Law No. 71/IX/2020 approving the Legislative Authorization on the General Regime for the Sustainable Exploitation of Fisheries Resources.

This Law, establishes the Legislative Authorization on the General Regime for the Sustainable Exploitation of Fisheries Resources, approved by Decree-Law No. 53/2005. In particular, it allows legislative authorization to the Government to legislate on the general regime for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in national maritime waters and on the high seas. The authorization has the following meaning and extension: Allow as a means of evidence the information from the VMS-Vessel Monitoring System, etc. as stated by Decree Law No. 32/2012; Establish a new sanctioning regime with definition of new maximum limits; Classify as a sanction the inclusion of the offending vessel in the list of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing vessels (IUU); Allow witness policy for the identification of any illegal activity of fishing vessels; Establish guiding principles by which fisheries management and planning should be governed, ensuring that all fishing vessels involved really observe the principles and standards of conservation and management; Create a set of rules and principles through a general regime applicable to the fight against illegal fishing in national maritime waters and regulating fishing activity; Establish rules and principles applicable to the commercial fishing licensing and related fishing operations, as well as to fishing on the high seas; Classify fishing vessels and respective registers, and rule the inspection and monitoring devices, entry and leaving declaration the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and periodic inspection; Establish principles for the use of base ports and landing points; Legalize and regulate commercial diving fishing; Regulate non-commercial fishing modalities, namely, scientific research fishing, amateur and subsistence fishing; Classify violations and administrative offenses, reducing the amounts of fines, especially in relation to artisanal and semi-industrial fishing vessels; Adapt the general regime for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources to the current requirements of international law.