Fisheries (Amendment) Act 2017 (No. 5 of 2017).

This Act amends the Fisheries Act 2010 in section 3 by inserting new definitions of “Director of Fisheries”, “Illegal fishing” “Unreported fishing”, “Unregulated fishing”, “International conservation and management measures”, and “Serious fishing violation”, by amending provisions concerning fisheries management (the objectives of the Act) and fisheries offences (increased penalties), and by inserting new provisions on giving effect to scheduled treaties (listed in the principal Act) and international conservation and management measures and new provisions on port entry. The amendments seek to address issues raised by the European Commission in considering the possibility of identifying Kiribati as a possible non-cooperating third country in the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing and to incorporate Kiribati’s responsibilities pursuant to international law. The principal Act is amended to comply with international and regional rules applying to the conservation and management of fishing resources, in accordance with Article 62 of the United Nations Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Article 5 of the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) and Article 5 of the Western Central Pacific Fisheries Convention (WCPFC).
Each scheduled treaty listed in the Schedule of the principal Act shall have the force of law in Kiribati and on all fishing vessels registered or licensed in Kiribati. The provisions of this Act concerning the application of conservation and management measures adopted by a regional fisheries management organisation or arrangement to which Kiribati is a member do not apply to the internal waters, archipelagic waters and territorial sea of Kiribati as defined pursuant to the Marine Zones Declaration Act 2011, without the express consent of the Minister after consultation with Cabinet.
This Act establishes rules for port entry by (foreign) fishing vessels (suspected to be) engaged in IUU fishing operations and vessels flying a flag of convenience or without nationality. "Ports" shall include offshore terminals and other installations for transhipping, refuelling or resupplying vessels.