Related documents
- Repeals Fisheries Act, 1974
Zambia
Fisheries Act, 2011
Act 22 of 2011
- Published on 18 April 2011
- Assented to on 15 April 2011
- Commenced on 18 April 2011
- [This is the version of this document from 18 April 2011.]
Part I – Preliminary
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Fisheries Act, 2011.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—"aquaculture" means the cultivation, propagation or farming of fish, aquatic vegetation, or other living aquatic resources whether from eggs, spawn, spat or seed or by rearing fish lawfully taken from the wild or lawfully imported into the country, or by other similar process;"Aquaculture Development Plan" means the Plan prepared under section fifty-one;"aquaculture facility" means any equipment, construction, enclosure, place or area, whether on land or in water, in which aquaculture is conducted;"authorised officer" means the Director, an officer of the Department of Fisheries authorised by the Director and any other person authorised, in writing, by the Director;"boat" means any water craft, whether powered or unpowered, used for, or in connection with, commercial fishing, but does not include a canoe;"commercial fishing" means fishing which is undertaken in a commercial fishing area as a regular or occasional occupation for the supply of fish to any market or industry;"committee" means a fisheries management committee constituted under section twenty-nine;"community resources board" has the meaning assigned to it in the Zambia Wildlife Act, 1998;[Act No. 12 of 1998]"conveyance" means an aircraft, ship, boat, vessel, train, vehicle, carriage, cart or other conveyance of whatever kind, including the fittings and equipment of the conveyance;"Department" means the Department of Fisheries;"Director" means the person appointed as such under section three;"disease" means a deviation from the state of complete physical or social well being of an organism involving a well defined set of symptoms and ichthyology that leads to an impairment of the organism’s normal function;"ecologically sustainable development" means using, conserving and enhancing the fisheries resources and fish habitats so that—(a)the ecological processes on which life depends are maintained; and(b)the total quality of life, both now and in the future, can be improved;"Environmental Management Agency" has the meaning assigned to it in the Environmental Management Act, 2011;[Act No. 12 of 2011]"environmental impact assessment" has the meaning assigned to it in the Environmental Management Act, 2011;[Act No. 12 of 2011]"fish" means any vertebrate fish alive or dead and any part thereof, whether or not preserved in any form, and includes fin, shell fish, the young and eggs but does not include a genetically modified organism;"fish product" means any product or part thereof, including oil, obtained by fish processing and intended for use as human food, animal feed or raw material ingredient in the manufacture of other commodities of commercial or ornamental value;"fishing" includes any act directed at or intended for the harvesting, taking, killing or injuring of any fish;"fishing gear" means any instrument, equipment, net, cork, buoy or other article including any part thereof used for purposes of fish finding, congregating fish or fishing;"fisheries management area" means any fishery waters or part thereof or any geographical area, whether or not connected to any fishery water, declared to be a fisheries management area under section twenty-six;"fisheries management plan" means a plan for the management and development of a fisheries management area prepared pursuant to section twenty-eight;"fishery waters" means water in any river, stream, watercourse, lake, lagoon, swamp, pond, dam or reservoir, whether natural or man-made, but does not include water in aquaria or ornamental ponds unconnected with any natural water;"Fund" means the Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund established under section fifty-three;"game management area" has the meaning assigned to it in the Zambia Wildlife Act, 1998;[Act No. 12 of 1998]"genetically modified organisms" has the meaning assigned to it in the Biosafety Act, 2007[Act No. 7 of 2007]"honorary fisheries officer" means any person appointed as such under section five;"Local Forest" has the meaning assigned to it in the Forests Act;[Cap. 199]"National Forest" has the meaning assigned to it in the Forests Act;[Cap. 199]"National Park" has the meaning assigned to it in the Zambia Wildlife Act, 1998;[Act No. 12 of 1998]"precautionary approach" means the principle that, if there is a threat of serious or irreversible environmental damage, lack of scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to postpone measures to prevent environmental degradation, or possible environmental degradation, because of the threat;"prescribed area" means such area as may be prescribed by the Minister for the purpose of this Act; and"weir" means any fence, bank or similar obstruction erected in or across water for the purpose of taking fish, obstruction of free fish movement or migration, and includes any basket traps or similar devices therein.Part II – Department of fisheries
3. Director of Fisheries and other staff
4. Functions of Department
5. Honorary fisheries officers
6. Powers of authorised officers
7. Power to carry out tests and to take statistics
8. Release, seizure and destruction
9. Arrest without warrant
10. Obstruction of authorised officer or honorary fisheries officer
A person who—11. Immunity
An action shall not lie against an authorised officer or an honorary fisheries officer in respect of any act done by the authorised officer or honorary fisheries officer in good faith and without negligence in the execution of the powers vested in them under this Act.12. General principles of management
In exercising powers under and in relation to this Act, the Minister, Director or persons to whom the Minister or Director, as the case may be, has delegated their responsibilities under this Act, shall have regard to—13. Fisheries development measures
The Director shall, in co-operation with other appropriate agencies and other departments of Government, promote the development of fisheries, fish culture and related industries through—14. Fisheries management measures
Part III – Protection of fish
15. Prohibited methods of fishing
16. Fish processing and storage vessels
17. Importation of fishing gear
18. Power to restrict methods of fishing
The Minister may, where it appears to the Minister that any method of fishing is likely to prove unduly destructive under any circumstances, by order, in respect of any area, for a period to be stated in such order—19. Restriction on introduction of fish
20. Power to control introduction and spread of fish disease
Where at any place within or outside Zambia there exists, or is suspected to exist, any disease which is likely to affect fish in Zambia, the Minister or Director may make such order as the Minister or Director considers necessary for all or any of the following purposes:21. Offences related to fish disease
A person who—22. Emergency measures
The Director may, where an emergency occurs that endangers or may endanger stocks of fish or aquatic life, or any species or class of fish or aquatic life in any fishery or part of a fishery—23. Import of fish or fish product
24. Importation for scientific, educational or research purposes
The Minister may, in consultation with the Director, authorise the entry of any fish or fish product for scientific or research purposes, subject to such terms and conditions as the Minister may consider necessary.25. Export of fish or fish product
Part IV – Fisheries management areas
26. Declaration of fisheries management area
27. Restriction on fishing in fisheries management area
Except as otherwise provided by this Act, any person who, without a fishing licence, fishes in any fisheries management area commits an offence and is liable, upon conviction, to a fine not exceeding three hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding three years, or to both.28. Fisheries management plan
29. Fisheries management committee
30. Functions of fisheries management committee
31. Misuse of money of committee
A person who misuses or misappropriates any money belonging to a committee—32. Submission of report and minutes
A committee shall submit—33. Zone and village fisheries management committee
Part V – Special fishing areas
34. Prescribed areas
35. Special fishing licence
Part VI – Commercial fishing
36. Declaration of commercial fishing area
37. Registration of boats
38. Boat identification marks
39. Declaration of fisheries reserves
Part VII – Aquaculture
40. Prohibition of engaging in aquaculture without licence
41. Application for licence
42. Aquaculture licence
43. Conditions of aquaculture licence
An aquaculture licence may contain conditions—44. Restriction on transfer of licence
An aquaculture licence shall not be transferred without the prior written approval of the Director:Provided that the Director may authorise the transfer of a licence on such conditions as the Director may determine.45. Environmental impact assessment
A person who intends to engage in aquaculture shall conduct an environmental impact assessment in accordance with the provisions of the Environmental Management Act, 2011, and prepare a report thereon for the purposes of this Act.[Act No. of 2011]46. Inspection of proposed site for aquaculture
An authorised officer may inspect any site proposed for the establishment of an aquaculture facility to determine the suitability or otherwise of such site for use as an aquaculture facility upon payment of such inspection fee as the Minister may, by regulations, prescribe.47. Prohibition of interfering with aquaculture facility
48. Restriction on use of chemicals, etc. in aquaculture facility
49. Cancellation and suspension of licence
50. Appeal against suspension or cancellation of licence
Any licence holder who is aggrieved by a decision of the Director to suspend or cancel the licence under section forty-nine may appeal to the Minister, subject to a further appeal to the High Court, within thirty days of receiving the notification of the suspension or cancellation of the licence.51. Aquaculture Development Plan
52. Aquaculture regulations
The Minister may, by statutory instrument, make regulations to—Part VIII – The Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund
53. Establishment of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development Fund
54. Administration of Fund
The Fund shall be vested in the Minister responsible for finance and shall be managed and administered by the Minister responsible for fisheries.55. Application of moneys of Fund
The Ministers referred to in section fifty-four shall apply the moneys of the Fund for the purposes of developing the fisheries and aquaculture sector and facilitating a community-based approach to fisheries management and development.56. Statement of income and expenditure
The Ministers referred to in section fifty-four shall cause an annual statement of income and expenditure relating to the Fund to be prepared and laid before the National Assembly.Part IX – General provisions
57. Mutual legal assistance
The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Act applies to offences under this Act, except where the provisions of that Act are inconsistent with this Act.[Cap. 98]58. Offences committed outside Zambia
59. Extraditable offences
An offence under this Act shall be deemed to be an extraditable offence under the provisions of the Extradition Act.[Cap. 94]60. General offences
A person who—61. General penalty
A person who is convicted of an offence under the provisions of this Act is, unless some other penalty is specifically provided therefor, liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand penalty units or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year, or to both.62. Offences by body corporate or unincorporate body
Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate or unincorporate body, every director or manager of the body corporate or unincorporate body shall be liable, upon conviction, as if the director or manager has personally committed the offence, unless the director or manager proves to the satisfaction of the court that the act constituting the offence was done without the knowledge, consent or connivance of the director or manager or that the director or manager took reasonable steps to prevent the commission of the offence.63. Forfeiture provisions on conviction
64. Cancellation of licence or permit by court order
Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act, the court may order that any licence or permit held by such person under the provisions of this Act be cancelled and that such person shall not be issued with any further licence or permit for such period not exceeding six months as it may deem fit.65. Conduct of prosecution
The Director or any authorised officer may, subject to the directions of the Director of Public Prosecutions, conduct a prosecution for an offence under this Act and shall for that purpose have the powers of a prosecutor appointed under the National Prosecution Authority Act, 2010.66. Trespass upon private property
Nothing contained in this Act shall affect the liability in trespass of any person who enters upon the land of another person for the purpose of fishing without the permission of the owner or occupier thereof.67. Regulations
68. Repeal of Cap. 200
History of this document
18 April 2011 this version
Commenced
15 April 2011
Assented to
Documents citing this one 12
Gazette 12
Subsidiary legislation
Title
|
Date
|
|
---|---|---|
Fisheries (Fisheries Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2023 | Statutory Instrument 17 of 2024 | 16 February 2024 |
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2020 | Statutory Instrument 109 of 2020 | 31 December 2020 |
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2019 | Statutory Instrument 85 of 2019 | 27 December 2019 |
Fisheries (Fishing Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulations, 2019 | Statutory Instrument 84 of 2019 | 27 December 2019 |
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2017 | Statutory Instrument 76 of 2017 | 1 December 2017 |
Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2014 | Statutory Instrument 62 of 2014 | 21 November 2014 |
Fisheries Regulations, 2012 | Statutory Instrument 24 of 2012 | 20 April 2012 |