Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific Region

 

ARTICLE I – DEFINITIONS

In this Treaty:

(a) ‘fishing’ means:

(i) searching for, catching, taking or harvesting fish;

(ii) attempting to search for, catch, take or harvest fish;

(iii) engaging in any other activity which can reasonably be
expected to result in the locating, catching, taking or
harvesting of fish;

(iv) placing, searching for or recovering fish aggregating devices
or associated electronic equipment such as radio beacons;

(v) any operations at sea directly in support of, or in
preparation for any activity described in this paragraph;

(vi) use of any craft, air or sea borne, for any activity
described in this paragraph except for emergencies involving
the health and safety of the crew or the safety of a vessel;

(vii) the processing, carrying or transhipping of fish that have
been taken.

(b) ‘fishing vessel’ means any boat, ship or other craft which is used
for, equipped to be used for, or of a type normally used for
fishing;

(c) ‘foreign fishing agreement’ means an agreement or arrangement
authorizing or permitting foreign fishing vessels to fish in the
Exclusive Economic Zone or fisheries zone of any Party;

(d) ‘foreign fishing vessel’ in relation to a Party means a fishing
vessel which is not part of the domestic fleet of that Party;

(e) ‘South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency’ means the Agency of that
name established by the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency
Convention, 1979; and

(f) ‘Subsidiary Agreement’ means an agreement or an arrangement entered
into by any two or more Parties in accordance with this Treaty.

ARTICLE II – RELATIONSHIP WITH OTHER Treaties

1. Rights and obligations under this Treaty shall apply as between the
Parties in addition to any right or obligation concerning a similar
matter applicable to a Party under any other Treaty.

2. A Subsidiary Agreement may expand upon rights and obligations under
this Treaty in their application between the Parties to the Subsidiary
Agreement.

ARTICLE III – GENERAL COOPERATION

1. The Parties shall cooperate in the enforcement of their fisheries
laws and regulations in accordance with this Treaty and may agree on
forms of assistance for that purpose.

2. The Parties shall cooperate to develop regionally agreed procedures
for the conduct of fisheries surveillance and law enforcement. Where
appropriate, fisheries surveillance and law enforcement will be conducted
in accordance with such regionally agreed procedures.

ARTICLE IV – COOPERATION IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HARMONIZED
MINIMUM TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF FISHERIES ACCESS

1. The Parties shall cooperate in the implementation of harmonized
minimum terms and conditions of fisheries access as may be agreed upon
from time to time.

2. The Parties shall ensure that no foreign fishing vessel shall be
licensed for fishing unless the vessel has good standing on the Regional
Register of Foreign Fishing Vessels maintained by the South Pacific Forum
Fisheries Agency.

3. The Parties shall ensure that foreign fishing vessels licensed to
fish under foreign fishing agreements are, as a minimum, required to
provide reports in accordance with the standard forms of reporting as set
out in the harmonised minimum terms and conditions of fisheries access
from time to time.

4. The Parties shall ensure that fishing vessels licensed to fish under
foreign fishing agreements are required to be readily identifiable from
the sea and the air by way of distinctive markings.

5. The Parties shall, as far as possible, ensure that foreign fishing
agreements with flag States require the flag State to take responsibility
for the compliance by its flag vessels with the terms of any such
agreement and applicable laws.

6. The Parties shall, as far as possible, ensure that foreign fishing
arrangements with foreign parties, including Fishing Associations,
require the foreign party to take responsibility for the compliance by
its vessels with the terms of any such arrangement and applicable laws.

ARTICLE V – EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

1. Each Party shall, to the extent permitted by its national laws and
regulations, provide to the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency, or to
any other Party directly, information relevant to the purposes of this
Treaty, including but not limited to information about:

(a) the location and movement of foreign fishing vessels;

(b) foreign fishing vessel licensing; and

(c) fisheries surveillance and law enforcement activities.

2. The Parties shall develop standard forms and procedures for reporting
information provided under paragraph 1 of this Article and effective
methods for communicating such information.

ARTICLE VI – COOPERATION IN FISHERIES SURVEILLANCE
AND LAW ENFORCEMENT

1. A Party may, by way of provisions in a Subsidiary Agreement or
otherwise, permit another Party to extend its fisheries surveillance and
law enforcement activities to the territorial sea and archipelagic waters
of that Party. In such circumstances, the conditions and method of
stopping, inspecting, detaining, directing to port and seizing vessels
shall be governed by the national laws and regulations applicable in the
State in whose territorial sea or archipelagic waters the fisheries
surveillance or law enforcement activity was carried out.

2. Vessels seized by another Party pursuant to an agreement under
paragraph 1 of this Article in the territorial sea or archipelagic waters
of a Party shall, together with the persons on board, be handed over as
soon as possible to the authorities of that Party.

3. Any two or more Parties may enter into a Subsidiary Agreement under
which they would cooperate in the provision of personnel and the use of
vessels, aircraft or other items of equipment for fisheries surveillance
and law enforcement purposes. Vessels and aircraft shall be identified
as set out in Annex 1.

4. Any Party wishing to authorize its officers to perform fisheries
surveillance and law enforcement functions on its behalf while on board a
vessel or aircraft of another Party shall by instrument in writing
designate the officers accordingly and such officers shall be identified
as set out in Annex 2.

5. Any Party wishing to authorise the officers of another Party to
perform fisheries surveillance and law enforcement functions on its
behalf while on board a vessel of that other Party shall by instrument in
writing designate such officers accordingly. Officers carrying out
enforcement functions shall be identified by a card in the form set out
in Annex 2 with such variations as may be agreed to in a Subsidiary
Agreement or otherwise.

 

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Exclusive Economic Zone, International Conventions from 1991, Marine and Coastal conventions, Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific Region 2, Treaties.