DECREE 2256 OF 1991

In development of the provisions of numeral 12 of article 54 of Law 13 of 1990, it is also prohibited: To return to the water specimens captured as accompanying fauna in the exercise of fishing, when they are not in conditions to survive. These specimens must be destined for internal consumption.
To process, commercialize or transport fish products that are banned, or that do not comply with the minimum sizes established.
Impeding or obstructing inspections or searches to be carried out by INPA officials and other public officials in the exercise of their attributions.
Use vessels or autonomous floating plants, called factory ships for the extraction or processing of fishery resources in jurisdictional waters.
Fishing in polluted waters, declared unfit for the exercise of fishing activities by the competent entity.

All Colombian natural and juridical persons may request to exercise the fishing activity, through the presentation of an application containing the data and requirements that, for each case, are established by the Board of Directors of the INPA. If the applicant is a foreign natural person, he must prove his status of resident in the country, except in the cases of research fishing and sport fishing indicated in this Decree.
If the applicant is a foreign juridical person, the fishing permit for research fishing or sport fishing as mentioned in Articles 78 and 80 of this Decree can be granted, for which they shall prove their existence and legal representation, constitute a proxy that assumes the representation of the juridical person and identify the natural persons that make up the research or sport team.

All Colombian natural and juridical persons may request to exercise the fishing activity, through the presentation of an application containing the data and requirements that, for each case, are established by the Board of Directors of the INPA. If the applicant is a foreign natural person, he must prove his status of resident in the country, except in the cases of research fishing and sport fishing indicated in this Decree.
If the applicant is a foreign juridical person, the fishing permit for research fishing or sport fishing as mentioned in Articles 78 and 80 of this Decree can be granted, for which they shall prove their existence and legal representation, constitute a proxy that assumes the representation of the juridical person and identify the natural persons that make up the research or sport team.

The INPA shall grant, by means of an administrative act, the permits to carry out the fishing activity, for which it shall adopt the corresponding pre-printed formats.

The permits referred to in this Decree are non-transferable. The transfer to any title of vessels, gear, establishments or facilities, does not imply the transfer of the permit owned by the person who transfers.

The permits whose duration is superior to one (1) year, shall be reviewed annually by the INPA to verify the fulfillment of the obligations in charge of its holder, especially those related to the presentation of reports, to fix the fishing quota and the value of the rates and rights that the holder of the permit must pay for the corresponding period.

The administrative act that grants a permit shall determine at least the following: Identification of the permit holder.
The area of operations.
The fishing quota for the corresponding period. The minimum percentage of the quota that shall be destined for domestic consumption.
The obligations on the form of exploitation of the resource.
The term of the permit.
The grounds for revocation and the penalties for non-compliance.
The requirements for the extension, when applicable.
The value of the rates and fees and the form of payment for each period.
The rest that for each class of permit in particular, establishes the present Decree.

In any case, the validity of the quotas authorized in the permits is conditioned to the availability of the fishing resources, so that they may be modified when there are variations in the biological-fishing conditions that gave rise to their issuance. Likewise, they may be suspended, prior study of the available information when there are reasons that merit it.

In accordance with the provisions of article 13 of Law 13 of 1990, when the INPA, based on its investigations and taking into account the best scientific evidence and the information and reliable statistical data that other public and private entities linked to the fishing activity possess, considers that any fishing resource is overexploited, they may declare it by means of a duly motivated administrative act. In order to reach the maximum sustainable yield levels, in the same administrative act, the INPA Board of Directors may adopt, in its order, the following measures:

1. To proportionally decrease the fishing quotas assigned to the different permit holders that exploit the resource with foreign flag vessels. If this is the case, the corresponding fishing patents shall be suspended.
2. To proportionally decrease the other fishing quotas assigned, both for industrial and artisanal fishing, if overexploitation persists. If this is the case, the fishing patents of national flag vessels and commercial artisanal fishing permits shall be suspended.

Nevertheless, the INPA may at any time propose the establishment of the prohibition of space and time, in accordance with the provisions of Article 121 of this Decree.

When the holder of a fishing permit requires the use of vessels larger than three (3) tons of net registration, these shall be covered by the corresponding fishing patent, according to the provisions of this Decree.

The following permits are hereby established:

1. Fishing permit, which may be: 1.1. Commercial artisanal, 1.2. Commercial industril 1.3. Commercial exploratory, 1.4. Commercial ornamental, 1.5. Research, 1.6. Sport Fishing (now prohibited by the Constitutional Court)
2. Processing permit,
3. Commercialization permit,
4. Integrated fishing permit,
5. Cultivation permit

Natural persons, artisanal fishing companies and artisanal fishermen associations may obtain an artisanal commercial fishing permit, for which they shall submit an application with the requirements established by the INPA Board of Directors. The INPA may offer free technical advice to these persons and organizations to facilitate compliance with the requirements demanded.

In the case of cooperatives, companies and associations of artisanal fishermen, INPA shall grant the artisanal commercial fishing permit for up to five (5) years, by means of an administrative act that shall contain, in addition to the provisions of Article 57 of this Decree, the following: Identification of affiliates.
Obligation to register the members of the respective organization.
Obligation to exercise control so that artisanal fishing is carried out only by the associates holding the respective membership card.
Determination of the phases of the fishing activity authorized to be carried out.
Obligations to submit periodic reports on their fishing activity in the form and with the content established by INPA, by means of an administrative act of the Board of Directors.
The commercial artisanal fishing permit for natural persons shall be granted through the issuance of a card that identifies the fisherman and shall contain the information that INPA deems necessary. The term of duration of this permit may be up to five (5) years.

The commercialization of the fishing products shall be covered with the same commercial artisanal fishing permit.

The INPA, in accordance with the provisions of numeral 3 of article 51 of Law 13 of 1990, may reserve areas for the exclusive exercise of artisanal commercial fishing, when the beneficiary fishermen demonstrate their capacity to effectively take advantage of the fishing resources existing in said areas, in a rational manner.
In the aforementioned areas, no fishing permits other than commercial artisanal fishing may be granted and its exercise will be sanctioned as illegal fishing.
The INPA may lift the reserve when it is proven that the beneficiary fishermen do not effectively take advantage of the fishing resources of the area.

The identification of an area for artisanal commercial fishing does not mean that the artisanal fishermen of the region must restrict their activities only to it.

The exploitation of the fishing resources existing in the lagoons, marshes, meanders and reservoirs shall be carried out, preferably, by legally organized artisanal fishermen, independently or associated with the INPA.

Commercial industrial fishing in jurisdictional waters may only be carried out with Colombian flag vessels, or foreign flag vessels when they have been contracted by Colombian fishing companies that destine part of their production to the internal supply of the country, in the percentage indicated by the Board of Directors of INPA. The fishing product shall be unloaded in Colombian ports.

To obtain the industrial commercial fishing permit, the petitioner shall accompany his application with the plan of activities in the terms and with the requirements established by the Board of Directors of INPA.

The INPA shall grant the industrial commercial fishing permit for a term of up to five (5) years by means of an administrative act that shall contain, in addition to the provisions of Article 57 of this Decree, the following: The obligation to disembark the product of the fishing in a Colombian port before its commercialization.
The minimum percentage of the products that must be destined to the national market. The number, characteristics and net registered tonnage of the authorized vessels.
The obligation to submit periodic reports in the form established by the Board of Directors of the INPA.
The guarantee that must be constituted when fishing tuna and tuna-like species with foreign flag vessels, according to the characteristics determined by the INPA Board of Directors.
The obligation to adopt the necessary measures to avoid the capture of dolphins, in the case of tuna and tuna-like species fishing.
Other obligations established by the INPA Board of Directors. The commercialization of the products shall be covered with the same permit.

The industrial commercial fishing permit shall be valid to operate in the waters of a single ocean and in the zones authorized therein. The INPA, however, for reasons of fishing season, or for highly migratory species, may cover, with the same permit, fishing in both oceans when requested by the interested party. In this case, the fishing quota corresponding to each ocean shall be specified. Likewise, the permit holder shall inform the INPA of the change, prior to its implementation.

Commercial exploratory fishing is that which has as its objective the capture of species whose potential for commercial exploitation is unknown or the use of new fishing arts or methods to practice commercial fishing, with national or foreign flag vessels.

The Board of Directors of INPA shall establish the requirements that must be complied with to request a permit for exploratory commercial fishing and the content of the plan of activities that must accompany the request.

The INPA may grant the exploratory commercial fishing permit for a term of up to one (1) year by means of an administrative act that, in addition to the provisions of Article 57 of this Decree, shall contain; the species to be evaluated, maximum extraction or capture limit, requirement and terms of the final report, guarantee of compliance with the obligations of the permit holder and the obligation to have a representative of the INPA on board. In special cases, technically justified, the permit may be extended once for up to one (1) year.

Ornamental commercial fishing is that which has the purpose of extracting aquatic organisms whose specimens can be kept alive in aquariums, ponds or wells, as a simple ornament.
The species that traditionally serve as food for direct human consumption cannot be exploited as ornamental, except those that are the product of reproduction, natural or induced, in controlled environments. The INPA shall establish the procedure for the permit holder to demonstrate the origin of these species.

The extraction of ornamental species can only be carried out by obtaining an artisanal commercial fishing permit in the manner provided in articles 62 and following of this Decree. This permit empowers its holder to freely commercialize the products subject to the dispositions of the present Decree.

To commercialize ornamental aquatic organisms, the interested party shall request and obtain the commercialization permit foreseen in Section 8 of this Chapter. With the application, the interested party shall present the plan of activities and prove that he has adequate facilities, according to the specifications determined by the INPA. For the exploitation of these products, the authorization foreseen in numeral 6 of article 47 of Law 13 of 1990 is required

Any natural or juridical person, national or foreign, has the right to research fishing, according to what is foreseen in articles 21 and 22 of the present Decree and after obtaining the corresponding permit granted by the INPA. It may also be exercised through association with the INPA, in accordance with the provisions of Article 105 of this Decree. In order to obtain a research fishing permit, the petitioner shall accompany his application with the corresponding research plan, under the terms and with the requirements established by INPA, by means of an administrative act of its Board of Directors.

The research fishing permit shall be granted for a term of up to five (5) years, by means of an administrative act that, in addition to the provisions of Article 57 of this Decree, shall include the following: The extraction or collection system.
The designation of the Colombian counterpart with the qualities and responsibilities established by the INPA, in the case of requests from foreigners.
The obligation of the permit holder to periodically provide the INPA with the information collected, duly interpreted, and the final report of the investigation.
The conditions of the authorization, if applicable, to allow the specimens or products obtained during the research to leave the country and the prohibition to export single specimens.
The guarantee to ensure non-compliance with the obligations of the permit holder, when INPA considers it convenient.
The area in which the study should be conducted.
The granting of a fishing patent for the authorized vessels.
The obligation to enter into a contract with INPA, in the case of foreigners, in order to guarantee the adequate fulfillment of the corresponding research plan. The rest that the Board of Directors of INPA considers necessary.

The surplus of the products obtained from the research fishing shall be delivered to INPA, to be placed in the internal market or to be donated to public charitable entities, in accordance with the provisions of Article 43 of this Decree. The INPA shall decide, in each case, the convenience of receiving such surplus.

To obtain a sport fishing permit, the interested party shall submit an application to the INPA, with the requirements established by the INPA.
The permit shall be granted for up to five (5) years by means of the issuance of a card that identifies its holder. This card shall be personal and non-transferable and its validity shall be established therein.

The INPA by means of an administrative act shall authorize the contests, areas, species, boats, seasons, systems, quantities and other aspects related to the sport fishing activity.

The fishing clubs and similar associations shall register, prior compliance with the requirements established by the INPA.