Updated: Wednesday February 19, 2014/AlArbia'a
Rabi' Thani 19, 1435/Budhavara
Magha 30, 1935, at 08:35:22 PM
The Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing)
Act, 1975
ACT XXXII OF 1975
An Act to provide for the regulation of fishing within the exclusive Fishery
Zone of
[Gazette of
The following Act of Parliament received the assent of the President on the 1st
March 1975, and is hereby published for general information:---
Whereas it is expedient to provide for the regulation of fishing within the
exclusive Fishery Zone of Pakistan and for matters ancillary thereto;
It is hereby enacted as follows:---
1. Short title, extent, application and commencement.-(1) This Act may
be called the Exclusive Fishery Zone (Regulation of Fishing) Act, 1975.
(2)
It extends to the whole of
(3) It applies to all fishing crafts within the Zone and to all persons on
board such fishing crafts.
(4) It shall come into force at once.
2. Definitions.--In this :Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the
subject or context,---
(a) "fish" includes mollusks, crustaceans, kelp and other marine
animals;
(b) "Fishery Officer" means any person who is authorised by the
Federal Government, by notification in the official Gazette, to exercise or
perform any of the powers or functions of Fishery Officer under this Act;
(c) "fishing" means taking or catching of fish within the Zone by any
means;
(d) "fishing craft" includes every vessel of whatever description and
size and in whatever way propelled or moved which is used in fishing or the
transport or processing thereof;
(e) "fishing gear" includes all appliances used for fishing;
(f) "licensing authority" means any person authorised by the Federal
Government, by notification in the official Gazette, to issue licenses under
this Act.
(g) "Prescribed" means prescribed by rules; and
(h) "rules" means rules made under this Act.
3. Fishing without license prohibited.-No person shall, for the purpose
of fishing, operate a fishing craft or use any kind of fishing gear within the
Zone except under the authority of a license neither granted by the licensing
authority nor otherwise than in accordance with the terms and conditions of
such license.
4 Fishing craft subject to navigational regulations. ----- (1) Every
fishing craft shall be subject to any law relating to navigation for the time
being in force.
(2) The location of nets and traps set by a fishing craft shall be prominently
displayed by such means as may be prescribed.
(3) Every fishing gear shall be clear of the navigation channel and: specified
routes of commercial vessels,
5. Dynamiting and poisoning prohibited.---No person shall use dynamite
or any other explosive substance or poison, lime or noxious material for
fishing or destroying fish in the Zone.
6. Closed season and prohibited area.---Notwithstanding anything
contained in this Act, the Federal Government may, by notification in the
official Gazette, declare any period to be period during which, and any area to
be an area within which, fishing of ail or any specified description of fish
shall be prohibited in the Zone.
7. Power to search. ---Any Fishery Officer may search any fishing craft
or landing ground in or on which he has reason to believe to be concealed any
fish caught or taken, or anything used, in contravention of any provision of
this Act or the rules.
8. Seizure and disposal.--(1) If any Fishery Officer teas reason to
believe that any fish has been caught or taken in contravention of any
provision of this Act or the rules, or that any fishing craft and fishing gear
has been used fair such fishing, he may arrest without warrant the owner or the
person, in charge of the vessel and seize such fish.
(2)
Every officer malting an arrest under subsection (1) shall, without unnecessary
delay, take or send the person arrested before a Magistrate having jurisdiction
in the case or before the officer in charge of the nearest police station and
thereupon the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1893 (Act V of
1898), applicable in respect of a person who, having been arrested without
warrant, has been taken or sent before a Magistrate or an officer in charge of
a police station shall apply to him.
(3) Any fish seized under subsection (1) shall be disposed of in accordance
with the decision of the Court before which the owner or person in charge of
the fishing craft is prosecuted under subsection (2):---
Provided that, if the fish seized is such as is likely to perish unless
preserved or processed without delay, it may be sold or otherwise disposed of
and, if it is sold, its value shall be treated as seized property for the
purpose of this subsection.
9. Penalty. ----- (1) Whoever contravenes any provision of this Act or
the rules shall be punishable with fine which may extend to five thousand
rupees.
(2) Any Court convicting any person under subsection (1) may order that any
fish caught or taken in contravention of the provisions of this Act or the
rules shall be forfeited to the Federal Government.
(3) Where the person contravening any provision of this Act or the rules is a
company or other body corporate, every director, manager, secretary or other
officer or agent thereof shall, unless he proves that the contravention was
committed without his knowledge or that he exercised all due diligence to
prevent such contravention, be deemed to be guilty of such contravention.
(4) Whoever attempts to contravene, or abets the contravention of, any
provision of this Act or the rules shall be deemed to have contravened the
provisions of this Act or the rules.
10. False statement.--Whoever, upon being so required by a police
officer not below the rank of Sub-Inspector or a Fishery Officer, makes any
statement or furnishes any information which is false in any material
particulars and which he knows or has reason to believe to be false, or does
not believe to be true, or makes any such statement as aforesaid in any book,
account, record, declaration, or any document which he is required to maintain,
shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month,
or with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees, or with both.
11. Burden of proof.--Where any person is prosecuted for doing any act
or being in possession of anything without lawful authority or license, the
burden of proving that he has such authority or license shall lie on that
person.
12. Liability of the owner, etc.-The owner or the person in charge of
any fishing craft carrying anything in contravention of any provision of this
Act or the rules shall be deemed to have contravened the provisions of this Act
or the rules, as the case may be, if,---
and (i) such carriage is part of the transaction involving the contravention;
(ii) if the owner or person in charge knew or had reason to believe that a
contravention was being committed;
and shall be punishable under section 9.
13. Indemnity.-No suit or other legal proceeding shall lie against the
Federal Government or any Fishery Officer for anything in good faith done or
intended to be done under this Act or any rule.
14. Delegation of powers.--"Cha Federal Government may, by
notification in the official Gazette, delegate all or any of its power under
this Act or the rules to any officer.
15. Jurisdiction of Courts. -----For the purpose of giving Jurisdiction
to Courts under this Act, a fishing craft shall be deemed to be a slip within
the meaning of any enactment for the time being in force relating to offences
committed on board a ship, and every Court shall have the same jurisdiction
over a foreign fishing craft within the Zone and persons belonging to such
fishing craft as such Court would have if such fishing craft wore a Pakistan
fishing craft.
16. Power to make rules.--(1) The Federal Government may, by
notification in the official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes
of this Act.
(2) In particular and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing
power, such rules may provide for all or any of the following matters namely:---
(a) the sizes of meshes and the sizes and types of nets;
(b) the size and the quantity of fish which may be caught by any fishing gear
or processed at any time;
(c) the terms and conditions to which licences for fishing shall be subject;
(d) the registration of fishing craft and fishing gear;
(e) the regulation of operations of fishing craft;
(f) registration fee, licence fee anti royalties on catches, and other dues of
the Federal Government;
(g) specification of the area for landing of fish taken or caught in the Zone;
and
(h) regulation of landing and inspection of fish taken or caught the Zone.
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