Interpretation

In this Act“alien species” means a species, subspecies or lower tax on, introduced to Belize, which is outside its natural past or present distribution, and includes any part, gametes, seeds, eggs, or propagules of the species, subspecies or lower tax on that might survive and subsequently reproduce; “bio-prospecting” means the research, collection and utilization of biological and genetic resources for purposes of applying the knowledge derived there from primarily for a commercial purpose; “closed season” means a period of time during which fishing is “commercial fishing” means the taking, breeding, producing, killing or capturing of any fish by any means whatever or the attempt or preparation to do so, for the purpose of the sale, or other disposition of the fish for money or money’s worth; 10 Fisheries Resources “Council” means the Fisheries Council established by section 8; “critical habitats” means specific areas within the fisheries waters that are essential for the conservation of fishery resources, which may consideration or protection; “Department” means the Belize Fisheries Department; “exclusive economic zone” has the same meaning as under the Maritime Areas Act; “fish” means the whole or any part, and the offspring and its eggs, of any aquatic animal, whether piscine or not, and includes aquatic flora, but is not limited to– (a) crustaceans, echinoderms, and mollusks; (b) parts of crustaceans, echinoderms, and mollusks; (c) the egg, fry, spot, larvae, sperm and juvenile stages of fish crustaceans, echinoderm, or mollusks; (d) the shell or exoskeleton, or part of the shell or exoskeleton of a crustacean, echinoderm, or mollusk; (e) the dead body or part of the dead body of a fish; (f) all species of coral or aquatic flora; (g) all species of marine mammals; or (h) all species of turtles. Fisheries Resources [CAP. 210 11 “fish dealer” refers to a person who transports, collects or stores any fish and includes an establishment, fish buyer or fish vendor; “Fish Stocks Agreement” means the Agreement for the Implementation of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, adopted at New York on 4 August 1995; “Fisheries Officer” means the Fisheries Administrator and any other officer appointed under section 5; CAP. 11. “fisheries waters” means the waters of the exclusive economic zone, territorial sea and internal waters as defined in section 2 of the Maritime Areas Act, and all inland waters of Belize, and such other waters in respect of which Belize exercises jurisdiction; “fishery” means one or more stocks of fish or fishing operations based on such stocks which can be treated as a unit for purposes of conservation and management; “fishery area” means an area in the fisheries waters designated for fishing or fisheries related activities; “fishery management plan” means a management plan prepared for fisheries in accordance with section 10; “Fishery Resources” means living organisms in the fisheries waters of Belize, including any aquatic flora or fauna; “fishing” means catching or taking or killing fish by any method and includes– (a) searching for fish; (b) the attempted searching for or catching or taking of fish; 12 Fisheries Resources (c) engaging in any other activity that can reasonably be expected to result in the taking (d) bio-prospecting; (e) the use of an aircraft or other conveyance in to any activity described in paragraphs (a) to (d); (f) trans shipping fish to or from any vessel, whether or not for the purpose of sale or barter; storing, processing or transporting of the fish; (g) refueling or supplying fishing vessels or performing other activities in support of fishing operations; (h) the use of an aircraft or a conveyance in to any activity described in paragraphs (a) to (g); or (i) attempting or preparing to do any activity described in paragraphs (a) to (h), but does not include the taking of fish from a mariculture facility; “fishing gear” means any equipment, implement or other object that can be used for fishing, including any fishing net, rope, spearfishing apparatus (poles spears, hand spears, kill spike, spearfishing mask, Hawaiian sling, elastic, pneumatic powered, or mechanically power spear guns or sling) line, float, trap, hooks, winch, boat, beacon or locating device; “fishing vessel” means any boat or craft used, outfitted, or designed for the purpose of fishing, processing or transporting fish; Fisheries Resources [CAP. 210 13 “foreign fishing vessel licence” means a licence issued in respect of a foreign fishing vessel under section 28; “foreign fishing vessel” means any fishing vessel, other than a local fishing vessel used or intended to be used for fishing in the “functions” includes powers or duties; “illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing” has the same meaning as under the International Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing, adopted at Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome in June 2001; “inland waters” means permanent water bodies on the mainland and includes rivers, streams, watercourses, lakes, lagoons, reservoirs, floodplains, wetlands, and inland saline systems; “international conservation and management measures” means measures to conserve or manage one or more species or habitats of living marine resources that are adopted and applied in accordance with the relevant rules of international law reflected in UNCLOS, the Food and Agriculture Organization Compliance Agreement and the Fish Stocks Agreement either by global, regional or sub-regional organizations, or by treaties, or arrangements to which Belize is a Party or is a cooperating non contracting party; “length overall” in relations to a fishing vessel means the distance in a straight line parallel to the design waterline, between the foremost point of the bow to the aftermost point of the stem; “length” in respect of a foreign fishing vessel means– (a) for any fishing vessel built after 18 July 1982, 96 percent of the total length on a waterline at 85 percent of the least moulded depth 14 Fisheries Resources measured from the top of the keel, or the length from the foreside of the stem to the axis of the rudder stock on that waterline, if that is greater, except that in ships designed with a rake of keel the waterline on which this length is measured shall be parallel to the designed waterline; and (b) for any fishing vessel built on or before 18 July 1982, registered length as entered on the vessel’s documentation; “local fishing vessel” means any fishing vessel which is– (a) wholly owned by a Ministry, department or of the Government or by a public corporation established by or under the laws of Belize; (b) wholly owned by one or more natural persons who are citizens of Belize; or (c) wholly owned by a fishers' co-operative society, fishers' association or other such society or association of persons established or incorporated under the laws of Belize; “managed access” means Belize's fisheries management tool that establishes secure fishing tenure for fishing areas, often also called Territorial Use Rights for Fishing (TURFs). Managed access allocates secure licenses to fish in a specified zone, called a managed access area (fishing area). “management plan” means the plan for the management and development of an area or areas or a fishery; “mariculture” means any activity designed to cultivate or farm fish and other living aquatic resources, and includes the cultivation, propagation or farming of aquatic organisms from eggs, spawn, spat or seed, or by rearing fish or aquatic plants Fisheries Resources [CAP. 210 15 lawfully taken from the wild or lawfully imported into Belize, or by other similar process within the fisheries waters of Belize, but does not include shrimp farming or any business activity related thereto; “mariculture facility” means any infrastructure associated with mariculture whether located in the fisheries waters or land based; “mariculture products” means the aquatic organisms or part thereof, whether alive or dead, which are being, or have been farmed in a mariculture facility in Belize, including mariculture organisms or part thereof; “marine reserves or inland water reserves” means a reserve declared under section 14 of this Act; “master” means the person or persons having control of a fishing vessel at any given time; “Minister” means the Minister responsible for fisheries, and Ministry shall be construed accordingly; “mobile transceiver unit” or “MTU” means a device placed on a vessel that transmits either in conjunction with another device or devices or independently, information concerning the position, fishing and such other activities of the vessel as may be required; “non-commercial fishing” means fishing without the intention of sale or barter and includes, fishing for personal use, without the intention of selling the fish and fishing for the direct consumption of the families and kin of the fishers; “observer” means a person designated as such under section 55; “operator” means a person who is in charge of or directs or controls a fishing vessel, or for whose direct economic or 16 Fisheries Resources financial benefit a vessel is being used, including the master, owner and charterer; “owner” in relation to a fishing vessel means a person exercising or discharging or claiming the right or accepting the obligation to exercise or discharge any of the powers or duties of an owner whether on his own behalf or on behalf of another and includes a person who is the owner jointly with any other person or persons and any manager, director or secretary of any body corporate; CAP. 234. “Ports Commissioner” has the same meaning as the Harbours and Merchant Shipping Act; “research” or “scientific research” means the research, collection and utilization of biological and genetic data and information for purposes of applying the knowledge derived there from primarily for a commercial purpose; “test-fishing operations” means any fishing operations undertaken over a defined period of time for the purpose of testing the feasibility of commercial fishing operations; “trans shipment” means the unloading of all or any of the fish on board a fishing vessel to any vessel either at sea or in any port; and “UNCLOS” means the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.