Cap. 425 Art. 22ADisposal of seized fish and other perishables.

(1) Where any fish or any other thing of a perishable nature is seized or detained under article 19 the Director may, after ensuring that all evidence is preserved, notwithstanding any other provision of this Act or any subsidiary legislation made thereunder, either:

(a) return the fish or other thing to the person from whom it was seized or detained upon receiving sufficient and adequate security in the form of a valid bank guarantee payable upon request of the Director, and which, in the opinion of the Director, is of equivalent commercial value to the fish or other thing so seized or detained; or

(b) cause the sale by public auction of the fish or other thing and, in the event that court proceedings are instituted, deposit the proceeds of sale in court pending an order by the court in respect of the forfeiture or otherwise of the proceeds or release the proceeds to the person from whom the fish or thing were seized or detained in accordance with this Act; or

(c) destroy the fish when it is no longer safe for human consumption or when it cannot be marketed according to law, or when it risks causing a significant distortion in the Maltese market; or

(d) donate the fish to organisations having a charitable or philanthropic purpose and exclusively for consumption, free of charge and as food, by its members or beneficiaries.

(2) Bank guarantees provided according to sub-article (1)(a) shall be valid throughout any proceeding according to this Act:

Provided that should a bank guarantee fail to remain valid until an administrative decision or until a judgment becomes res and if the Director has not been paid and the fish or other judicata, thing has been returned in accordance with sub-article (1)(a), the amount of said bank guarantee shall become due by the offender as an executive ipso facto title in favour of the Director, without prejudice to any obligation to return any secured amount to whoever they are due to according to law.