Marine and fisheries compliance: privacy notice

This notice is to advise you (you are also referred to as the data subject) of how your personal data (information) will be dealt with (processed) by Scottish Government, Marine Directorate for law enforcement purposes and your rights in relation to that processing.

The Scottish Government falls under the legal entity of the Scottish ministers in relation to processing of your personal information. We are the controller for the personal information we process, unless otherwise stated.

Law enforcement purposes are the purposes of the prevention, investigation, detection or prosecution of criminal offences and the execution of fixed penalty notices.

The information below provides details of:

• our lawful basis for processing personal information
• the types of information we may process for law enforcement purposes
• the categories of individuals affected
• the length of time we will keep the information
• who we may share it with.

In addition to the details below, your information may also be used by Scottish Government, Marine Directorate for administrative purposes such as system testing, training and audit purposes.

Where this is the case, the processing will be in accordance with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.

Where information has been processed previously for law enforcement purposes, any further use will not be incompatible with the original purpose for which the information was processed, and will be authorised by law.

 

Who we are

The Scottish Government, Marine Directorate ensures effective monitoring and enforcement of marine and fishing laws to protect Scotland's fisheries and marine areas.

Personal data

“Personal data” is information that can identify a living individual, for example your name, date of birth and address. It also includes alleged or actual offending information.

There is also a type of personal data referred to as “sensitive personal data” and this relates to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership, genetic data, biometric data, health data, sex life or sexual orientation.

Our lawful basis for processing personal data

The Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 provides common enforcement powers and it is the duty of a Marine enforcement officer to:

• where required, to serve and execute a warrant
• to take such lawful measures, and make such reports to the appropriate prosecutor, as may be needed to bring offenders with all due speed to justice
• to attend court to give evidence.

Under Schedule 7 of the Data Protection Act 2018 (the Act) the Scottish Government is a competent authority, and Part 3 of the Act permits law enforcement processing by competent authorities.

Data processed for law enforcement purposes

In order to carry out our law enforcement functions, we process information relating to a variety of individuals including:

• people convicted of an offence
• people suspected of committing an offence
• officers and staff

Types of data processed 

Types of personal data we process for law enforcement purposes may include information such as:

• personal details such as name and address
• information provided by victims or witnesses
• sound and visual images, such as CCTV
• financial details
• intelligence material
• complaint and incident details
• alleged or actual offending information
• records accessed by officers and staff

Data retention

Data is kept for a maximum of 12 years, but may be removed sooner if not required.

Data sharing

Parties that Scottish Government share personal and sensitive personal data with when necessary or required for law enforcement purposes:

• Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS)
• police forces in the UK including non-Home Office Forces
• Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
• central government departments
• other law enforcement and prosecuting authorities
• partner agencies involved in crime and disorder strategies, and public protection
• international partner agencies concerned in marine enforcement activity
• Data Processors.

In certain circumstances, we will share information, which was initially for a law enforcement purpose with selected third parties for non-law enforcement purposes:

• regulatory bodies
• police forces, including Civil Nuclear Constabulary, British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police and Border Force
• survey and research organisations (for example, to test and improve services and carry out research)

Freedom of Information and Environmental Information Requests (FOI / EIR)

Data which does not identify an individual may be processed when requested by a third party under FOI / EIR regulations. Requests are considered on a case-by-case basis but we will not generally release:

• catch and sales data which identifies an individual
• ownership details which are not already published elsewhere or refer to an individual
• prosecution details which could identify an individual prior to any potential court proceedings

Any withheld data must meet the requirements of FOI / EIR exceptions. Data may be released where the removal of parts which could identify an individual is possible.

Further information can be found on the Scottish Information Commissioner website.

Your Rights

You have certain rights in relation to how we process your personal information. These are the right :

• to be informed about how your data is used
• to access a copy of your personal data
• to request inaccurate or incomplete personal data is rectified
• to request data is erased or restricted
• not to the subject to automated decision-making

These rights are not absolute and may be subject to restrictions allowed by the Data Protection Act 2018.

Find out more about the rights you have over your personal data on the Information Commissioner's Office website.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about how your personal data has been processed, you can contact the Scottish Government’s Data Protection Officer at: DataProtectionOfficer@gov.scot.

Following this, you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office, the regulatory body for data protection in the UK. The Information Commissioner can be contacted at:

Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF

Tel: 08456 30 60 60

website: www.ico.org.uk/concerns/handling