Fisheries Act, 2020 (No. 40 of 2020).

This Act lays down rules (a) to promote sustainable exploitation, sustainable use and long-term conservation, management and sustainable development of fisheries resources and the ecosystems that support them; (b) to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing and fishing related activities; (c) to prohibit the licensing of persons who are not citizens of The Bahamas and foreign fishing vessels within the commercial fishing sector; and (d) to use fisheries resources to achieve and promote food security, socio-economic development and employment, for the benefit of present and future generations of the people of The Bahamas and, in particular, the communities most closely connected with and reliant on fisheries resources. This Act applies (a) in relation to Bahamian fisheries waters: (i) to fishers and any other person engaged in fishing and fishing related activities, (ii) to fishing vessels licensed under this Act, (iii) to Bahamian flagged vessels, (iv) to foreign fishing vessels, or (v) to aircraft, or any other craft; (b) in relation to fishing for sedentary organisms, and fishing related activities on the high seas: to fishing vessels licensed under this Act or Bahamian flagged vessels; and (c) in relation to land, to vehicles, aircraft: processing facilities, export or import facilities or any other premises or place relating to fisheries or aquaculture.
This Act sets out provisions on the duties and powers of the Minister and the Director; the establishment and functions of Fisheries Advisory Council and the appointment of National Fisheries Stakeholder Forum; the funds and resources of the Department of Marine Resources; the conservation, management and development of fisheries; the licensing procedures for commercial fishers and fishing vessels; the requirements for fishing on the high seas, import and export of live fish, marine scientific research, transshipment, and reporting by transiting foreign fishing vessels; data collection for the purposes of conducting marine scientific research, creating an inventory, formulating objectives, guidelines and codes of practice, reporting on the state of the marine environment; registration of authorizations, certificates, permits and licenses; aquaculture management and development; vessel monitoring system; port state measures; powers and duties of authorized officers and persons, such as powers of entry and search with warrant and arrest; the establishment of an observer programme to collect, record and report information and data for scientific, conservation, management or compliance purposes; disposal, release and forfeiture of seized items; and the jurisdiction, procedure, liabilities, offences and penalties. The conservation, management and development of fisheries include fisheries management plans, conservation and management measures taking into account the relevant social, economic and ecosystem considerations, designation of fishing zones, declaration of closed season and closed area, marine protected area, prohibition on fishing and fishing related activities, prohibition on commercial fishing by foreigners, restriction on foreign fishing vessels, prohibition on fishing gear and method, prohibition on fishing for protected species, prohibition on possession and trade in fish and fish products, prohibition on the introduction of genetically modified fish, prohibition relating to protected or endangered fish or fish product, and prohibition on taking, importing, exporting, landing, transshipping, transporting, selling any illegal fish or fish product in accordance with the Agreement on Port State Measures. Furthermore, the conservation, management and sustainable development principles laid down in this Act address food security, decision-making processes based on the best available scientific evidence, precautionary principle, ecosystem approaches, as well as the rights, interests and needs of traditional subsistence and other local fishers and fishing communities. For the implementation of the Agreement on Port State Measures, this Act sets out provisions on the prerequisites for entry into or use of port, terms and conditions for denial of entry into port and use of port after entry, granting entry to a foreign fishing vessel into port for force majeure or distress, inspections of foreign fishing vessels in port, and the requirements of Bahamian fishing vessels in port states.
Part IX to this Act lays down provisions on aquaculture management and development, including (I) designation of aquaculture areas, (II) licensing requirements, (III) aquaculture development plans, (IV) monitoring of non-commercial aquaculture activities, (V) introduction, transfer, import, export, release of live fish, (VI) inspection of fish designated for import, export or domestic use, (VII) aquaculture waste prevention, (VIII) prevention of the risk of the escape of aquaculture stock, (IX) restriction on the use of any drug, pharmaceutical, antibiotic or other chemical for the treatment of fish diseases or for the enhancement of fish growth, (X) data collection on wild and genetically modified species from all facilities to assess the impact of aquaculture on the environment, (XI) prohibition on interference with aquaculture facility, and (XII) protection of transboundary aquaculture ecosystems in consultation with other coastal States. The funds of the Department of Marine Resources shall be applied in fisheries and aquaculture management and development activities in the community and small-scale commercial fisheries and aquaculture sectors.