Govt. signs tough new fishing regulations

Jun 12, 2018 News

– $1M fines for illegal fishing; stricter penalties for turtle protection

Government has signed new fishing regulations which tout tougher fines and stricter monitoring
of high seas operations.
The order, signed on April 21 by Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder, is known as The Fisheries (Exemption from Registration and Licensing) Order 2018. It was gazetted on May 26.
The order will revoke the 1957 fishing regulations.
It will come at a time when the US and other large customers are demanding Guyana put into place tougher checks and balances to ensure that fishing is legal and that the process is verifiable.
Among other things, boat owners and captains have to ensure certificates of not only the vessels but the installation of geographical monitoring systems and devices to protect turtles and other protected species.
Failure to implement could see Guyana losing its markets.
Already, one large fishery operations, BEV Processors, is preparing to close from mid-July. The company’s owner, Bruce Vieira, has cited tougher conditions, on certifications and deadline and market prices, as the main concerns for the decision.
With regards to the new regulations, foreign fishing vessels may operate but have to be licensed with the operators mandated to keep meticulous records of catches and for these to be submitted within 15 days to the Chief Fisheries Officer (CFO) or its designates.
The regulations forbid the transfer of catches to and from the foreign vessels unless these are approved.
According to the order, even the fish pens and pin seines which are used to trap fish have to be licensed.
It is a no-no for the permits or licences to be sold or in any way transferred without the permission of the CFO.
Boat operators have to monitor traps and cannot leave them unattended for more than two days.
The traps and other equipment, including buoys, all have to be marked or will be disposed of.
Failure to have a by-catch reduction device and a certificate could see fines of up to $250,000.
Notably, once the fishing boats have set their traps, it is not allowed for any other fishing activities to take place within a nautical mile. This is to prevent overfishing.
There are even tougher fines for fishing vessels without a Turtle Exclude Device (TED). The fines could go to $1M. Any turtles caught must be released and if hurt will have to be resuscitated according to established procedures.
All vessels must also carry a spare TED.
In another arsenal to fight illegal fishing, the regulations also speaks of the Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS).
The equipment allows for a vessel to be located on the waters, wherever it is.
The regulations speak to the establishment of a Fisheries Monitoring Centre in the Agriculture Ministry which will be responsible for operating system for control and surveillance of fishing activities.
The Minister will have the sole discretion for the installation of the equipment which will not be more than two months.
The regulations warned about tampering of the equipment to distort the position of the vessel.
Under the regulations, the VMS has to be programmed to automatically transmit the identification of the vessel, the most recent geographic position of the vessel of not more than 500 meters and the date and time of the fixing of the position of the vessel.
When illegal fishing is identified by VMS coordination, an illegal fishing card shall be created,
Breaches will result in the suspension and revocation of the vessel.
Under the order also, vessels have to submit the names of its crew and master (captain).
Fishing more than three times in a prohibited area could result in the licence being suspended up to 100 days with the crew and master barred from being on board of a fishing vessel.
The regulations also speak to the authorities having the powers to designate no fishing zones and to place observers, as it sees fit, for the purpose of monitoring and inspection.
Fishing is a hot-button topic with thousands of persons dependent on it for a living.
It has been beset by piracy, lower catches and price constraints, in recent times.