Fishery Law.

The purpose of this Law is the management of inland waters, territorial marine waters, and economic zone waters of the Republic of Latvia, which by taking into account the necessity of biodiversity preservation, ensures sustainable use of fish resources, protection, propagation, and research thereof for the long-term development of the State fishery sector. The Law consists of 30 sections divided into nine chapters: General Provisions (I); Management of Fish Resources and Fishing (II); Fishing (III); Catch Statistics, Regulation of Fishing, and Restrictions (IV); Protection and Monitoring of Fish Resources (V); Conservation and Increase of Fish Resources; Fish Farming (VI); Fee for Fishing Rights and Compensation for Losses (VII); Fish Fund (VIII); and Administrative Offences in the Field of the Protection and Use of Fish Resources and Competence in Administrative Offence Proceedings (IX).
PURPOSE AND SCOPE. Purpose of this Law is such management of inland waters, territorial marine waters (the territorial waters), and economic zone waters of the Republic of Latvia, which, by taking into account the necessity of biodiversity preservation, ensures sustainable use of fish resources, protection, propagation, and research thereof for the long-term development of the State fishery sector. This Law governs the catching, use, research, conservation, propagation, and monitoring of fish resources in inland waters, the territorial waters, and economic zone waters of the Republic of Latvia (Section 2).
INSTITUTIONS. The Ministry of Agriculture shall determine fisheries sector policy in the field of management of fish resources, ensure development of legal acts of the sector and supervise sustainable use of fish resources of inland waters, territorial waters and economic zone waters of the Republic of Latvia and implementation of the European Union common fisheries policy. The additional basic institutions in the sector include “Institute of Food Safety, Animal Health and Environment – “BIOR””, and the local government (Section 5).
STATE SUPERVISION. According to the Law, the authorities and officials for the protection and monitoring of fish resources include the State Environmental Service, the local governments in the administrative territories and the adjacent coastal waters of the Baltic Sea and the Gulf of Riga, the Nature Conservation Agency, the State Police, the State Border Guard, and the Coast Guard Service of the Naval Forces of the National Armed Forces (Section 18). Legal persons and natural persons who have allowed infringements of this Law or of laws and regulations in regard to angling, crayfish catching, underwater hunting or industrial fishing, and have caused or could have caused losses to fish resources, shall be held liable in accordance with the laws and regulations in force (Section 26). The Law also provides for administrative offences in the field of the protection and use of fish resources (Section 30), competence in administrative offence proceedings (Section 31).
LEGAL PROCEEDINGS. Until examination of the administrative offence case, administrative offence proceedings for the infringements referred to in Section 30, Paragraph one of this Law shall be conducted by the State Environmental Service, the State Police, the Nature Conservation Agency, the municipal police, the environmental inspection of the local government, or the environmental control official of the local government. The administrative offence case shall be examined by the State Environmental Service or the Nature Conservation Agency (Section 31).
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION. Among others, the Law provides that the Cabinet shall issue the following fishing regulations and regulations regarding the control of handling caught fish (landing, transporting, marketing, storing, and processing): (1) regulations regarding industrial fishing in territorial waters and economic zone waters; (2) regulations regarding industrial fishing in inland waters; (3) angling, crayfish catching and underwater hunting regulations; (4) regulations regarding the control of fish landing; (5) regulations regarding the inspection of fish marketing and transport facilities, storage and premises for processing. The Cabinet shall issue the following regulations regarding the leasing of fishing rights and the exercising of fishing rights: (1) regulations regarding the procedures for leasing bodies of water and industrial fishing rights, and for exercising fishing rights; (2) regulations regarding the exercising of fishing rights in private waters; (3) regulations regarding the procedures for licensed industrial fishing; and (4) regulations regarding the procedures for licensed angling, crayfish catching and underwater hunting (Section 13). The section entitled “Transitional provisions” also provides multiple areas where the Cabinet is directed to adopt regulations for the implementation of this Law.
CONDITIONS OF ACCESS. Among others, the Law defines the fishing rights including in public waters and private waters (Section 6), and provides for transfer of fishing rights (Section 7), termination of the exercising of leased fishing rights (Section 8), Towpath (Section 9), Angling, crayfish catching and underwater hunting (Section 10), Industrial fishing (Section 11), Fishing for special purposes and for scientific research purposes (Section 12), and Regulations regarding fishing, leasing of fishing rights, exercising of fishing rights, and regulations for control of handling of caught fish (Section 13). Catching of fish resources in the waters of other Member States of the European Union and international waters in which the Republic of Latvia has been allocated a catch quota, or in the waters of third countries with which Latvia has entered into agreements in the field of fisheries, shall be governed by relevant European Union legislation and international agreements which the Republic of Latvia has entered into (Section 2). Fishing rights in the inland waters (irrespective of the form of ownership), territorial waters and economic zone waters of the Republic of Latvia, the waters of other Member States of the European Union, the waters of third countries, as well as in international waters in which Latvia has fishing rights, shall be used for a fee which shall be set out in the lease agreement for the fishing rights or in the fishing permit (licence, angling card), if a leasing agreement for fishing rights has not been entered into (Section 25).
FRAMEWORK OF FISHING ACTIVITIES. The Law also provides for the obligation to provide information about activities related to fishing (Section 14); regulation of fishing (Section 15); restrictions of exercising of fishing rights (Section 16); and prohibited fishing methods, gear and means (Section 17).
MARINE FISHERIES. Some of the provisions specifically related to marine fisheries provide for angling, crayfish catching and underwater hunting (Section 10), industrial fishing (Section 11), authorities and officials for the protection and monitoring of fish resources (Section 18), and cooperation and public participation in the protection and monitoring of fish resources (Section 20).
INLAND FISHERIES. Some of the provisions specifically related to inland fisheries provide for use of fish resources (Section 4), functions of state and local government authorities in the management of fish resources (Section 5), industrial fishing (Section 5), restrictions of exercising of fishing rights (Section 16), authorities and officials for the protection and monitoring of fish resources (Section 18), cooperation and public participation in the protection and monitoring of fish resources (Section 20), fee for fishing rights (Section 25), and administrative offences in the field of the protection and use of fish resources (Section 30).
RECREATIONAL AND SPECIAL FISHING. The Law defines “self-consumption fishing” as exercising of fishing rights specified for a natural person in accordance with the procedures laid down in the laws and regulations governing the exercising of fishing rights for the purpose to acquire fish for personal consumption without any right to offer it on the market, to sell or transfer to other persons for the acquisition of benefit by using the fishing limit of restricted amount laid down in the laws and regulations governing fishery (the number, type of industrial fishing gear, the amount of catch) (Section 1). The Law also provides for fishing for special purposes and for scientific research purposes (Section 12).
FISH STOCKS. The Law further provides for the conservation and increase of fish resources (Section 21); transfer of fish species and introduction of new species (Section 22); permits for fish farming and for aquatic plant culture; fish farming in bodies of water (Section 23), and Fish fund (Chapter VIII).
OFFENCES. The State Police, the Nature Conservation Agency, the State Border Guard, and the Coast Guard Service of the Naval Forces of the National Armed Forces shall also perform the protection and monitoring of fish resources according to the competence. A lessee or owner of a body of water, the user of the fishing, angling, crayfish catching, or underwater hunting rights has an obligation to inform, without delay, the relevant authorities and officials of the detected infringements.