Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (Amendment) Act 2013 · As enacted
5. Insertion of new PART II A in the principal enactment
Official English translation. The Sinhala text prevails.
Official translationFrom Department of Government Printing, unchanged
The following new part is hereby inserted immediately after PART II of the principal enactment and shall have efffect as PART II A of the enactment:—
“PART II A
LICENSING OF FISHING OPERATIONS IN THE HIGH SEAS
14A. No person shall engage in any prescribed fishing operations in the High Seas, except under the authority, and otherwise than in accordance with the terms and conditions, of a licence granted by the Director-General.
14B. (1) Every application for a licence under section 14A shall be made in the prescribed form to the Director-General, and shall be accompanied by the declaration referred to in subsection (2) and the prescribed fee.
(a) An application under subsection (1)
shall be accompanied by a declaration, on oath, signed by the applicant stating whether he has, or has not, been issued with a licence or a permit by another State to fish in the High Seas.
If the applicant declares that he has been issued with a licence or a permit by another State to fish in the High Seas, he shall also declare—
the name of the State which has issued such licence or permit, and the date on which it was issued;
Licensing of
Fishing
Operations in the High
Seas.
Application for a licence.
Act, No. 35 of 2013
in case such licence or permit has been subsequently suspended, the date on which it was suspended, and the period for which it was suspended; and
in case such licence or permit has been subsequently cancelled, the date on which it was cancelled.
On receipt of an application under subsection (1) the Director-General shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (4), either grant a licence or for reasons to be recorded by him, refuse to grant a licence.
The Director-General shall refuse to grant a licence under subsection (3) if-
the local fishing boat in respect of which the application has been made is not costructed in accordance with the specifications prescribed by regulations made under this Act;
such boat is not registered under this
Act;
such boat is not marked in accordance with uniform and internationally recognizable vessel marking systems;
the fishing gear carried on such boat is not marked in accordance with uniform and internationally recognizable gear marking systems enabling identification of the owner of the gear;
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such boat is not equipped with a vessel monitoring system and communication equipment, which enables the Director-General and his staff to communicate effectively with such boat and to exercise control over the activities of such boat;
such boat is not equipped with the safety equipment prescribed by regulations made under this Act;
the applicant has been authorized to use such boat for fishing in the
High Seas by a licence or a permit issued by another State—
such licence or permit has been suspended for a period; and
the period of suspension is still in force; or
such licence or permit has been cancelled; and
a period of three years has not elapsed since such cancellation.
14C. Every licence granted under this Part shall—
be in such form as may be prescribed;
unless suspended or cancelled earlier, be in force for a period of one calendar year from the date of grant of such licence;
Form and duration of licence.
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be subject to such terms and conditions as may be prescribed with regard to the fishing operations authorized by such licence, including conditions relating to the provision of information by the holder of the licence regarding the area of operations of the local fishing boat to which the licence applies, and the retained catch, the discarded catch and landings of such boat in relation to each fishing trip.
14D. (1) The Director-General shall cause to be maintained a register of all licences granted under this Part of the Act. Such register may also be maintained in electronic form.
A copy or extract purporting to be certified under the hand of the Director-General to be a true copy of, or extract from, any register maintained under subsection (1) shall be admissible in evidence without proof of the signature or appointment of the Director-General, and shall be prima facie evidence of the contents of such register for all purposes, and in all proceedings, civil or criminal.
14E.
board
The holder of a licence granted under this Part shall cause such licence to be carried at all times on the local fishing boat to which the licence applies, and shall produce such licence for inspection when required to do so by a duly authorized officer.
14F.
foreign waters
The holder of a licence granted under this Part shall not use, or cause to be used, the local fishing boat to which the licence applies for fishing operations in waters within the national jurisdiction of another State, unless authorized to do so in accordance with the laws of that State.
Prohibition on fishing in
Register of
Licences.
Licence to be carried on
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14G.
and
The holder of a licence granted under this Part, authorizing the use of a local fishing boat for fishing operations in the High Seas shall not use such boat, or cause such boat to be used, in contravention of regulations, made by the Minister under section 61(t), implementing conservation and management measures adopted—.
under the
United
Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea of December 10, 1982;
by the Indian Ocean Tuna
Commission;
under the Fish Stocks Agreement 1995; and
under the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United
Nations Agreement on Port State
Measures to Prevent, Deter and
Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and
Unregulated Fishing 2009, and which are binding on Sri Lanka.
14H. (1) The holder of a licence granted under this Part may apply to the Director-General for a renewal of the licence, not less than thirty days before the expiry of the licence.
The Director-General shall renew the licence if he is satisfied that—
the local fishing boat to which the licence applies continues to comply with the conditions referred to in section 14B (4);
Renewal of licence.
Licensee to comply with conservation management measures.
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the holder of the licence has observed the terms and conditions of such licence;
the holder of the licence has paid the prescribed fee for the renewal of the licence; and
the renewal of the licence will not undermine the effectiveness of the conservation and management measures referred to in section 14G, and implemented by regulations made under section 61.
14I. The Director-General shall, after giving the holder of a licence an opportunity of being heard, suspend a licence granted under this
Part, if he is satisfied that such holder is being investigated for the contravention of section 14F or section 14G. Any such suspension shall be effective until the conclusion of the investigation.
14J. The Director-General shall cancel a licence granted under this Part, if he is satisfied that—
the holder of the licence has been convicted of an offence under this
Act;
the holder of the licence has contravened any provision of this
Act or any regulation made thereunder or any term or condition of such licence;
the holder of the licence has used the local fishing boat to which the licence applies for unauthorized
Cancellation of a licence.
Suspension of a licence.
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fishing in waters within the national jurisdiction of another State, or for unauthorized or illegal activities in waters within the national jurisdiction of another State or in the
High Seas;
the fishing boat to which the licence applies has ceased to be a local fishing boat; and
the registration of the fishing boat has been cancelled.
14K. Where the Director-General refuses to grant or renew a licence or suspends or cancels a licence, he shall communicate such decision and the reasons therefor to the applicant or to the licensee, as the case may be.
14L. (1) The applicant or the licensee, as the case may be, who is aggrieved by a decision communicated to him under section 14K, may appeal against such decision to the Secretary of the Ministry of the Minister in writing, within thirty days from the date on which the decision is communicated to him.
(a) The Secretary shall refer every appeal made to him under subsection (1) to the Appeals
Advisory Committee for its recommendations on such appeal.
The Appeals Advisory Committee shall consist of three persons appointed by the
Secretary from amongst persons who have knowledge and experience in the management and conservation of fisheries and aquatic resources.
Director-General to communicate the decision together with reasons.
Appeals.
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The Appeals Advisory
Committee shall make its recommendations on an appeal referred to it under paragraph (a) after having heard both parties, within fourteen days of such reference.
The Secretary shall determine an appeal made to him under subsection (1) taking into consideration the recommendations of the
Appeals Advisory Committee, and may either—
allow the appeal and direct the
Director-General to grant or renew the licence or to revoke the suspension or cancellation of the licence; or
disallow the appeal for reasons assigned.
The Director-General shall comply with any direction issued to him under subsection (3) by the Secretary.
When an application for a licence or the renewal of a licence is refused, the
Director-General shall refund to the applicant or the licensee, as the case may be, the fee accompanying such application.
The decision of the Secretary under this section shall be final and conclusive.
14M. (1) A licence granted under this Part shall not be transferred except with the consent of the Director-General and any such transfer shall be endorsed upon such licence. In the event of a transfer, the registration of the fishing boat shall be transferred in the transferee’s name.
Transfer of licences.
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A person whose licence has been cancelled under section 14J shall not be entitled to have a licence transferred in his name.
14N. The Director-General shall, subject to the availability of resources, conduct long term educational and training programmes, to educate the fishers on the regulations made under this Act and on the guidelines issued by the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission; and to create awareness among fishers about the measures taken by the Government to conserve fish stocks and to minimize pollution.”.