Regarding the enforcement and compliance issues in the regulation of the industrial fisheries, the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources wishes to make the following announcements for strategic implementation of these procurements. First, the enforcement of fish landing obligations and by catch regulations need the fish collection of fish at sea by canoes from fishing trawlers is banned with immediate effect. Second, all local fish carriers must carry Fisheries Observers onboard, authorized to obtain statistics of quantities of fish received by the local carriers from individual fishing vessels.
All fishing vessels and local fish carriers should not move out of the Maritime Waters of Sierra Leone without written authorization from the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources. In the fourth place the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources is putting appropriate strategies in place to regularize the payment of remuneration to Fisheries Observers, as an interim measure, fishing companies are now required to pay remuneration for Fisheries Observers to the Principal Accountant of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources at the time of licensing of their fishing vessels.
It is mandatory to implement His Excellency’s Pronouncements on the regulation of industrial fisheries and for this the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources is convening an urgent meeting with Fisheries Observers on the 18th March 2010. Under this implantation all licensed industrial fishing vessels are therefore required to facilitate this process by steaming to Freetown Port with currently serving Fisheries Observers against the stated date of the Meeting.
It is now regular for all fishing companies must now label their packaging materials (cartons for packaging) with clear indication that Sierra Leone is the origin of the fish products. This regulation will be enforced at times of transhipment, inspection and during regular patrols at sea.
