This Act was repealed on 2005-08-01 by Fisheries Act, 2003.
This is the version of this Act as it was when it was repealed.
Fisheries Act
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Related documents
- Is amended by Written Laws (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act, 2020
- Is repealed by Fisheries Act, 2003
Tanzania
Fisheries Act
Chapter 279
- Published in Tanzania Government Gazette
- Commenced on 1 March 1973
- [This is the version of this document as it was at 31 July 2002 to 20 February 2020.]
- [Note: This legislation was revised and consolidated as at 31 July 2002 and 30 November 2019 by the Attorney General's Office, in compliance with the Laws Revision Act No. 7 of 1994, the Revised Laws and Annual Revision Act (Chapter 356 (R.L.)), and the Interpretation of Laws and General Clauses Act No. 30 of 1972. All subsequent amendments have been researched and applied by Laws.Africa for TANZLII.]
- [Repealed by Fisheries Act, 2003 (Act 22 of 2003) on 1 August 2005]
Part I – Preliminary provisions (ss. 1-2)
1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Fisheries Act.2. Interpretation
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—"aquatic flora" means all aquatic plants and other members of the aquatic vegetable kingdom and includes corals, sponges and weeds;"authorised officer" means the Chief Fisheries Officer or any fisheries officer or other officer or any person authorised in writing by the Minister or the Chief Fisheries Officer to exercise any power or to discharge any duty under this Act."Chief Fisheries Officer" means the officer appointed under section 3;"close period" means any period during which, in relation to any specie or kind of fish, fish product or aquatic flora, such fish, fish product or aquatic flora, as the case may be, may not be captured, killed, injured, gathered or collected by any means whatsoever;"controlled area" means an area declared to be a controlled area under this Act;"dam" includes any fixed obstruction used for the purpose of damming, impounding, retaining or controlling the flow of water;"fish" means all forms of aquatic or amphibious life (including turtles, crabs and shell fish and includes the spat, brood, fry, spawn, ova and young of all such fish, but does not include any aquatic or amphibious animal to which the provisions of the Wildlife Conservation Act 1 apply or the young of any such animal;"fish product" means anything made, collected or obtained from fish, and includes fish meal, dried fish, fish manure, offal, fish silage, canned fish, oil or any fish, pearl, mother-of-pearl, shell, bêche de mer, ambergris, larva and sponge;"fishing" means collection, capture, gathering, killing, snaring or trapping of fish, fish product or aquatic flora;"fishing gear" means any note, line, cork, buoy, basket, trap, hook or other article, apparatus, structure, construction or installation whatsoever used for the purpose of fishing;"fishing vessel" means any boat or other aquatic or amphibious craft or vehicle used, outfitted or designed for the purpose of collecting, capturing, gathering, processing or transporting fish, whether operating on, above or below water;"fishing weir" means any erection, structure, construction or obstruction whatsoever placed across or in any waters and temporarily or permanently fixed to or resting on the bed or a bank, which is designed for the purpose of collection, gathering, capturing, killing or injuring of fish, fish product or aquatic flora, and includes stake nets and basket traps;"immature" in relation to any specie of fish means a fish of that specie which is smaller in size or length than the size or length prescribed in relation thereto;"landing" means the landing of fish, fish product or aquatic flora in Tanzania whether or not such fish, fish product or aquatic flora was collected, captured, gathered or otherwise obtained within or outside the territorial waters;"mesh" means the opening or space in a net enclosed by threads of the net or, in the case of a wire net, by the strands of wire; and "mesh size" means the distance between each drag knot of the thread when measured wet and stretched, or, in the case of a wire net, the diameter of the smallest opening enclosed by strands of wire;"Minister" means the Minister responsible for fisheries;"net" means fishing net made of thread or wire or any other material whatsoever, designed to be used for the purpose of collecting, capturing gathering, killing or injuring fish, fish product or aquatic flora;"product of aquatic flora" means anything made out of, or composed wholly or partly of, any aquatic flora;"territorial waters" means the water within the area extending across the sea to a distance of twelve nautical miles measured from the mean low water line along the coast of Tanzania and the adjacent islands, and includes all lakes, rivers, fish ponds and dams in Tanzania.Part II – Officers (s. 3)
3. Fisheries officers
Part III – Development and control of the fishing industry (ss. 4-6)
4. Minister may regulate fish industry
5. Minister may impose restrictions
6. Preference to be given to citizens
Where an order is made under section 4 or section 5, the Chief Fisheries Officer or any authorised officer shall not, save with the consent in writing of the Minister, grant any licence or authority, as the case may be, to any person who is not a citizen of the United Republic, or, in the case of a body corporate, to any body corporate which is not incorporated by or under any written law.Part IV – Regulations (s. 7)
7. Regulations
Part V – Offences (ss. 8-13)
8. Penalty for offences
9. Power of search and seizure
10. Seizure and forfeiture of things used for the commission of offences
Whenever it is lawful under this Act for the Chief Fisheries Officer, an authorised officer or a police officer to seize and retain any fish, fish product, aquatic flora or product of aquatic flora or other article or thing, it shall be lawful—11. Forfeiture of things in respect of which offences are committed
12. Forfeiture of vessel or vehicle
Where, upon conviction for an offence under this Act, the court is satisfied that a vessel or vehicle was used in the commission of the offence, the court may order such vessel or vehicle to be forfeited to the United Republic:Provided that no order under this section shall be made if the owner of such vessel or vehicle satisfies the court that the vessel or vehicle was so used without his knowledge or consent.13. Obstructing officers
Any person who wilfully obstructs, hinders, assaults or resists the Chief Fisheries Officer, an authorised officer or a police officer in the exercise of his powers under this Act, commits an offence and on conviction is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years.Part VI – Miscellaneous provisions (ss. 14-18)
14. Exemptions
15. Indemnity
No matter or thing done by any person exercising or purporting to exercise any function under this Act shall, if done bona fide in the execution or purported execution of his functions under any of the provisions of this Act, subject any person to any action, liability, claim or demand whatsoever.16. This Act to prevail over any by-laws
Where any provision of any by-law made by a local authority is inconsistent with any provision of this Act or of any subsidiary legislation made under this Act, the provision of this Act or, as the case may be, of the subsidiary legislation, shall be construed so as to revoke, to the extent of the inconsistency, the provision of such by-law.17. Repeal of R.L. Cap. 295
[Repeals the Fisheries Ordinance.]18. Repeal of R.L. Cap 368
[Repeals the Trout Protection Ordinance.]History of this document
21 February 2020 amendment not yet applied
01 August 2005
Repealed by
Fisheries Act, 2003
31 July 2002 this version
Consolidation
01 March 1973
Commenced
Cited documents 3
Act 3
1. | Wildlife Conservation Act | 1026 citations |
2. | National Housing Corporation Act | 16 citations |
3. | Extradition Act | 12 citations |
Documents citing this one 35
Gazette 21
Judgment 7
Act 3
1. | Marine Parks and Reserves Act | 11 citations |
2. | Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute Act | 1 citation |
3. | Tanzania Fisheries Research Institute Act, 2016 | 1 citation |
Government Notice 3
1. | Fisheries (Controlled Areas) Order, 1973 | 1 citation |
2. | Fish (Quality Control and Standards) Regulations, 2000 | |
3. | Fisheries Regulations, 1989 |
JOT Documents and Guidelines 1
1. | The Tanzania Sentencing Guidelines, 2023 |
Subsidiary legislation
Title
|
|
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Fisheries (Amendment) Regulations, 2003 | Government Notice 193 of 2003 |
Fish (Quality Control and Standards) Regulations, 2000 | Government Notice 300 of 2000 |
Fisheries (Prohibition of Use of Specified Vessels or Tools) Regulations, 1994 | Government Notice 370 of 1994 |
Fisheries Regulations, 1989 | Government Notice 317 of 1989 |
Fisheries (Inland Waters) Regulations, 1982 | Government Notice 5 of 1982 |
Fisheries (Restriction on Trawling in Lake Victoria) Regulations, 1975 | Government Notice 139 of 1975 |
Fisheries (Marine Reserves) Regulations, 1975 | Government Notice 137 of 1975 |
Fisheries (Controlled Areas) Order, 1973 | Government Notice 156 of 1973 |