Décret N° 2015-159 Portant application de la Loi n° 017·2015 29 juillet 2015 portant Code des Pêches

The minimum proportion of seamen of Mauritanian nationality who must be on board fishing vessels operating under the national regime is stipulated by the provisions of the Code de la Marine Marchande.

The minimum proportion of seamen of Mauritanian nationality who must be taken on board fishing vessels operating in Mauritania under the foreign regime is set at 60% of the total crew, including the captain and officers.

Mauritanian seamen must be fully involved in work at sea and in fishing techniques on board the vessels where they are embarked.

Any captain of a deep-sea fishing vessel authorized to operate in waters under Mauritanian jurisdiction shall, when required by the competent authority, allow the Mauritanian scientific observer to embark on board the vessel for the duration of his stay within the said waters. To this end, he shall direct his vessel to a Mauritanian port or any other place that has been designated for the purpose of embarking or disembarking a designated scientific observer. The general function of the scientific observer on board fishing vessels is to observe, on behalf of the authorities responsible for scientific research, the conduct of the activities of fishing vessels.

During the stay on board of a scientific observer, the captain of the vessel must: a) ensure that the observer has good safety, working and living conditions on board the vessel, including food and accommodation at least equivalent to those provided to the officers of the vessel. b) allow the observer to have access to any equipment, register, document or product on board the vessel, to carry out tests, observations and recordings, to film or photograph, to take and collect any samples necessary to determine the nature and extent of the vessel's activities within the limits of Mauritanian waters. c) provide the observer with all reasonable assistance enabling him to carry out the actions provided for in subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph.

A concession will not be granted if the examination of the application reveals in particular that the file is incomplete or that the applicant refuses to provide all the required information; the planned operation threatens the sustainability of the fishery resource; the applicant has provided incorrect or incomplete information; the application does not fall within the framework of the national fisheries policy guidelines; the granting of the concession is contrary to Mauritania's international commitments; one of the vessels considered for the exploitation of the concession has been found to have engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

For control purposes, any coastal or offshore fishing vessel authorized to fish in the Mauritanian exclusive economic zone is required to have on board a transponder allowing its identification by the units and monitoring devices of the national institution responsible for monitoring fisheries. The standards and technical characteristics of the transponder are defined by Order of the Minister responsible for Fisheries.