Fisheries Regulations

(1) A person shall not carry out finning of sharks, skates or rays or dump the carcasses of these species in the fisheries waters of The Gambia. (2) A person who contravenes paragraph (1) of this regulation commits an offense and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding seven hundred and fifty thousand dalasis or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years, or to both the time and imprisonment. (3) All sharks caught in the fisheries waters of The Gambia shall be landed ashore in The Gambia.

26. A foreign fishing vessel licence shall, among others, be subject to the following conditions- (r) at least twenty per cent of the crew on board shall be Gambian nationals who shall be appointed according to their level of competence, skills, physical fitness and experience;

A foreign fishing vessel licence shall, among others, be subject to the following conditions- (e) fish shall not be trans-shipped from or onto the vessel while in the fisheries waters except with the prior written approval of the Director in accordance with such conditions as he or she may specify;

(1) A fishing vessel shall not be registered on the Register of Fishing Vessels unless the Director is satisfied that- (a) an application has been made in accordance with regulation 4 of these Regulations and is true, correct and complete in every way; (b) the fee prescribed in Schedule II has been paid; (c) the vessel, or its owner, has not been convicted within the last five years of an offense under the Act or its regulations; (d) the vessels, or its owner, has not been convicted within the last five years of an offense under the laws of The Gambia governing navigation, customs, immigration, fiscal measures, health, narcotics or firearms; (e) no evidence exists that gives reasonable cause to believe that the vessel has undermined the effectiveness of international conservation and management measures or has taken part in illegal fishing in the waters of another State or in international waters;

(1) A fishing vessel shall not be registered on the Register of Fishing Vessels unless the Director is satisfied that- (a) an application has been made in accordance with regulation 4 of these Regulations and is true, correct and complete in every way; (b) the fee prescribed in Schedule II has been paid; (c) the vessel, or its owner, has not been convicted within the last five years of an offense under the Act or its regulations; (d) the vessels, or its owner, has not been convicted within the last five years of an offense under the laws of The Gambia governing navigation, customs, immigration, fiscal measures, health, narcotics or firearms; (e) no evidence exists that gives reasonable cause to believe that the vessel has undermined the effectiveness of international conservation and management measures or has taken part in illegal fishing in the waters of another State or in international waters;

(1) The Director shall decide to remove the responsible status of a registered fishing vessel and accord that vessel a "delinquent” status if- (a) the vessel, or its owner or operator, has repeatedly violated the provisions of the Act and its regulations; (b) the vessel, or its owner or operator, has repeatedly violated any Law of The Gambia governing navigation, customs, immigration, fiscal measures, health, narcotics or firearms; (c) evidence exists that gives reasonable cause to believe that the vessel has committed a serious offense against the fisheries laws or regulations of another sub-regional state or against any international conservation and management measures and it has not been possible to bring the vessel or its owner or operator to trial; (d) the owner has submitted information that is untrue, incomplete or incorrect in connection with his or her application for Registration; or (e) the owner or the new owner of the fishing vessel, as the case may be, has failed to comply with the requirement of regulation 9 of these Regulations. (2) Where the Director accords a fishing vessel a delinquent status under paragraph (1) of this regulation, a licence issued in respect of the fishing vessel shall cease to be valid forthwith.

(3) The master of the licensed ship or vessel to which an approved Vessel Monitoring System unit is fitted shall- (a) ensure that the Vessel Monitoring System unit is operating at ail times while fishing and undertaking related activities in the fisheries waters; (b) take reasonable measures to ensure that, if the Vessel Monitoring System unit ceases to operate, he or she is made aware of that fact; (c) immediately alter becoming aware that the Vessel Monitoring System unit has ceased to operate, notify the Vessel Monitoring System administrator of that fact; (d) ensure, prior to engaging in any fishing activity or related activity, that- (i) the Vessel Monitoring System unit has been switched on, (ii) the operation of the Vessel Monitoring System unit has been tested, (iii) the Vessel Monitoring System administrator has confirmed that the Vessel Monitoring System unit is operating.