Public Notice for the ban on fishing, collection, sales and export of all species of grouper (Kawakawa) and coral trout (Donu) 2018

Ministry of Fisheries Takayawa Building 360 Toorak Road, P.O.Box 13026, Suva Telephone: (679) 3301011/3318691/3318693 Fax: (679) 3318692/3300435 6 June 2018 PUBLIC NOTICE Ban on fishing, collection, sales and export of ALL SPECIES of Grouper (Kawakawa) and Coral Trout (Donu). Following the Hon Minister of Fisheries media release on the 4 th of June, 2018 regarding the intended seasonal ban for all species of grouper (Kawakawa) and coral trout (Donu) to protect these fish species during their peak breeding seasons; the public is hereby informed that the Ministry is putting in place the following measures: 1. All fishing, collection, sales, and exports of Kawakawa and Donu are prohibited, subject to the following conditions. 2. Stocks held prior to the commencement of this notice may be sold locally until 11 pm on Monday 11 th June 2018. 3. All fish the subject of this notice that were caught prior to this notice coming into effect and that are being held for sale must be either sold by close of business 11 th June, or frozen. All frozen fish the subject of this notice that remain unsold must be bagged and labelled with the name of the fisherman or vendor, and the date it was received, and must be stored and must not be sold for the period of this notice. 4. The quantity of any frozen fish retained under paragraph 3 for future sale must be notified in writing to the Ministry of Fisheries divisional fisheries office by 15 th June 2018, and made available for inspection. 5. There shall be no transportation of fish the subject of this notice permitted between local markets (e.g. from Vanua Levu to Viti Levu). Regulation 4 of the Offshore Fisheries Management Regulation states that  4.-(1) A person shall not kill, take, land, sell or offer or expose for sale, deal in, transport, receive or possess any fish identified in Schedule 2A in accordance with the requirements described in that Schedule.  4.-(2) Any person who contravenes this regulation commits an offence. Schedule 2 A: states that the list is as per directive of the Department of Fisheries from time to time. This notice shall have effect from the 5 th of June, 2018 until 30 th September, 2018. Sanaila Naqali Permanent Secretary for Fisheries