Vanuatu Fisheries Regulations 2009
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©Copyright Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) 2011 All rights for commercial / for profit reproduction or translation, in any form, reserved. SPC authorises the partial reproduction or translation of this material for scientific, educational or research purposes, provided that SPC and the source document are properly acknowledged. Permission to reproduce the document and/or translate in whole, in any form, whether for commercial / for profit or non- profit purposes, must be requested in writing. Original SPC artwork may not be altered or separately published without permission. Original text: English Secretariat of the Pacific Community Cataloguing-in-publication data Vanuatu Fisheries regulations: 2009 / produced by the Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems [FAME] Division Information Unit of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community 1. Fishery law and legislation — Vanuatu 2. Fishery management — Vanuatu I. Title II. Secretariat of the Pacific Community 639.2099595 AACR2 ISBN: 978-982-00-0474-0 Produced by the Information Unit, Division of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Marine Ecosystems [FAME), Secretariat of the Pacific Community in collaboration with the Vanuatu Department of Fisheries. Printed with the financial support of the European Union. 2 FOREWORD This booklet was designed to inform artisanal and subsistence fishermen about important national laws and regulations pertaining to fishing in Vanuatu’s domestic waters. It does not include the laws applying to the aquarium trade and to offshore or foreign fishing. This document is not a legal text. References to the legal texts are given with each law cited in this booklet. The full text of the laws and rules is available for review at the Department of Fisheries office. This information is current at the date of printing (May 2011) and subject to change. If questions arise concerning this document, please contact: Vanuatu Department of Fisheries VMB 9045 Port Vila Phone: 23119 or 23621 Fax: 23641 Email: [email protected] Note: The term Director used in this document means Director of the Department of Fisheries; Minister means the Minister responsible for fisheries. 3 CONTENTS Regulated species Trochus p. 6 Green snail p. 8 Trumpet shell p. 10 Sea cucumbers p. 12 Rock lobsters p. 14 Slipper lobster p. 16 Coconut crab p. 18 Marine turtles p. 20 Marine ornamental products p. 22 Marine mammals p. 24 Restricted gear Diving equipment p. 28 Explosives, poison and other noxious substances p. 29 FADs (fish aggregating devices) p. 30 Fish fences p. 32 Fishing nets p. 33 Marine reserves p. 34 Fishing licenses p. 36 Summary of Vanuatu fisheries regulations p. 38 4 REGULATED SPECIES 5 Trochus Trochus Trochus niloticus 9–13 centimeters • A person must not take, harm, have in his or her possession, sell or purchase a trochus shell (Trochus niloticus) that is less than 9 centimeters or more than 13 centimeters in length. • A person must not export trochus except with an export permit issued by the Director. • The maximum quantity of trochus that can be harvested within Vanuatu in a year is 550 tonnes. Offence and penalty • in the case of an individual – VT 200,000 max.; or • in the case of a company or association or body of persons corporate or incorporate – VT 1,000,000 max. Ref. Fisheries Regulations, Order No. 28 of 2009 6 Trochus are marine snails. They live in shallow waters and move very slowly, meaning they can easily be collected and therefore can be easily overfished. This is why in Vanuatu this important commercial species has been protected by different regulations for many years. It is only when they attain a size of 9 cm (measured across the base of the shell, see diagram) that all trochus are mature (able to reproduce); at this size they are approximately three years old. To give trochus a chance to reproduce at least once, Vanuatu fishing regulations protect all trochus smaller than 9 cm in diameter. A trochus that has reached a size of more than 13 cm is still a very pro- ductive breeder, but its shell is often damaged by boring worms and is unsuitable for processing. Therefore, Vanuatu laws also protect trochus larger than 13 cm in diameter. Reproduction occurs when males release their sperm and females release their eggs at the same time in the surrounding seawater. A female trochus can produce up to 1 million eggs in one spawning. Eggs drift for three to ten days while going through the different stages of larval development. Of the hundreds of thousands of eggs produced by the female, less than 100 survive and find shelter on the reef. Trochus graze on the surface of rocks and reefs to feed on algae, mostly green and brown varieties. Trochus is mainly harvested for its valuable shell (mother-of-pearl), which is used by the fashion industry in Europe and Asia to make buttons for top-quality shirts. Trochus meat is also a protein source in Vanuatu. Because trochus shells can be stored for extended periods of time, they constitute one of the rare cash income opportunities for fishing communities living in places where transport is scarce. If young trochus are left to reproduce, this fragile resource will have a chance to survive for future generations, continuing to bring cash income to remote fishing communities. To further control the trochus fishery, Vanuatu fisheries regulations oblige all people who wish to export trochus shells to obtain written permission from the Director. In recent years, the export of raw trochus shells has not been authorised by the Director, in an effort to help Vanuatu’s mother-of-pearl shell button-making industry. 7 Green snail Green snail Turbo marmoratus • A person must not take, harm, have in his or her possession, sell or purchase any green snail (Turbo marmoratus) during the period starting on 1 October 2005 and ending on 1 October 2020. Offence and penalty • in the case of an individual – VT 200,000 max.; or • in the case of a company or association or body of persons corporate or incorporate – VT 1,000,000 max. Ref. Fisheries Regulations, Order No. 28 of 2009 8 Green snail is a turban shell that can be found on reefs in less than 20 meters depth. Green snails grow very slowly. Studies have shown that green snails are mature (able to reproduce) when they are four years old. At this age, their shell length is 13–15 cm. Reproduction occurs when males release their sperm and females release their eggs at the same time in the surrounding seawater. One female green snail can produce several million eggs during one spawning. After the eggs are released, they drift in the open ocean while going through different stages of larval development. Only a tiny number of the hundreds of thousands of eggs released survive and are carried back to a suitable reef. Green snails feed mostly at night, by grazing on rocks and reefs for algae, especially green and red varieties. During surveys made on Vanuatu reefs in 2004 and 2005, only a hand- ful of adult green snails were found. It was a clear sign of overfishing. It was therefore decided to ban all fishing for green snail for a period of 15 years, which will end on 1 October 2020, to give enough time to the few remaining green snails to reproduce successfully and replenish the depleted reefs. 9 Trumpet shell Trumpet shell Charonia tritonis • A person must not take, harm, have in his or her posses- sion, sell or purchase any trumpet shell (Charonia tritonis) from 1 January 2009 to 1 January 2019. Offence and penalty • in the case of an individual – VT 200,000 max.; or • in the case of a company or association or body of persons corporate or incorporate – VT 1,000,000 max. Ref. Fisheries Regulations, Order No. 28 of 2009 10 The trumpet shell is the largest marine snail in Vanuatu’s waters. It is a carnivorous shellfish. It is very useful to the reef as it is one of the rare predators of the crown-of-thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci), which feeds on live coral and can destroy large areas of reef. It has been observed that in areas where the trumpet shell population is healthy, there are no outbreaks of crown-of-thorns starfish. It is collected for its beautiful shell, which is used as a traditional musical instrument or sold to tourists. During surveys made on Vanuatu reefs during 2007 and 2008 trumpet shells were completely absent in some areas and were present only in very small numbers in other areas. A decision was made to ban collec- tion of trumpet shell for a period of 10 years to give this valuable species enough time to reproduce and rebuild a healthy population. The ban was put in place in January 2009 and will end in January 2019. 11 Sea cucumbers (beche-de mer) • A person must not take, harm, have in his or her posses- sion, sell or purchase any beche-de-mer from the period beginning 1 January 2008 to 1 January 2013. • This closing period may be extended by the Director depending on the status of stock. Offence and penalty • in the case of an individual – VT 200,000 max.; or • in the case of a company or association or body of persons corporate or incorporate – VT 1,000,000 max. Ref. Fisheries Regulations, Order No. 28 of 2009 12 In Vanuatu, sea cucumbers are mostly found on sandy or muddy bottoms. Reproduction occurs when males release their sperm and females release their eggs at the same time in the surrounding seawater. It takes many sea cucumbers gathering in the same place for the reproduction to be successful.