Deep Sea Fisheries Management and Development Regulations, 2021

(1) The operator of any fishing vessel in the Exclusive Economic Zone or Tanzanian fishing vessel in any area beyond national jurisdiction or that is within the area of competence of a relevant RFMO shall not intentionally cause or allow a purse seine net to be set around any protected, threatened or endangered cetacean or whale shark if it is sighted prior to the commencement of the set. (2) Where any cetacean or whale shark is unintentionally encircled in a purse seine net, the operator referred to in sub regulation (1) shall- (a) take all reasonable steps to ensure the safe release of any cetacean or whale shark, while taking into consideration the safety of the crew, in accordance with best practice guidelines for the safe release and handling of cetacean or whale shark developed by the subsidiary scientific body of a Scientific Committee of a relevant RFMO; and (b) report the incident to the Director General with the following information- (i) in respect of a cetacean, the species if known; (ii) the number of individuals; (iii) a short description of the interaction, including details of how and why the interaction occurred, if possible; (iv) the location of the encirclement; (v) the steps taken to ensure safe release; and (vi) an assessment of the life status of the animal on release, including whether the cetacean or whale shark was released alive but subsequently died. (3) An operator who uses gear types other than purse seiners for fishing tuna and tuna-like species associated with cetacean or whale shark shall report all interactions with cetacean or whale shark to the Director General. (4) The report under sub regulation (3) shall include information as provided under subregulation (2)(b)(i) to–(vi).

(1) The operator of a fishing vessel in the Exclusive Economic Zone, or Tanzanian fishing vessel in any area beyond national jurisdiction or that is within the area of competence of a relevant RFMO equipped with purse seine gear or used as a bait boat that uses Fish Aggregating Devices equipped with instrumented buoys for the purpose of aggregating tuna target species shall- (a) maintain and keep current on board the fishing vessel at all times a Fish Aggregating Devices logbook; (b) mark all artificial Fish Aggregating Devices deployed or modified by the fishing vessels in the area of competence of a relevant RFMO; (c) ensure that the Fish Aggregating Devices are designed and deployed in accordance with the following principles- (i) the surface structure of the Fish Aggregating Devices is not covered, or only covered with non-meshed material; (ii) if a sub-surface component is used, it is not made from netting but from non-meshed materials such as ropes or canvas sheets; and (iii) to reduce the amount of synthetic marine debris, natural or biodegradable materials such as hessian canvas, hemp ropes and others for drifting Fish Aggregating Device is used.

(1) An operator of a fishing vessel in the Exclusive Economic Zone, or Tanzanian fishing vessel in any area beyond national jurisdiction or that is within the area of competence of a relevant RFMO, shall not use, install or operate surface or submerged artificial lights, including on drifting Fish Aggregating Devices, for the purpose of aggregating any tuna or tuna-like species. (2) For the purpose of this regulation “fishing vessel” includes support, supply and auxiliary vessels, in the Exclusive Economic Zone or any Tanzanian fishing vessel within the area of competence of a relevant RFMO.

The terms or conditions for fisheries access agreement entered into by the Director General shall require that- (g) the other party to the agreement shall ensure minimum specified benefits to nationals of the United Republic in terms of training and employing such level of qualified nationals as crew members as may be specified by the Director General; and

(2) Monitoring, control and surveillance shall be carried out by fishery inspectors, authorized officers, observers and such other officers as the Director General may determine.

26. The Director General may refuse to grant a license, authorization or permission, where he determines that- (a)the standards of pre-licensing inspection have not been met; (b) the exploitation of the fisheries is unsustainable; (c)the operator has been convicted of an offense involving dishonesty or fraud; (d) the operator has been involved in an organized criminal group or transnational crime; (e)the operator has committed an offense in the Exclusive Economic Zone, or the vessel has been used for such an offense and any consequent process has not been concluded; (f)the operator is associated with a fishing vessel that is on a list of a relevant RFMO that designates fishing vessels that have engaged in illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing; (g) the fishing vessel flies a flag that is considered to be a “flag of non-compliance” because of the failure of the flag State to exercise effective flag State responsibility based on criteria set out in FAO Guidelines for Flag State Performance; (h) the fishing vessel is not fit for the purpose for which application has been made; (i) port State measures have not been taken against the fishing vessel under an applicable conservation and management measure; or (j) the applicant has not: (i) complied with the terms of an existing or previous license or any other requirement under the Act and these Regulations; and (ii) submitted to due process under these Regulations in respect of the non-compliance or satisfied any applicable determination. (2) The Director General shall not grant a license or permission in relation to any foreign fishing vessel previously licensed for fishing or related activities by a foreign State if that vessel undermined the effectiveness of applicable ICMMs and the foreign State suspended or cancelled the previous license. (3) The restriction under subregulation (2) shall not apply if- (a) the ownership of the vessel has changed since the vessel undermined the effectiveness of applicable ICMMs; or (b) the new owner has provided evidence to the Director General that, in his opinion, demonstrates that the previous owner has no further legal, beneficial or financial interest in the vessel. (4) The Director General shall, in writing, notify the applicant the refusal to grant a license, authorization or permission and the reasons for such refusal.