial security to secure the payment of money, that the Director specifies. (4) If, in the Director's opinion, a thing seized may rot, spoil, or otherwise perish, it may be sold or otherwise disposed of by the Director. (5) Subject to subsection (3), a thing seized and the proceeds from the sale of a thing under subsection (4), must be held in the custody of the Director or an authorised person until: (a) a decision is made not to charge a person with an offence in relation to which the thing was seized; or (b) if a person is charged, the completion of the proceeding in respect of the offence or any sooner time that the court determines. Fisheries Act 1988 45 (6) A decision whether to charge a person with an offence in relation to which a thing was seized must be made no later than 30 days after the day on which the thing was seized. (7) Subsections (2) to (6) do not apply to a thing seized if a contravention notice is given in relation to the thing.