Law on Marine Fisheries (Title 24 of the Liberian Code of Laws)

LIB 2 2) LAWS ON MARINE FISHERIES Liberian Code of Laws, Title 24, Natural Resources Law. ~ 90. Licenses for captains or owners of fishing trawlers or sports fishermen. - It shall be unlawful for any fishing industry to operate through fishing in the marine or fresh waters of Liberia unless the owner or captain of any erawlQr which is used in such industry shall obtain a license from the Bureau of Internal Revenues. ~ch license may be obtained only on presentation of a certificate from the Bureau of Fisheries of the Depart ment of Agriculture and Commerce stating that the applicant is qualified to receive such license, and on payment of the fee indicated below : Captain or owner of trawler measuring fifty feet in length or over •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Captain or owner of trawler measuring under fifty feet ••••••••••• r~sherman for sport •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• $ 150.00 75.00 10.00 SUch license must be renewed annually. This section shall not apply to captains or owners of trawlers operated by or for the Bureau of Fisheries. S 91. Registration of boats for fishing. - All fishing vessels and gear used for fishing shall be registered in the Bureau of Fisheries of the Department of Agriculture and Commerce. A person desiring to obtain such registration Shall file an application with the Bureau of Fisheries on a form prescribed by the Bureau showing the fitness of the applicant to engage in fishing, the type of fishing to be engaged in, and the type of gear or contri vances and the size and number of vessels to be used. On approval of the application by the Bureau of Fisheries and the presentation by the applicant of an official revenue receipt certifying that the annual license fee for boats prescribed by section 380 of the Revenue and Finance Law has been paid to the Bureau of Internal Revenues, the Bureau of Fisheries shall issue a registration card in favor of the vessel and gear as to which application was made. ~ 92. License plates for boats for fishing. - All boats used for fishing except those ope rated by or for the Bureau of Fisheries shall be required to obtain license plates from the Bureau of Fisheries of the Departement of Agriculture and Commerce. The plate for each boat shall be placed at a conspicuous place on the outer body thereof. A fee of five dollars shall be charged for each plate payable at the Bureau of Internal Revenues. A license plate shall not be issued b,y the Bureau of internal Revenues under thls section to any person within the purview o£ section 85 of this Title who is not in possession of a license required by that section. S 93. Gear on fishing boats. - Owners of fishing boats Shall provide sufficient and ade quate life saving gear for members of the crew. 'n1e Bureau of Fisheries may refuse to grant or may cancel the registration of any fishing boat which does not possess adequate life saving gear. '.!he Bureau of Fisheries may prohibit fishing in any area with any type of fishin! gear which it finds harmful to the fish resources of that area. § 94. Use of dynamite 1. It shall be unlawful for any person, company, or corporation to dynamite in any waters of Liberia, fresh or marine, as a means of killing fish, except for scientific investigation duly authorized by the Department of Agriculture and Commerce or by special permit granterl by the Secretary of Agriculture and Commerce or an official so desi~aten by him. For the implementation of the objective of this section, duly appointed ann authr officials of the Bureau of Fisheries shall have the right to inquire into the means of capture of any quantity of fish, of any person or persons engaged in fishing, ~nd, upon reasonable grounds for suspicion, have them prosecuted in ~y court of competent jurisdic' in the republic. (1) There is doubt whether these provisions have been repealed by the Forestry Develo~€ Authority Act of 1976. 709 LIB 3 in fishing. and. upon reasonable grounds for suspic.jon. hnve them prosecuted in any court of competent jurizdiction in the Republic. 2. All persons importing dynamite shall file a declaration in the office of the Collector of Customs after the arrival of such d)~amite in bond, stating that the dynamite is intended for some special purpose, which shall be specified, and a promise not to use the dyrramf t e for any other purpose. Any person viola ting the provisions of paragraph 2 of this section shall forfeit all the dyna mite imported. ~ 95. Placing harmful substances in streams. 1. It shall be unlawful for any peTson to put into any of the creeks, swamps, rivers, streams or other waters of the RepUblic any poisonous barks, leaves, shrubs, roots, or other poisonous substance for the purpose of destroying or catching fish. 2. No person shall allow sawdust, mill waste or other material that is harmful to fish to enter any stream or waterway in Liberia. S 96. Nets and seines. - FOr the purpose of maintaining Ii sustained yield of the fishery no trawl-nets with cod ends, sraaLlcx than thre~ inch mesh shall be used for fishing in Liberian waters. No beach seines with coo ends less than two and one-half inches shall be used for fishing ; but the wings of beach seines may be two and one*half, three, or four inches according to the election of the fishenaan. Fbr the convenience of fishermen all mesh measurements shall be "stretched mesh". § 97. Crabs and lobsters found tnth eggs. - 1b ensure the propagation of the species, all fishermen fishing in Liberian waters shall release crabs and lobsters caught and found with eggs. § 98. Personnel of Bureau of Fisheries on fishing boats. - For the purpose of collecting odd samples and other data for records of the Department of Agriculture and COm merce, the Bureau of Fisheries may place any of its personnel on any fishing boat. § 99. Zones of fishing areas. 1. The Departement of Agriculture and Commerce 1s hereby authorized and empowered to divide the fishing areas of Liberia into zones, and shall take all action necessary and consistent with the objectives of this subchapter to protect and preserve the species from exterm!llation, and may set aside any area or zone for special type of fishing or for experimental purposes. 2. The Departement of Agriculture and Commerce is hereby authorized and empower ed to close any area or zone found to be breeding ground for shrimps or any marine fish for a definite season in order to save the eggs and young of such marine life. § 100. Reports by 11cen5ed fishermen. - All licensed fishermen shall submit a report to the Department of Agriculture and ~erce through the Bureau of Fisheries on or before the 28th day of each month, showing : (a) The area or zone 1n which the fish are caught, (b) Tbnnage of total catch, (c) Type of gear used, (d) Approximate value of the total catch, (e) species of fish eaU8ht~ A person. company, or corporation engaged in processing fish Shall show in its monthly report : (a) Kind of fish processed, (b) Quantity of fish processed. (c) Value of fish processed. 710 sub than than confis-confis