Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 of 1998)

Regulations

Regulations for the Entry of Foreign Fishing Vessels into South African Waters, 2025

Chapter 1 - Definitions, Application and Purpose

1. Definitions

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In these regulations, unless the context indicates otherwise, a word or expression that is defined in the Act has the same meaning in these regulations, and in addition—

 

“Act”

means the Marine Living Resources Act, 1998 (Act No. 18 of 1998) and includes any regulations made in terms of that Act;

 

“Agreement on Port State Measures”

means the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing approved by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organisation Conference at its Thirty-sixth Session through resolution number 12/2009 dated 22 November 2009;

 

“associated activities”

means—

(a) storing, buying, selling, transshipping, processing or transporting of fish or any fish product taken from South African waters or in the course of high seas fishing, up to the time it is first landed;
(b) on-shore storing, buying, selling or processing of fish or any fish product from the time it is first landed;
(c) refuelling or supplying foreign vessels, selling or supplying fishing equipment or performing any other act in support of fishing; or
(d) exporting and importing fish or any fish product

 

“authorised official”

means a fishery control officer, or other authority authorised to implement legislation that regulates access and operations within ports including the inspection of vessels;

 

“Department”

means the national Department responsible for fisheries;

 

“foreign vessel”

means a foreign flagged vessel boat, ship or other craft which is used for, equipped to be used for or of a type that is normally used for fishing or associated activities, and includes all gear, equipment, stores, cargo and fuel on board that vessel;

 

“force majeure”

means conditions beyond the control of the master of the vessel, such as hurricanes, cyclones, war and medical emergencies;

 

“IUU fishing”

means illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;

 

“Minister”

means the Minister responsible for fisheries;

 

“port”

has the meaning assigned to it in section 1 of the National Ports Act, 2005 (Act No. 12 of 2005);

 

“South African waters”

means the seashore, internal waters, territorial waters, the exclusive economic zone, and in relation to the sedentary species as defined in Article 77 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the continental shelf as defined in section 7 of the Maritime Zones Act, 1994, and such waters include tidal lagoons and tidal rivers in which a rise and fall of the water level takes place as a result of the tides;

 

“these Regulations”

mean the Regulations for the Entry of Foreign Fishing Vessels into South African Waters, 2025; and

 

“transship” or “transshipment”

means transferring fish or gear from one vessel to another.