Fisheries and Aquaculture Code

The captain of a fishing vessel who: (a) Has carried out unauthorized fishing and transhipment operations in Malagasy maritime waters referred to in Article 3(a), without having been authorized to do so; (b) has fled to protect the inspection vessel. The infringements referred to in points a) and b) above shall result in the automatic seizure of the catches on board or the proceeds of their sale and the equipment used in the infringement committed. In addition, the court may order the confiscation of the vessel. In the event of a repeat offense, the confiscation of the vessel with which the offense was committed shall take place immediately in its own right.

It is punishable by a fine of $ 300,000 to $ 700,000 and/or imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) months for industrial fishing and $ 100,000 to $ 300,000 and/or imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) months for artisanal fishing, any person who: a) Engages in fishing without a license or authorization; b) Fishes for a species of aquatic organism subject to a special management system without a fishing right holder; c) Uses or possesses prohibited fishing gear or devices that alter the selectivity of fishing gear; d) uses prohibited fishing methods; (e) fishes in a prohibited area or during a closed season; (f) fishing, transhipping, landing, retaining, selling, buying, transporting, processing and processes species of fishery resources

• whose capture is prohibited;
• of a non-regulatory size or weight;
• during closed fishing periods; (g) falsifies, conceals or destroys evidence that could be used in an investigation for the purposes of legal proceedings; h) deliberately obstructs surveillance and control operations; i) does not follow the rules;
• quota management;
• concerning the import and export of species of fishery resources;
• governing remote communication: reports, movements of fishing vessels, data relating to fishery products held on board;
• relating to by-catches and discards;
• procedures governing the transhipment and unloading of fishery products; j) Interfere with the fishing vessel's tracking device installed on board a vessel; (k) falsify documents and information relating to the technical specifications of fishing vessels; (l) falsify or fail to record the data required in fishing logs, landing declarations, sales notes and transport documents, or withhold or fail to present the aforementioned documents; (m) modifies any technical characteristic of a national fishing vessel without prior authorization from the Ministry responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture; (n) refuses to obey a stop order given by a fisheries inspector; (o) falsifies, removes or conceals the identification marks of the vessel and the fishing gear; p) does not comply with international conservation and management measures. The above infringements result in the automatic seizure of the catches found on board or the proceeds of their sale. In addition, the court may order the confiscation of the vessel. In the event of a repeat offense, the fishing gear and other means used are automatically confiscated. Penalties applicable to small commercial fisheries

A fine of 200 to 2,000 dollars and/or imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) months for small commercial fishing shall be punishable for any person who: (a) engages in fishing without a fisherman's license; b) fishes for a species of aquatic organism subject to a specific management system without a permit; c) uses or possesses prohibited fishing gear or devices that alter the selectivity of fishing gear; d) uses or possesses illegal fishing gear; e) using prohibited fishing methods; (f) fishing in a prohibited area or during a closed season; (g) fishes, trans-ships, lands, retains, sells, buys, transports and processes species of fishery resources

• whose capture is prohibited;
• of a non-regulatory size or weight;
• during closed fishing periods; (h) falsifies, conceals or destroys evidence that could be used in the context of an investigation for the purposes of legal proceedings; (i) deliberately obstructs surveillance and control operations; (j) refuses to obey a stop order given by a fisheries inspector; (k) does not respect the international conservation and management measures applicable to Madagascar.

It is punishable by a fine of US$ 50,000 to US$ 70,000 for industrial fishing and US$ 15,000 to US$ 40,000 for artisanal fisheries, any person who: a) does not have the original license on board; b) abandons fishing gear at sea; c) does not comply with the rules governing the remote communication of the movements and reports of fishing vessels, as well as data relating to fishery products kept on board; d) does not comply with the identification marks for vessels and fishing gear; e) does not present the mandatory technical documents relating to the fishing vessel; f) does not present or have a retention plan certified by one of the competent authorities designated by regulation; (g) does not have a regulatory pilot scale; (h) uses or possesses illegal fishing gear or uses prohibited fishing methods; (i) does not respect the conditions for embarking or disembarking observers; (j) deliberately obstructs observers in the performance of their duties; k) does not follow the rules:

• transfer of fishing license or permit;
• concerning the keeping of fishing logs;
• protecting fishing gear;
• storing catches on board fishing vessels.

Within the framework of the agreements concluded between the Malagasy State and the coastal State, any person who, in Madagascar or in the waters referred to in Article 3 paragraph, acts on his own account shall be punished by a fine of 350,000 to 500,000 dollars for initiating, or requesting or authorizing a person acting on his behalf to land, export, transport, sell, purchase or acquire fishery resources caught, possessed, transported or sold in violation of the legislation of another State or of an international conservation and management measure.

It is punishable by a fine of US$ 50,000 to US$ 70,000 for industrial fishing and U$D 15,000 to U$D 40,000 for artisanal fishing, any person who: b) abandons fishing gear at sea;

Transshipment: Any act involving the transfer at sea of fishery products from one vessel to another.

The fishing logbook must contain, in particular, data on the identity of the vessel, the composition of total catches by target and by-catch species, discard statistics, fishing effort statistics, the fishing location, the date and duration of fishing, and information on transhipments.

All transshipments by fishing vessels in waters under Malagasy jurisdiction are prohibited.

Notwithstanding paragraph 1 of this article, transshipments by foreign vessels may be carried out in ports or in roadsteads, subject to the requirements of use and the port of entry.

The relevant terms and conditions are set by regulation.

The landing of fishery products must be subject to controls by the authority responsible for fisheries surveillance in application of the provisions of the Port State Measures.

The following natural persons are criminally liable: a) the captain of the fishing vessel, the shipowner and the charterer; b) their agents:

• the sponsor of prohibited fishing operations and illegal harvesting ;
• the operator of a processing, treatment or storage facility for fishery products; Legal entities associated with the offense are criminally liable.

The Ministry responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture shall keep a register in which all foreign vessels authorized to fish in waters under Malagasy jurisdiction shall be registered.

The Ministry responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture shall lay down the conditions for the creation and registration of national fishing vessels and their operation in the register, as well as the organization and operation of the fishing vessel register.

Any modification to the main technical characteristics of a fishing vessel is subject to authorization by the Ministry responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture and must be entered in the fishing vessel register.

No vessel may be authorized to fish in maritime waters under Malagasy jurisdiction if it does not have a fishing license. The Ministry responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture defines the terms and conditions for granting fishing licenses by regulation.

The Ministry responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture shall register a license fishing conditions, with a view to ensuring better management of fishery resources and preserve aquatic ecosystems, including: a) the type, quantity and manner of use of fishing gear and equipment; b) the periods or zones in which the vessel is authorized to fish; c) minimum sizes, weights of species and the quantity authorized to fish; d) restrictions on by-catches and discards; e) the embarkation of observers and scientists. The Ministry responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture shall define the general conditions and additional conditions to which fishing licenses or certain categories of fishing licenses are subject.

The Ministry responsible for Fisheries and Aquaculture shall refuse to grant or renew a license to a fishing vessel and/or support vessel in the following cases:

• if the foreign vessel for which the licence is requested has in the past participated in unreported and unregulated illegal fishing operations or if the vessel appears on the list of IUU vessels maintained by one of the regional fisheries organizations of which Madagascar is a member, unless the vessel has changed ownership and the new owner can conclusively establish that the former owner no longer has any legal, financial or even de facto interest with the said vessel and does not exercise any control over it;

It shall be punishable by a fine of U$D 300,000 to U$D 700,000 and/or imprisonment from three (3) to six (6) months for industrial fishing and U$D 100,000 to U$D 300,000 and/or imprisonment from one (1) to three (3) months for artisanal fishing, any person who: a) Engages in fishing without a license or authorization;

It is punishable by a fine of 200 to 2,000 U$D and/or imprisonment of one (1) to three (3) months for small commercial fishing, any person who: (a) engages in fishing without a fisherman's license;

Any person who: a) does not have the original license on board; k) does not follow the rules:

• transfer of fishing license or permit;

Any fishing vessel authorized to fish in maritime waters under national jurisdiction and any national fishing vessel authorized to operate beyond these waters is required to use a vessel tracking system. Such a system must enable information to be transmitted automatically to the Fisheries Monitoring Centre, thus enabling the position of the fishing vessel to be constantly monitored. The relevant terms and conditions are laid down by regulation.