Fisheries Law

1. Fishing, holding, transhipping, landing, storing, selling and offering part or all of the carapace of the following sharks shall be prohibited throughout national maritime waters: a) Whale shark (Rhincondon Typus): b) White shark (Carcharodon carcharias); c) Hammerhead shark (Sphirna Zygaena, Shirna Lewini, Sphirna mokarran); d) Basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus); e) White-tipped shark (Carcharhinus longimanus); f) Sardinian shark (Lamna nasus); or g) thresher shark (Alopias superciliosus).
2. The prohibitions referred to in the previous paragraph shall apply to fishing on the high seas or in waters under the jurisdiction of third States by national fishing vessels.

1. Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous article, the following shall be prohibited in national maritime waters: a) The capture of sharks for the sole purpose of utilising the fins; or b) The removal ("finning") of shark fins on board vessels, as well as keeping them on board, transhipping them or landing them.
2. Without prejudice to the provisions of the previous paragraph and in order to facilitate storage on board, fins may be partially cut and folded with the carcass, but not removed from it before landing.
3. The provisions of the previous paragraphs shall also apply to national fishing vessels when they carry out fishing activities on the high seas or in waters under the jurisdiction of third states.

1. The following are serious administrative offenses: a) Fishing in prohibited areas or temporarily under a closed regime; b) Fishing in national maritime waters outside the areas specifically authorized in the fishing license; c) Fishing at distances from the coast or other reference points or at depths other than those legally established; d) The sale or display for sale of fish or fishing products originating from any of the non-commercial fishing methods provided for in this Decree-Law; e) Violation of the provisions of this decree and of specific legislation on authorized transhipments; f) Incorrect or deficient completion of the fishing log, with the intention of misrepresenting the data or obscuring the information required; g) Violating the duty to make the reports required by law or making knowingly incorrect reports on catches of species subject to TACs and quotas when filling in on-board records; h) Violating the duty of fishing vessels to remain in harbor during the mandatory stop periods established by law; i) The use or keeping on board, in conditions that permit their use, of fishing gear whose mesh size is less than the established minimums or the attachment of devices or systems likely to obstruct or reduce such mesh sizes; j) The use or keeping on board of prohibited fishing gear, or the number, size or technical characteristics of which contravene the established rules; k) The use of fishing vessels outside the respective areas of operation established by law or in the respective fishing license; l) Disobeying the orders of duly identified inspection agents; m) Violating the provisions of this law and special legislation on the commercialization of marine species; n) Depositing or abandoning any fishing gear at sea, on beaches or on the coast; o) Violation of the obligation to unload catches at base ports or landing points, as stipulated in this decree-law.

The application for a fishing license shall be rejected in the following circumstances: a) If, on the basis of the assessment or scientific information available, fishing for the target species referred to in the fishing license application is likely to result in significant damage to the conservation and management of such species and to fishery resources in general, or to marine ecosystems; b) If the applicant has been held administratively or judicially responsible for a very serious offense or two or more serious offenses, as defined in this Decree-Law, within a period of two years prior to the date of the application; c) If the applicant is subject to judicial winding-up proceedings, cessation of payment or bankruptcy or fails to provide adequate financial guarantees; d) If fines for a vessel in the applicant's fleet remain outstanding; e) If the master or fishing vessel concerned has participated in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in the two years preceding the license application; f) If the fishing vessel does not comply, on the advice of the competent maritime authority, with the safety and seaworthiness requirements and technical standards defined by national and international standards or does not comply with the standards for working conditions on board; g) If the fishing vessel does not comply with the legislation in force governing the registration and marking of vessels; h) If the other requirements and conditions laid down in this statute and in special legislation for the issue of a fishing license have not been met; i) If the type of fishing involves the capture of accompanying fauna belonging to a fishery whose access is temporarily closed to economic exploitation and utilization or is under a recovery regime; j) If the type of fishing intended to be carried out with the license applied for is temporarily prohibited or access to the fishing zone is temporarily closed, or the sea zone or target species targeted in the application for the fishing license are in a recovery regime, or the sea zone targeted is closed to fishing activities or reserved for another type of fishing; k) If the fishing vessel for which the license application has been made is already the beneficiary of an existing fishing license granted to the same shipowner, applicant or on behalf of a person other than the applicant; l) If the shipowner does not prove that he has a fishing vessel in operational condition for the duration of the license or intends to use the license to trade with other shipowners or their representatives; or m) If the license application is made in favor of a foreign fishing vessel outside the framework of a fisheries agreement with the flag State, or outside the framework of an access agreement with an international intergovernmental organization of which the flag State is a member, or outside the framework of a fisheries contract with foreign fishermen's associations.

The following sanctions may be applied to very serious offenses: a) In the case of the very serious administrative offenses provided for in Article 119, points a) to g), seizure of the fishing vessel, the fish on board and the fishing gear, with transfer of ownership to the State or to the public entity determined by law, after the seizure decision has become final; b) The revocation of the fishing license, without the right to return part of the fishing fee for the remaining duration of the fishing license; c) The definitive loss by the national fishing vessel of state sponsorship in obtaining a fishing license in maritime waters under the jurisdiction of a third State in cases where the fishing license is granted under a fishing access agreement between Cape Verde and that State, when the national fishing vessel has been punished by a third State for fishing without a license in maritime waters under the jurisdiction of that State or for another very serious administrative offense; d) A ban on the participation of the owner of a fishing vessel punished for a very serious administrative offense under this law in fairs related to fishing, organized by national public bodies; or e) The inclusion of the fishing vessel and its owner on the national list of fishing vessels practising IUU fishing.