[Document] Fisheries Bill

The main object of this Bill is to repeal the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act and replace it by a more appropriate legislative framework following the recommendations made by the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries of the European Commission (DG MARE) and taking into consideration the rapid growth of the fisheries sector worldwide.

2.Accordingly, with a view to meeting international norms and standards, the Bill, inter alia –
(a)takes on board our regional and international obligations as a Flag State, Coastal State and Port State and makes provisions –
(i)for the management, protection and conservation of marine resources, biodiversity and marine ecosystems;
(ii)to enable the sustainable development of fisheries and aquaculture; and
(iii)to ensure the effective control and enforcement of fishing or fishing related activities and to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing or fishing related activities;
(b)takes on board international instruments which have been developed concerning the management of world fishery resources, including resolutions of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) which establishes a series of legally binding measures covering a wide range of issues, including data collection and sharing, conservation and management measures capacity management, compliance and enforcement, including Flag State duties, Port State measures and Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS), vessel monitoring system and observer programmes;
(c)makes new provisions for the removal of wrecks, management of abandoned fishing vessels, deregistration of fishing vessels, management of genetic resources, marking of fishing vessels and issue of stop order for illegal structures, amongst others;
(d)makes new provisions for monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement and also provides for a Fisheries Monitoring Centre which will be responsible for the monitoring of the vessel monitoring system, the electronic reporting system and the automatic identification system;
(e)provides for tougher penalties to deter illegal activities and fixedpenalties are being introduced with regard to less serious offences.

3.In addition, the Bill caters for the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on Drug Trafficking Report 2018, where it will be mandatory to notify relevant authorities when going on fishing expeditions.

4.Opportunity has also been taken to address shortcomings observed in the Fisheries and Marine Resources Act, in particular to ensure a more effective and robust control and enforcement of fishing or fishing related activities.