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Title: Regulations for Issuing Distant Water Fisheries Catch Certificates Ch
Date: 2017.01.20
Legislative: The full text of 29 articles promulgated by the Council of
Agriculture, Executive Yuan on January 20, 2017, under Order
No. Nong-Yu-Tsu 1061332071.
Content: Article 1
These Regulations are established pursuant to Article 10, 
paragraph 2 and Article 25, paragraph 6 of the Act for Distant 
Water Fisheries (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”).
 
Article 2
The competent authority may commission the Fisheries Agency, 
Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan to conduct the receipt 
of applications, issuance, write-offs, cancellation, and 
re-issuance of catch certificates and other related affairs.
 
Article 3
Catch certificates stipulated herein are divided into the 
following five types:
(1) Fishing Vessel Catch Certificate, which serves as a proving
 document for the application of exemption of import tax and 
exemption of import control to the Customs Administration of 
the Ministry of Finance for catches caught by a fishing vessel 
permitted by the competent authority to conduct distant water 
fisheries and shipped back to the Republic of China by 
commercial cargo vessel, foreign carrier vessel, or airplane.
(2) Catch Origin Document, which is to prove that fishing 
vessels of catches or fisheries products meet certain sanitation
 requirements so as to apply for the quarantine certificates of 
exported animal products that meet the requirements of the 
import country.
(3) Catch Statistical Document, which is the catch trade 
document issued in compliance with the conservation and 
management measures of international fisheries organizations.
(4) Legitimate Catch Certificate, which is to prove that fishing
 operations for catches or fisheries products are not involved in
 illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.
(5) EU Catch Certificate, which is to prove that fishing 
operations for catches or fisheries products meet the 
requirements of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as 
the “EU”).
 
Article 4
Any applicant of any catch certificate shall meet any of the 
following conditions:
(1) The distant water fisheries operator who is permitted by the 
competent authority to conduct distant water fisheries and whose 
catches or fisheries products are caught by the fishing vessel(s) 
operated by him/herself.
(2) The industry related to distant water fisheries approved by 
the competent authority to conduct export trade of catches or 
fisheries products of distant water fisheries.
 
The applicant of the Fishing Vessel Catch Certificate shall be
 limited to the applicant as referred to in subparagraph (1) of 
the preceding paragraph.
 
Article 5
The maximum period of the validity of any catch certificate 
shall be four years, except for the Catch Statistical Document
 of fresh bigeye tuna and fresh swordfish, which shall be valid 
for two months.
 
In case that the catch certificate is issued before landing, the
 period of validity as referred to in the preceding paragraph 
shall begin from the date of issuance. For the catch certificate 
issued after landing, the period of validity shall begin from 
the date of the completion of landing.
 
Article 6
To apply for catch certificates of catches of purse seine fishing 
vessels, the type of such catches shall be frozen whole fish.
 
Article 7
For any application of the Fishing Vessel Catch Certificate, the 
application form in the required format shall be filled in and 
submitted to the competent authority together with a copy of the 
shipping documents proving that catches are shipped back to land 
in the Republic of China for sale by commercial cargo vessel, 
foreign carrier vessel, or airplane.
 
The Fishing Vessel Catch Certificate will be issued after the 
application as referred to in the preceding paragraph is examined
 and determined to be compliant with relevant requirements.
 
Article 8
In case of any of the following circumstances, the Fishing Vessel
 Catch Certificate shall not be issued:
(1) The applicant does not meet the provisions stipulated in 
Article 4, paragraph 1.
(2) The catch of purse seine fishing vessel does not meet the 
provisions stipulated in Article 6.
(3) The fishing vessel conducts distant water fisheries without 
the permission from the competent authority.
(4) The applied catch amount exceeds the actual landing amount of 
the fishing vessel. 
 
Article 9
Any fishing vessel applying for the Catch Origin Document shall 
meet any of the following conditions:
(1) The fish hold temperature is below 18 degrees Celsius, and the
 fishing vessel is installed with a temperature recording device 
and has been examined and approved by the competent authority.
(2) The fishing vessel has passed the hygiene inspection.
 
Fishing vessels which meet the conditions stipulated in the 
preceding paragraph shall be promulgated by the competent 
authority.
 
Article 10
For any application of the Catch Origin Certificate, the 
application form in the required format shall be filled in and 
submitted to the competent authority. For the applicant as 
referred to in subparagraph (2) of Article 4, paragraph 1, the 
record that can trace back to the transaction of the distant 
water fisheries operator and relevant document(s) proving the 
trade shall be enclosed as well.
 
The Catch Origin Document will be issued after the application
 as referred to in the preceding paragraph is examined and 
determined to be compliant with relevant requirements
 
Article 11
In case of any of the following circumstances, the Catch Origin 
Certificate shall not be issued:
(1) The applicant does not meet the provisions stipulated in 
Article 4, paragraph 1.
(2) The exportation eligibility of the applicant as referred to
 in subparagraph (2) of Article 4, paragraph 1 is suspended by
 the competent authority.
(3) Any of the circumstances stipulated in subparagraph (2) to 
(4)of Article 8.
(4) The fishing vessel does not meet the provisions stipulated 
in Article 9, paragraph 1.
(5) The Catch Origin Certificate previously applied by the 
applicant is not written off in accordance with Article 25, or 
not cancelled in accordance with Article 26. 
 
Article 12
For any application of the Catch Statistical Document, the 
vessel position reporting, logbooks and catch reports, 
transshipment and landing of the fishing vessel during the 
period of fishing operation of the fishing vessel shall be in 
compliance with the regulations for respective oceans where the 
fishing vessel concerned proceeds to.
 
Article 13
For any application of the Catch Statistical Document of frozen 
bigeye tuna or frozen swordfish, the applicant shall fill in 
application form in the required format and submit to the 
competent authority together with the following documents:
(1) Document(s) proving that the catches concerned have been 
confirmed by the association which the fishing vessel belongs 
to.
(2) For catches landed domestically, the fish market transaction
 document or the Landing Inspection Report shall be enclosed.
(3) For the applicant as referred to in subparagraph (2) of
 Article 4, paragraph 1, the record that can trace back to the 
transaction of the distant water fisheries operator and relevant
 document(s) proving the trade shall be enclosed.
(4) A copy of exportation and transport document/bill of 
catches. Catches transported by the fishing vessel itself shall 
be exempted
 
The association as referred to in subparagraph (1) of the 
preceding paragraph means the Taiwan Tuna Purse Seiners 
Association for a purse seine fishing vessel; and Taiwan Deep 
Sea Tuna Boat-owners and Exporters Association or Taiwan Tuna 
Longline Association for a tuna longline fishing vessel.
 
The Catch Statistical Document of frozen bigeye tuna or frozen 
swordfish will be issued after the application as referred to 
in paragraph 1 is examined and determined to be compliant with 
relevant requirements.
 
Article 14
For any application of Catch Statistical Document of fresh 
bigeye tuna or fresh swordfish, catches of bigeye tuna or 
swordfish shall meet the following conditions:
(1) Such catches are caught by longline fishing vessel(s) 
whose gross tonnage (GT) is under 100 tons.
(2) Such catches are preserved in ice-chilling method.
(3) Such catches are landed at any domestic or foreign port for
 sale and processed as frozen bigeye tuna or frozen swordfish.
 
Article 15
For any application of the Catch Statistical Document of fresh 
bigeye tuna or fresh swordfish, the applicant shall fill in 
application form in the required format and submit to the 
competent authority together with the following documents:
(1) For catches landed for sale at a foreign port, the copy of
 the cargo list obtained from the customs authority of the port
 State or the Landing Inspection Report shall be enclosed prior
 to port entry of the fishing vessel.
(2) For catches landed for sale at a domestic port, the fish
 market transaction document or the Landing Inspection Report 
shall be enclosed.
(3) The copy of the document(s) proving the trade of fresh 
bigeye tuna or fresh swordfish to a processing plant for 
process and export as frozen products.
 
The Catch Statistical Document of fresh bigeye tuna or fresh
 swordfish will be issued after the application as referred to 
in the preceding paragraph is examined and determined to be 
compliant with relevant requirements.
 
Article 16
To replace Catch Statistical Document of fresh bigeye tuna or 
fresh swordfish with that of frozen bigeye tuna or frozen 
swordfish, the applicant shall fill in application form in the 
required format and submit to the competent authority together 
with the following documents:
(1) The original copy of the Catch Statistical Document of fresh
 bigeye or fresh swordfish.
(2) For any applicant as referred to in subparagraph (2) of 
Article 4, paragraph 1, the record that can trace back to the 
transaction of the distant water fisheries operator and relevant
 document(s) proving the trade shall be enclosed.
 
The Catch Statistical Document of frozen bigeye tuna or frozen
swordfish will be issued after the application as referred to in 
the preceding paragraph is examined and determined to be 
compliant with relevant requirements.
 
Article 17
In case of any of the following circumstances, the Catch 
Statistical Document shall not be issued:
(1) Any of the circumstances stipulated in subparagraph (1) 
to (3) of Article 11.
(2) For the application of the Catch Statistical Document of
 frozen bigeye tuna or frozen swordfish, the fishing vessel
 does not meet the provisions stipulated in Article 12.
(3) For the application of the Catch Statistical Document of
 fresh bigeye tuna or fresh swordfish, the fishing vessel 
does not meet the provisions stipulated in Article 12, or the
 catches does not meet the provisions stipulated in Article 14.
(4) The Catch Statistical Document previously applied by the
 applicant is not written off in accordance with Article 25, 
or not cancelled in accordance with Article 26.
(5) During the period of fishing operation in which the 
catches or fisheries products were caught, the fine imposed 
upon the distant water fisheries operator by the competent 
authority pursuant to the Act or the Fisheries Act has not been
 paid completely or the suspension of fishing license imposed
 upon the distant water fisheries operator has not been executed.
 
Article 18
For any application of the Legitimate Catch Certificate, the 
fishing vessel shall meet the following requirements during its
 fishing operation:
(1) It is not listed on the IUU fishing vessels list as 
promulgated pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 2 of the Act.
(2) It has not violated any of the provisions stipulated in 
Article 13, paragraph 1 of the Act; or Article 48, paragraph 
1 of the Fisheries Act.
 
Article 19
For any application of the Legitimate Catch Certificate, the
 applicant shall fill in application form in the required 
format and submit to the competent authority together with the
 following documents,:
(1) For any applicant as referred to in subparagraph (2) of 
Article 4, paragraph 1, the record that can trace back to the
 transaction of distant water fisheries operator and relevant
 document(s) proving the trade shall be enclosed.
(2) A copy of exportation and transport document/bill of 
catches. The application for replacing the Legitimate Catch 
Certificate with the EU Catch Certificate shall be exempted.
 
The Legitimate Catch Certificate will be issued after the 
application as referred to in the preceding paragraph is 
examined and determined to be compliant with relevant 
requirements.
 
Article 20
In case of any of the following circumstances, the Legitimate
 Catch Certificate shall not be issued:
(1) Any of the circumstances stipulated in subparagraph (1) 
to (3) of Article 11, or subparagraph (5) of Article 17.
(2) The fishing vessel does not meet the provisions stipulated
 in Article 18.
(3) The Legitimated Catch Certificate previously applied by 
the applicant is not written off in accordance with Article 25,
 or not cancelled in accordance with Article 26.
 
Article 21
For any catch applying for export to the EU, both the fishing 
vessel and the carrier vessel shall pass the EU hygiene 
inspection and be registered in the EU SANCO list, and during 
the fishing operation, the provisions stipulated in Article 18
 shall be met as well.
 
Article 22
For any application of the EU Catch Certificate, the applicant 
shall fill in application form in the required format and 
submit to the competent authority together with the following
 documents:
(1) For the applicant as referred to in subparagraph (2) of
 Article 4, paragraph 1, the record that can trace back to the 
transaction of the distant water fisheries operator and relevant
 document(s) proving the trade shall be enclosed.
(2) A copy of exportation and transport document/bill of 
catches.
(3) In the event that the Legitimate Catch Certificate has been 
applied for the batch of catches or fisheries products, the 
original copy of such Legitimate Catch Certificate shall be 
enclosed.
 
The EU Catch Certificate will be issued after the application 
as referred to in the preceding paragraph is examined and 
determined to be compliant with relevant requirements.
 
Article 23
In order to confirm the authenticity of the signature column of
 the in-port transshipment in the EU Catch Certificate, the 
competent authority may contact the authorities concerned of 
the port State to verify the signature information. In the case
 that the confirmation from the port State concerned is not 
received within 30 days, the application shall be denied.
 
Article 24
In case of any of the following circumstances, the EU Catch
 Certificate shall not be issued:
(1) Any of the circumstances stipulated in subparagraph (2) or
 (3) of Article 8; or subparagraph (1) or (2) of Article 11; or
 subparagraph (5) of Article 17.
(2) The fishing vessel does not meet the provisions stipulated
 in Article 21.
(3) The EU Catch Certificate previously applied by the applicant
 is not written off in accordance with Article 25, or not 
cancelled in accordance with Article 26.
(4) The weight of raw material catch applied for export exceeds 
the actual landing amount of the fish species during the period
 of fishing operation, or the weight of processed fisheries 
products applied for export does not match with that recorded on
 the hygiene certificate.
(5) The signature column of the in-port transshipment in the EU 
Catch Certificate is not signed by the authorities concerned of
 the port State, or the signature is confirmed as not authentic.
(6) The exporter recorded in the EU Catch Certificate is not the
 applicant.
 
Article 25
Except for the circumstances stipulated in paragraph 3, any 
applicant for any catch certificates shall, within two months
 after the issuance of catch certificates, fill in the 
Write-offs Application Form  and submit to the competent 
authority together with the following documents for write-offs:
(1) For the Catch Origin Certificate: a copy the quarantine 
certificate of exported animal product. 
(2) For the Catch Statistical Document, Legitimate Catch 
Certificate, and EU Catch Certificate: a copy of the document
 proving the customs clearance and the document(s) proving the 
trade between the applicant and foreign buyer(s).
(3) For the Legitimate Catch Certificate used for the 
application of the export permit under the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and 
Flora: a copy of the export permit under the Convention on 
International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and
 Flora issued by the Bureau of Foreign Trade, Ministry of 
Economic Affairs.
 
In case that the documents as referred to in the preceding 
paragraph are not in Chinese, English or Japanese, copies of 
Chinese translation shall be enclosed. 
 
In any of the following circumstances, the applicant may be 
waived to conduct write-offs of such catch certificate:
(1) For the Fishing Vessel Catch Certificate: such certificate 
has been used in the application for exemption of import tax 
and exemption of import control to the Customs Administration,
 Ministry of Finance. 
(2) For the Catch Statistical Document of fresh bigeye tuna or 
fresh swordfish: such certificate has been used in the 
application for the Catch Statistical Document of frozen bigeye
 tuna or frozen swordfish.
(3) For the Legitimate Catch Certificate: such certificate has
 been used in the application for the EU Catch Certificate.
 
Article 26
In case that any catch certificate is missing, not used for 
some reasons or damaged, the applicant shall take the initiative
 to apply to the competent authority for cancellation with the 
following documents:
(1) Explanation for the cancellation.
(2) The original copy of the catch certificate that is not used 
for some reasons or damaged.
(3) In case that the cause of cancellation is resulted after 
the export of catches or fisheries products, the copy of the 
shipping document for export and the proof slip of the export 
declaration issued by the customs at the port of exportation 
shall be enclosed.
 
The activity of using the cancelled catch certificate or its 
copy shall be deemed as using catch certificate documents not 
issued to the catch concerned stipulated in subparagraph (17) 
of Article 13, paragraph 1.
 
Article 27
In the event that the catch certificate has been cancelled in 
accordance with Article 26, paragraph 1, the applicant may apply
 for the re-issuance to the competent authority. 
 
Article 28
In case that the application form submitted, the required 
documents or contents are incomplete for the application, 
write-offs, cancellation or re-issuance of any catch 
certificate, the competent authority shall notify the 
applicant to supplement within the required timeframe. Failing
 to supplement within the required timeframe or incomplete 
supplementary shall be subject to denial of the application.
 
Article 29
These Regulations shall become effective on January 20, 2017.