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.

1. The granting, suspension or revocation of fishing licenses for foreign industrial fishing vessels, as well as the granting, suspension or revocation of authorizations for fishing on the high seas, shall be the responsibility of the member of the Government responsible for the Fisheries sector and shall be exercised under the terms of this statute and under the terms of the applicable legislation.
2. The granting, suspension or revocation of fishing licenses or authorizations not included in the previous paragraph are the responsibility of the Director General of Marine Resources.

1. Fishing licenses for artisanal, semi-industrial and industrial fishing may only be suspended or revoked by decision of the competent authority under the terms of this statute, under the following conditions: a) For reasons of management and conservation of fishery resources, on the basis of a scientific opinion from the competent national or international institutions, after hearing the Fisheries Council, or as a result of a recommendation from the international and regional organizations of which Cape Verde is a member; b) As an accessory penalty imposed for an administrative offense committed under the terms of this statute; or c) For non-use of the fishing license for a period of more than two months, in the absence of weighty reasons beyond the shipowner's control.
2. In the event of the revocation or suspension of the fishing license on the basis of point a) of the previous paragraph, the respective holder shall be entitled to a proportional refund of the part of the fishing license fee paid in return for the period during which the fishing license was not used.
3. The beneficiary of a fishing license that has been revoked or suspended under the terms of paragraph 1(a) shall have priority in obtaining a fishing license to catch the same species or species authorized in the revoked or suspended fishing license when the circumstances provided for in paragraph 1(a) cease to exist.

1. Any national or foreign fishing vessel with a licence to fish in national maritime waters must be registered in the national fishing vessel register, under the terms of the applicable special legislation.
2. The competent authority must systematically check the history of the fishing vessel and the activities of its owner prior to any entry in the register.

The competent authority shall ensure the widest possible dissemination, including through its website, of the identification of fishing vessels registered in the national fishing vessel register, operating in national maritime waters or on the high seas, indicating the date of their registration, the identification of their owner, charterer or operator, as well as the type of fishing they practise and the base port to which they have been assigned.