High Seas Fishing (Monitoring, Control and Surveillance) Regulations (S.I. No. 39 of 2014).

These Regulations, made under section 50 of the High Seas Fishing Act by the Registrar of Merchant Shipping, on the recommendations of the Director of High Seas Fisheries and with the approval of the Minister of Finance, implement provisions of the Act with respect to for the monitoring, control and surveillance of fishing vessels operating on the high seas. These Regulations shall apply to (a) all Belize flagged fishing vessels or any other Belize flagged vessels which engage in fishing or fishing related activities; (b) all owners, operators, charterers and masters on Belize flagged vessels; (c) all inspectors and observers authorized to perform duties in accordance with the Act; (d) all persons and entities empowered to function as representatives of the Belize High Seas Fisheries Unit (BHSFU); and (e) all Belize nationals working on board Belize flagged vessels and any vessels flagged to other States operating on the high seas or jurisdictional waters of another State. All licence holders shall complete and provide to the BHSFU, catch, effort and landing data for each particular type of activity using the prescribed format. Reporting shall be done by a compulsory electronic reporting system. The Regulations et out what must be reported and provide also for landing declarations.
In addition to reporting requirements, the Regulations provide with respect to an observer programme established by the BHSFU, vessel monitoring, (authorization of) transshipment, and port inspections. The observer programme called BHSFOP shall cover all vessels including transshipment vessels and shall be carried out in conjunction with any RFMO Regional Observer Program. The Fisheries Monitoring Center, established under the authority of the Belize High Seas Fisheries Unit, shall be responsible for 24-hour monitoring of all vessels regardless of their geographical location. All vessels licensed to fish or carry out fishing related activities under the Belize flag shall be required to have an operational mobile transceiver unit (MTU) on board. The Regulations set out standards for such MTU.
In general, transhipments at sea are prohibited and shall be allowed only subject to authorization and at a designated port under the control and inspection of the competent authority of that port State and/or an authorized fisheries inspector of Belize. Transshipments at sea regulated by an RFMO may be authorized at the discretion of the Director. Vessels shall transmit a transshipment declaration to the BHSFU. The master of receiving Belize flagged vessel or his representative shall, within 24 hours, notify the BHSFU of the landing and provide a declaration of landing. The landing of all fisheries products shall be inspected at port by an authorized fisheries inspector and/or the competent authority of the port and shall be carried out in accordance with any bilateral agreement or arrangement with that country which allows for cooperation between States for the exchange of information. The Regulations require vessels to notify BHSFU before landing and provide with respect to port inspections.