Organic Integral Penal Code

Directed fishing of sharks, rays and other elasmobranchs as determined by the ecuadorian fisheries governing body is prohibited, as well as the manufacture, transportation, importation and marketing of fishing gear used to capture these resources, the mutilation of shark fins and the discarding of their bodies into the sea, the importation, transshipment and internment of whole sharks or shark fins in any state of conservation or processing, even when they have been captured in international waters.

A person who hunts, fishes, logs, captures, collects, extracts, possesses, transports, introduces, stores, traffics, supplies, mistreats, benefits from, exchanges, or commercializes specimens or their parts, their constituent elements, products, and derivatives, of terrestrial, marine, or aquatic wildlife, of species listed as protected by the National Environmental Authority or by international instruments or treaties ratified by the State, shall be punished with imprisonment of one to three years.

The maximum penalty shall be applied if any of the following circumstances are present:

The act is committed during a seed production, reproduction, incubation, nesting, birthing, rearing, or growth period of the species; or during a closed season. The act is committed on threatened, endangered, endemic, transboundary, or migratory species. The act is committed within the National System of Protected Areas, special areas for biodiversity conservation, national forest heritage, or fragile ecosystems. The act causes significant damage to biodiversity or natural resources. The act is committed using techniques or means not permitted by national regulations.

If it is determined that a legal entity participated in the commission of the offense, or if the act is attributed to the improper exercise of its right for hunting, fishing, shellfish gathering, or research activities, the sanction will also include temporary closure for a period equal to that of the imprisonment imposed on the natural person. The same disqualification will apply to the partners or shareholders of the legal entity.

The only exceptions to this provision are subsistence hunting, fishing, or capture, traditional medicine practices, as well as domestic use of wood by communities, peoples, and nationalities within their territories, provided that such uses are non-commercial and non-profit, which should be regulated by the National Environmental Authority.

The following are considered serious fishing infractions in fishing activities:a) Carrying out fishing and related activities without having the respective fishing license; b) Failure to comply with the obligations established in the fishing authorizations or licenses; c) Failure to comply with the rules established in this Law, in its regulations, in executive decrees, in ministerial agreements and resolutions relating to the management and modality of fishing; d) Failure to comply with the rules that regulate fishing effort or fishing gear; e) Failure to comply with traceability protocols, crisis management, and obligations established by the ecuadorian fisheries governing body; f) Failure to comply with the obligations established in international treaties on fishing or in the rules of the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations when they violate measures for the conservation and management of fishing resources; and, g) Any conduct classified as minor offense in matters of fishing, committed by individuals or legal entities linked to stateless vessels or vessels identified by the ecuadorian fisheries governing body, Regional Fisheries Management Organizations or other organizations, for having engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.

In the control of fishing activity: a) Failure to keep on board the logbook or fishing log or not to install it if it is electronic as provided by the regulations; b) Failure to record in the logbook or fishing log the information and in the terms detailed by the regulations; c) Failure to comply with the obligation to deliver to the competent authorities the fishing logbook, landing declaration upon arrival at port and other information required by current regulations; d) Failure to request authorization from the competent authorities for transshipments; (e) Failure to notify in advance the arrival at port in the case of fishing vessels of other flags, or failure to comply with current regulations on port entry, landings or use of port services; (f) Failure to notify the landing of fish by national vessels in foreign ports; (g) Failure to send or deliver reports prepared by the observer, in accordance with national regulations or those of Regional Fisheries Management Organizations; (h) Failure to comply with current regulations on the prohibition of discards; (i) Carrying out transit during the closed season, without authorization from the governing body; (j) The modification of fishing vessels that increases storage capacity, when such increase has not been authorized; and, k) Failure to comply with the obligations, duties and provisions contained in the Agreement on port state measures, intended to prevent, discourage and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, which are not stipulated as very serious in this Law, is considered a serious violation.

In processing and marketing: a) Delivering the fish to an Ecuadorian processing plant other than the one listed in the partnership contract, without prior authorization from the governing body; b) Delivering the fish to a foreign processing plant despite having entered into a partnership contract with an Ecuadorian processing company without prior authorization, except for the exceptions established in this Law; c) Processing or marketing fish that does not comply with health regulations; d) Carrying out economic activity without having the permits, registrations, authorizations and other documents issued by the different public institutions that regulate economic activity; e) Establishing or expanding production lines without the authorization of the governing body; and, f) Importing fishery products without authorization from the governing body.

Regardin species:a) The possession, transshipment, landing, custody or storage, before their first sale, of fish species whose origin is not accredited in accordance with current regulations; b) The capture, possession, transshipment, landing, custody or storage, before their first sale, of fish species without the necessary authorisations or under conditions other than those established therein; c) The capture, before their first sale, of unauthorized fish species or those for which the total admissible catches or quotas have been exhausted; d) The capture, possession, transshipment, landing, custody or storage, before their first sale, of fish species of a size or weight smaller than that permitted or, where appropriate, when the permitted margins for certain species are exceeded; e) Non-compliance with the regulations on maximum permitted catch or landing limits; and, f) The vessel or captain that carries out fishing activities associated with dolphins, without having a dolphin mortality limit (DML) or that exceeds its limits.

Regarding fishing gear or tackle: a) Failure to comply with the technical measures relating to its mode of use; b) Possession or use of prohibited, unauthorized or non-regulatory gear or tackle; c) Modifying fishing gear without authorization; d) Using devices that reduce the selectivity of gear or tackle; and, e) Intentionally carrying out fishing activities in interaction with a marine mammal, sea turtle or whale shark.

The following are considered very serious fishing offenses: h) The use of explosives, weapons, toxic, poisonous, soporific or corrosive substances in fishing activities;

Artisanal shipowners, to safeguard the safety of the crew, must install a satellite monitoring device on their vessels, among other safety requirements established by the competent authorities. The artisanal vessel may set sail only if it has the satellite monitoring device in operational condition. The device must guarantee the automatic transmission of the updated geographic position of the vessel, and must remain in operation on board at all times from departure until arrival at an authorized port.

Artisanal, recreational or research fishing vessels that carry out extractive fishing activities and industrial fishing vessels of national flag and other flags under charter, commercial leasing or associated contracts that operate in jurisdictional or non-jurisdictional waters must install on board and maintain in permanent operation at least one tracking device endorsed by the ecuadorian fisheries governing body of national defense.