Freshwater Fisheries Law (State Law and Order Restoration Council Law No. 1/91).

This Act covers fishing in freshwater fisheries waters defined as "waters, pond, course, river, stream and lake which is of permanent or temporary nature and in which fish live and thrive and which is situated within the inland boundary along the coast of Myanmar".
This Law is divided into 14 chapters. The definitions and objectives of the law are covered in chapters 1 and 2. The law identifies three kinds of fishery: (i) 'leasable fishery' where fishing rights are granted under a lease issued by the Department of Fisheries; (ii) 'reserved fishery' which refers to fisheries waters in which fishing operations are either prohibited or exceptionally authorized; and (iii) 'fisheries waters in which fishing rights are granted under a licence' means fisheries waters in which fishing rights are granted under a 'fishing implement licence or by floating tenders after specifying the fishing ground' in any freshwater fisheries waters whith the exception of a leasable and reserved fishery.
Subsequent chapters focus respectively on the application procedures for a lease or a licence and the issuance thereof (chap. 3), for an authorization to operate a fishery in foreign currency (chap. 4), on the fishery rent, tender fee and licence fee which need to be paid (chap. 5) and on the duties and rights of the licence and leaseholders (chap. 6). The Powers of the Minister of Livestock Breeding and Fisheries as well as the powers and duties of the Director-General of the Department of Fisheries are set out respectively in chapters 7 and 8. A compensation system, called "Refund", is provided for in this Law whereby a licence or leaseholder may "apply for refund" under certain conditions like suspension of licence or lease in the interest of the State or losses in production due to natural disasters or "any other valid cause". Chapter 9 is devoted to the refund procedure. Following chapters 10, Invalidation of Permission to Operate a Fishery, and 11, Appeals, the general prohibitions are laid down in chapter 12. They concern the use of certain fishing methods, certain fishing gears, the size of fish and the fishing periods, fishing without paying the licence, tender or lease fee, the construction of dams, the modification of natural conditions of the fishing areas, the cultivation of agricultural crops near a fishery, water pollution and alteration of water quality and volume. An offence to this Law can be sanctioned administratively and/or according to the Code of Criminal Procedure (chap. 14)."