Decree n° 2016-1804

The following are prohibited in maritime waters under Senegalese jurisdiction:

• the practice of trawling for meat;
• the use of straight gillnets for lobster or fish;
• the use of drift gillnets for tuna;
• the use of trawlers over four hundred (400) gross registered tons for coastal shrimp fishing;
• the use of trawls with double parallel wires not entangled in the pocket;
• the use of trawlers of more than one thousand five hundred (1 SOO) gross registered tons (GRT) for coastal fishing, cephalopods and pelagics.

The capture, transport, transhipment, possession, sale, offering for sale and purchase of the following fish, crustaceans and molluscs are prohibited: Paragraph 1.–Poissons:

• scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewis) measuring less than or equal to one hundred and forty-five (145) centimeters.

Without prejudice to the provisions of article 20 of this decree, foreign chartered fishing vessels are subject to the following conditions for obtaining and validating authorization:

• the under-supply situation is duly noted by the competent services of the Minister in charge of Sea Fisheries, who will issue a certificate;
• the chartering is carried out by a legal entity of Senegalese nationality with responsibility for a duly approved treatment unit located in Senegal;
• the existence of a supply contract between the legal entity of Senegalese nationality and the person in charge of the vessel, specifying, among other things, the maximum catch capacity of the vessel to be chartered;
• chartering is authorized only for tuna vessels (pole-and-line vessels, seiners and longliners);
• the catch capacity of the chartered vessel must match the processing and storage capacities of the processing unit. The relevant departments of the Ministry responsible for marine fisheries will assess this situation;
• the chartered vessel must carry at least one observer;
• the duration of the charter vessel's license is one year at most, renewable once;
• • half the crew of the chartered vessel, excluding staff, are Senegalese maritime registrants;
• all catches from chartered vessels are landed in Senegal and processed by the processing unit.

Observers are government agents recruited on behalf of the Ministry of Maritime Fisheries and have the general function of observing fishing activities, monitoring fishing operations, collecting data in consideration of the obligations undertaken by the license holder and relating, in particular, to gear, fishing areas, the quantity and nature of species caught and reporting to the competent authorities.

Observers are not authorized to note fishing violations.

The shipowner, his representative or the captain of the vessel must send a written request for the boarding of observers to the competent department of the Ministry responsible for maritime fisheries.

The shipowner, his representative or the captain of the vessel has the obligation:

• to allow the observer to board the vessel to carry out his duties and to remain on board for the period specified in the request. However, upon request, an extension not exceeding ten (10) days may be granted by the competent service;
• to make the necessary arrangements to embark or disembark the observer on the date, at the time and at the place specified in the request;
• to ensure that the observer has good safety, working and living conditions on board the vessel.

The commander of the fishing vessel must provide the observer with, in particular:

• the information he requests;
• the possibility of having access to navigation or surveillance equipment;
• the authorization to communicate as much as necessary with the competent department of the Ministry responsible for Maritime Fisheries by means of the communication equipment on board;
• the necessary assistance to examine the fishing gear on board the vessel;
• the authorization to film or photograph fishing activities as well as fishing gear or equipment;
• permission to carry out tests, observations and recordings, to take and collect any sample in order to determine the extent of the vessel's activities;
• food and accommodation, when he must remain on board the vessel for more than four (4) hours without interruption.

Where possible, the vessel's commander shall provide the observer with a suitable working area which includes a table with adequate lighting.

When the fishing vessel stops in a foreign port, the observer disembarked for repatriation to his place of origin shall be housed and maintained in a suitable establishment at the shipowner's expense.

The travel expenses of the observer whose vessel stops in a foreign port shall be borne by the shipowner.

Any travel disembarkation of the observer in a foreign port shall be subject to a prior declaration to the competent department of the Ministry responsible for maritime fisheries.

The observer, on board the ship, is entitled to the treatment due to the officers of the ship.

The owner, shipowner, operator or commander of the vessel is prohibited from entering into agreements of any nature whatsoever with observers that allow them to perform seafarer duties on board the vessels.

No observer shall work as a seafarer or perform other duties on board the vessel that are remunerated by the shipowner or commander of the vessel.

The capture, transport, transhipment, possession, sale, offering for sale and purchase of the following fish, crustaceans and molluscs are prohibited: