Policy for the Allocation and Management of Commercial Traditional Line-fishing Rights: 2021.

This policy on allocation and management of fishing rights in the commercial traditional line-fishery is issued by the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, and must be read in conjunction with the General Policy on the allocation of commercial fishing rights: 2021. This Policy provides for: profile of the fishery, including: definition of line-fishing, history of the traditional line-fishery, line-fishery management and recent fishery profile, target species information and resource assessment; fishing rights allocations principles, including: availability, size and current stock status of the primary line-fish species in the three management areas; catch performance of the fishery in the three management areas during the last allocations; type, number and size of vessels in operation; overlap with other fisheries in terms of target and by-catch species and vessel utilisation; economic viability of the fishery; cross-sectoral involvement; transformation profile of the fishery, in particular regarding women and youth; skills development and professionalisation of shore personnel, skippers and crew. Concerning the objectives, this Policy recognises the need to ensure the optimal, long-term and justifiable use of marine living resources, in order to achieve sustainable development of the fishing sector and an inclusive level of economic growth and to to create sustainable employment consistent with National Government’s development objectives. Specific objectives, related to the allocation of long term fishing rights in the traditional line fish sector, concern: effective utilisation of the rights allocated in this fishery, within the gear and vessel specifications and management framework outlined in this Policy; sustainable use of the line-fish species in accordance with best available scientific research and the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries; rebuilding of over-exploited and collapsed line-fish stocks to achieve maximum economical yield; allocation of commercial rights to traditional line fishers reliant on traditional line fishing for their main source of income; Allocation of a fair proportion of rights to applicants based at fishing harbours that are historically associated with traditional line fish catches; professionalisation of the fishery and its operations in terms of compliance, safety, product quality and adherence to regulations and acts.
Matters covered by this Policy include: granting of fishing rights; evaluation criteria of the applicants; effort allocation; new applicants’ rights; suitable vessel specifications; payment of application and grants of right fees; provisional lists and announcement of decisions; management measures; permit conditions; monitoring and evaluation of the Policy; contraventions.