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Laws of Nigeria

Sea Fisheries (Fishing) Regulations, 1972 (L.N. No. 99 of 1971)

Made 1971 · Text as of 2026-10-01

Public law and official guidance, published as research. Not legal, tax or financial advice.

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About this law

Language
English
Kind
Regulation
Organisation
African Union (AU)
Country
Nigeria
Subjects
Fisheries and aquaculture
Keywords
marine fisheries, inland fisheries, international trade, mesh, continental shelf, bycatch, crustaceans, offences/penalties, fishery management and conservation, aquatic animals, maritime zone, fishing gear/fishing method
Categories
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Text

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  1. SEA FISHERIES (FISHING) REGULATIONS Under Section 11(1) Commencement: 15th August 1972 1. No vessels (except canoes) shall fish within the first two nautical miles of the waters of the Nigerian continental shel f. 2. Trawlers shall not use a codend with stretch mesh size of less than 76mm when trawling for fish in the inshore waters or less than 44mm when trawling for shrimps in areas approved for shrimp trawling. 3. No shrimp trawling is permitted in the inshore waters of the Lagos-West fishing grounds. L.N. '\ "I 1'.J72 Re~lrif ..:li{l1l un lishill;: III ccrt.un .11\.:,1'\ etc. Trawlinc ill inshore watcrx Shrillip irawhne 4. (1) Fishing vessels licensed to fish in the territorial waters of DUrlll'I1l'': "I edible ,illd Nigeria must not dump edible and marketable sea products at sea. mark",,,hk 'C;' Accordingly, fish landed by shrimp trawlers must not be less than prnduct. .. ",.1 75 per cent by weight of the total landings including the head-on export 1h",,·1 weight of the shrimps landed. (2) All the catch must be landed at port and no part of it may be exported or shipped away from Nigeria at sea. (3) Any part of the catch for export shall be exported in the usual manner and subject to any foreign exchange regulations for the exportation of such commodities from Nigeria. 14238 CAP. 404] Sea Fisheries Act Offences. 5. (1) Any person who contravenes or fails to comply with any of the provisions of these Regulations shall be guilty of an offence and be liable to a fine oftwo hundred naira or to imprisonment for six months or to both such fine and imprisonment. (2) Where an offence under these Regulations which has been committed bya body corporate is proved to have been committed bythe consent orconnivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on thepart ofanydirector, manager, secretaryor othersimilarofficer of the body corporate, or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, he, as well as the body corporate shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly. Interpretation. 6. In these Regulations "the inshore waters',' is a referenceto thatpartof thecontinental shelf with depth not more than 50 metres.; "the Lagos-West fishing grounds" is a referenceto that area of the continental shelfadjacent to the Lagos, Ogun, Oyoand Ondo States; "shrimp" includes prawns and other similar edible crustacea; and "the territorial watersof Nigeria" has the meaningassigned thereto Cap. 428 in the Territorial Waters Act. Short title. 7. These Regulations maybe cited as the Sea Fisheries (Fishing) Regulations,

Sea Fisheries (Fishing) Regulations, 1972 (L.N. No. 99 of 1971) · Nelum