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Title: Regulations for Tuna Longline Fishing Vessels Proceeding to the Atlantic Ocean for Fishing Operation Ch
Date: 2017.01.20
Legislative: The full text of 75 articles promulgated by the Council of
Agriculture, Executive Yuan on January 20, 2017, under Order
No. Nong-Yu-Tsu 1061332010.
Content: Article 1
These Regulations are hereby established pursuant to Article 6, 
paragraph 2; Article 10, paragraph 2; Article 11, paragraph 3; 
and Article 24, paragraph 2 of the Act for Distant Water 
Fisheries (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”).
 
Article 2
Terms used in these Regulations are defined as follows:
(1) “Tuna longline fishing vessel” means any fishing vessel 
targeting highly migratory fish species such as tunas, 
billfishes, sharks, skipjacks, or mahi mahi with longline 
fishing gears.
(2) Independent third party” means any of the following 
institutions recognized by the competent authority:
i. For Japan:
(i) Shinken Corporation.
(ii) Nippon Kaiji Kentei Kyokai, Incorporated Association.
ii. For areas excluding Japan: the verifying institution which
 obtains the accreditation for management system certification 
from the Taiwan Accreditation Foundation (TAF).
(3) “Carrier vessel” means the following vessels that conducts
 the transshipment of catches from tuna longline fishing 
vessel(s) to itself and transports to ports:
i. ‘Carrier vessel of the Republic of China’ refers to the 
carrier vessel which has the fishing license of the Republic of 
China.
ii. ‘Foreign carrier vessel’ refers to the carrier vessel, 
excluding container vessel, which has the valid nationality 
certificate of the flag State of a foreign country.
 
Article 3
Fishing vessels proceeding to the Atlantic Ocean to catch highly
 migratory species such as, tunas, billfishes, sharks, skipjack,
 or mahi mahi shall be limited to tuna longline fishing vessels 
of 100 Gross Tonnage (GT) and above. The area of the Atlantic 
Ocean is as shown in Appendix 1.
 
“Regulations for Fishing Vessels Conducting Southern Bluefin 
Tuna Fishery” shall also be applied to any tuna longline 
fishing vessel catching southern bluefin tuna.
 
Article 4
Tuna longline fishing vessels proceeding to the Atlantic Ocean 
for fishing operation are categorized, in accordance with the 
catch species, into the following groups and fishing areas, 
which are as shown in Appendix 2 and 3:
(1) Bigeye tuna group: targeting bigeye tuna. The fishing area 
is north of 25°S to south of 25°N.
(2) North albacore tuna group: targeting north Atlantic albacore
 tuna. The fishing area is north of 10°N and west of 45°W, and 
north of 5°N, excluding the Mediterranean Sea.
(3) South albacore tuna group: targeting south Atlantic albacore
 tuna. The fishing area is south of 10°S
 
Any tuna longline fishing vessel shall fish only within the 
fishing area(s) permitted by the competent authority.
 
Article 5
Limits on the number of tuna longline fishing vessels fishing in
 the Atlantic Ocean are as follows:
(1) Bigeye tuna group: the number of fishing vessels is limited 
to 56.
(2) North albacore tuna group: the number of fishing vessels is 
limited to 8.
(3) South albacore tuna group: the number of fishing vessels is 
limited to 30. 
 
Chapter II Application and Issuance of the Distant Water 
Fisheries Permit
 
Article 6
Any distant water fisheries operator intending to apply for the 
distant water fisheries permit(s) for his/her fishing vessel(s) 
to fish in the Atlantic Ocean in the following year shall fill 
in the application form, formats of which are as shown in 
Appendix 4 and 5, in accordance with types of fishing vessels 
and groups () and submit it with the following documents:
(1) A copy of the valid fishing license which shall contain the 
International Maritime Organization (IMO) ship identification 
number or Lloyd’s Register (LR) number.
(2) The color photograph of the fishing vessel no older than 
three years. The photograph must show a stem-to-stern side view 
of the vessel; clearly and legibly display the vessel name and 
international radio call sign; be in the form of a single 
electronic file and have a resolution of at least 150 pixels per
 inch at a size of 6 by 8 inches; and be no greater than 500 
kilobytes (kB) in size.
(3) The document certified by the commissioned professional 
institution that the automatic location communicator (ALC) on 
board the fishing/catching vessel can regularly and normally 
transmit vessel positions.
(4) The document certified by the commissioned professional 
institution that the electronic logbook (E-logbook) system on 
board the fishing vessel/catching can normally transmit catch 
data.
(5) The vessel tracking agreement form serving as an 
authorization allowing the competent authority and the 
international fisheries organization to track vessel positions.
 He who has provided such form shall be exempted from this 
provision.  
 
Article 7
Any fishing vessel that applies for the distant water fisheries 
permit of the bigeye tuna group for the following year shall 
meet any of the following conditions:
(1) It belongs to the bigeye tuna group in the current year with
 the competent authority’s approval.
(2) It is a newly built fishing vessel which has received the 
replacement tonnage of a fishing vessel of the bigeye tuna 
group.
 
Any fishing vessel that applies for the distant water fisheries
 permit of the north albacore tuna group for the following year 
shall meet any of the following conditions:
(1) It was approved by the competent authority, before 30 
November 2014, as the fishing vessel of the north albacore tuna
 group.
(2) It is a newly built fishing vessel which has received the 
replacement tonnage of a fishing vessel approved by the 
competent authority, before 30 November 2014, as the fishing 
vessel of the albacore tuna group.
 
Any fishing vessel that applies for the distant water fisheries
 permit of the south albacore tuna group for the following year 
shall meet any of the following conditions:
(1) It belongs to the south albacore tuna group in the current 
year with the competent authority’s approval.
(2) It is a newly built fishing vessel which has received the 
replacement tonnage of a fishing vessel of the south albacore 
tuna group.
 
Article 8
For the application of the distant water fisheries permit of the 
following year, the documents prescribed in Article 6 shall be 
submitted in accordance with the following procedures and 
deadline:
(1) For any distant water fisheries operator that is a member of
 the Taiwan Deep Sea Tuna Boat-owners and Exporters Association
 (hereinafter referred to as “Tuna Association”), it shall 
apply to the Tuna Association before October 15 of the current 
year, which shall compile the applications in accordance with 
the groups for delivery to the competent authority before 
October 31 of the current year.
(2) For any distant water fisheries operator that is not a 
member of the Tuna Association, he/she shall apply to the 
competent authority before October 31 of the current year.
(3) For any distant water fisheries operator of carrier 
vessel(s) of the Republic of China, he/she shall apply to the 
competent authority before October 31 of the current year.
 
Article 9
The distant water fisheries operator who has obtained the 
distant water fisheries permit of bigeye tuna group may apply 
to the competent authority to fish in the north albacore tuna 
fishing area or the south albacore tuna fishing area from April
 to September of the current year, notwithstanding the 
application procedures and deadline prescribed in Article 8.
 
Article 10
In the event that the number of fishing vessels obtaining the 
distant water fisheries permits of the north albacore tuna 
group does not reach the limit of the current year, the 
competent authority may announce in due course to accept 
applications from the fishing vessel(s) which has obtained the
 permit of south albacore tuna group, notwithstanding the 
application deadline prescribed in Article 8. 
 
In the event that the number of applying fishing vessels as 
referred to in the preceding paragraph exceeds the limit, the 
Tuna Association shall draw lots to decide the priority in an 
equitable and impartial manner and deliver the list of vessel 
priority to the competent authority for approval. 
 
Article 11
In case of any of the following conditions, the distant water 
fisheries operator may submit the documents prescribed in 
Article 6 and apply for the distant water fisheries permit 
from the competent authority, notwithstanding the application
 deadline prescribed in Article 8:
(1) The distant water fisheries operator of a fishing vessel
 has changed;
(2) The distant water fisheries operator has obtained the 
fishing license for the chartered fishing vessel;
(3) The distant water fisheries operator has obtained the 
fishing license for the newly-built fishing vessel;
(4) The distant water fisheries operator who resumes the 
operation after the suspension of the operation authorized 
pursuant to Article 11 of the Fisheries Act has expired; 
(5) The distant water fisheries operator applies for the 
renewal of the expired fishing license; or
(6) The suspension of the fishing license has been executed 
completely.
 
Article 12
A certificate of distant water fisheries permit will be issued
 to the application of approved by the competent authority. 
The maximum period of validity of the permit shall be one 
year, and shall not exceed that of the fishing license.
 
The certificate of distant water fisheries permit shall 
record, both in Chinese and English, the following:
(1) The number of the certificate;
(2) The name, CT number, GT, length overall (LOA) and fisheries
 type of the fishing vessel;
(3) Name of the distant water fisheries operator;
(4) The authorized fishing Ocean, group, fishing area(s),and 
fishing period;
(5) The International Radio Call Sign (IRCS); and 
(6) The IMO ship identification number or LR number.
 
The distant water fisheries operator shall place onboard the 
fishing vessel a copy of the valid distant water fisheries 
permit in case of inspection.
 
Article 13
Any tuna fishing vessel intending to interchange the groups or 
fishing Oceans shall apply for the application to the competent
 authority.
 
In the event that a tuna longline fishing vessel intends to 
change the group or fishing Ocean with other fishing vessel, 
the following provisions shall be met:
(1) Distant water fisheries operators of both vessels are
 members of the Tuna Association;
(2) Both vessels have the valid certificates of distant water 
fisheries permits;
(3) The fishing vessel intending to change to the bigeye tuna
 group shall be equipped with ultra-low temperature devices, 
and its distant water fisheries operator has made a guarantee 
letter to assume the duty from the original fishing vessel of 
bigeye tuna group to pay the reimbursement of the vessel 
reduction program; 
(4) For any fishing vessel intending to change to the north 
albacore tuna group, there shall be no other vessel in the 
list of vessel priority to fill in the vacancy in accordance
 with Article 10 in the current year; and       
(5) The penalty of suspending the fishing license has been 
completely executed.
 
For any fishing vessel approved to change the group or fishing
 Ocean, documents shall be provided to prove the fish holds 
have been empted and the certificate of the distant water 
fisheries permit originally issued shall be returned for the 
issuance of the new certificate of distant water fisheries 
permit after the change of fishing Ocean or group.
 
Chapter III Fishing Vessel and Fishing Gear markings
 
Article 14
Fishing vessels shall be marked with vessel markings, 
including, at least, the Chinese and English vessel name, name
 of registry port, CT numbers and IRCS. The characters and the
 edges of characters shall maintain clear and identifiable at
 all times.   
 
Where fishing vessels are fishing or berthing at ports, the 
IRCS shall be displayed clearly identifiable for the sighting
 by other vessels from the water surface or airplanes from the 
air.  
 
Article 15 
The IRCS of a fishing vessel is its radio call sign.
 
The IRCS shall be painted with marine-specific paint, and the 
characters shall be capital letters in English and Arabic 
numerals. The height, width, and colors of characters shall
 meet the specifications as shown in Appendix 6.
 
Article 16
The IRCS shall be placed above the waterline on both sides of 
any fishing vessels and on a deck where the IRCS is not 
obscured by fishing gear(s), and shall be clear of the bow, 
stern, discharge or areas which might be prone to damage or 
discoloration. In case that the lowest edge of characters is 
under the waterline when the fish holds are full, the IRCS 
shall be placed on the fishing vessel’s superstructure.  
 
Article 17
Fishing gear(s) of any tuna longline fishing vessel shall be 
equipped with signal flags, radar reflector buoys or other 
similar devices so as to identify the position(s) and fishing 
area(s).
 
Chapter IV Fishing Gears and Methods, and Mitigation Measures 
for Incidental Catch 
 
Article 18
For any tuna longline fishing vessel navigating through the 
water under national jurisdiction of any foreign country, all 
fishing equipments on board shall be stowed and secured, and 
such vessel shall not conduct activities such as arrangement of
 fishing gears or fishing, except that it has engaged in 
fisheries cooperation with the foreign country concerned.
 
Article 19
Any tuna longline fishing vessel shall carry on board the line 
cutter, de-hooker and scoop/dip net, formats of which are as 
shown in Appendix 7, to release incidentally caught seabirds and
 sea turtles.
 
Article 20
Any tuna longline fishing vessel fishing in the Atlantic Ocean 
shall use the seabird mitigation measures, specifications of 
which are as shown in Appendix 8, in accordance with the 
following provisions: 
(1) Any fishing vessel fishing in the area south of 20°S to 
25°S shall use tori lines during fishing, and shall carry on 
board at least one spare set.
(2) Any fishing vessel fishing in the area south of 25°S shall, 
in addition to tori lines, use weighted branch lines.
 
Chapter V Catch Limits or Quotas
 
Article 21
For the purpose of these Regulations, the species with catch 
limit (hereinafter referred to as “fish species with catch 
limit”) as referred to in subparagraph (7) of Article 13, 
paragraph 1 of the Act means bigeye tuna, north Atlantic 
albacore tuna, and south Atlantic albacore tuna.
 
Article 22
The annual total catch quota (unprocessed round weight, 
hereinafter the same when referring to “quota” in the 
following provisions) of the Republic of China in the Atlantic
 Ocean and the quota for individual tuna longline fishing 
vessel shall be promulgated by the competent authority in
 accordance with the conservation and management measures.  
 
The period for using the quota as referred to in the preceding 
paragraph shall be from January 1 to December 31 of the current
 year.
 
The total remaining quota of the current year in the Atlantic 
Ocean may be arranged by the competent authority.
 
Article 23
The distant water fisheries permit of the current year shall
 be obtained for granting the quota of the current year to the
 tuna longline fishing vessel. For any tuna longline fishing 
vessel that has not obtained the distant water fisheries permit
 of the entire year, the quota shall be granted in accordance 
with the percentage that the number of month(s) approved 
accounts for the whole year.
 
Article 24
The catch amount (unprocessed round weight, hereinafter the 
same when referring to “catch amount” in the following 
provisions) of the fish species with catch limit, swordfish, 
blue marlin, white marlin, or longbill marline for any tuna 
longline fishing vessel shall not exceed the quota allocated to 
the individual vessel for the current year. In case of excess, 
the annual quota of such fishing vessel for the following year 
shall be deducted accordingly.
 
Article 25
In case of any of the following conditions, the competent 
authority shall grant the quota of the current year in 
accordance with the percentage that the number of month(s) the
 tuna longline fishing vessel actual fishes accounts for the
 whole year; shall retrieve the quota on a pro-rata basis from 
the tuna longline fishing vessel which has been granted the 
quota; or shall deduct the quota allocated for the following 
year in the event that the quota is unable to be retrieved from 
the vessel:     
(1) The tuna longline fishing vessel is punished by the 
competent authority of the suspension of the fishing license for
 one month and above.
(2) The tuna longline fishing vessel is detained in the port by 
foreign government.
 
Article 26
For the tuna longline fishing vessel which changes the fishing
 Ocean or group with other vessel pursuant to Article 13, its
 individual vessel quota for the remaining period of its permit
 shall be the remaining quota of that other vessel, and its 
annual individual vessel quota of bigeye tuna shall be limited
 to 330 metric tons. 
 
Article 27
In the event that the following requirements are met, the 
bigeye tuna quota of a fishing vessel of the bigeye tuna group
 may, through the coordination of the Tuna Association which 
reports to the competent authority for approval, be 
transferred to other fishing vessel(s) of the bigeye tuna 
group:
(1) The bigeye tuna quota of the receiving fishing vessel shall
 not exceed 330 metric tons after the transfer; and
(2) Both the transferring and receiving fishing vessels shall
 not have any record of violation in the current year.
 
In the event that any fishing vessel of the bigeye tuna group 
has transferred accumulated 30 metric tons of bigeye tuna quota,
 it shall enter into a port for stop fishing for one month in 
the current year; for the transfer of accumulated 60 metric 
tons of bigeye tuna quota, it shall enter into a port for stop
 fishing for two months, and so forth.   
 
For the fishing vessel entering into a port for stop fishing in
 accordance with the preceding paragraph, the starting and
 ending dates of the period and the berthing location shall be
 specified at the time when applying for the approval of 
transferring quota from the competent authority.
 
Article 28
In the event that the following requirements are met, the 
albacore tuna quota of a fishing vessel of the north albacore 
tuna group or the south albacore tuna group may, through the 
coordination of the Tuna Association which reports to the 
competent authority for approval, transfer to other fishing 
vessel(s) of the same group:
(1) The albacore tuna quota of the receiving fishing vessel 
shall not exceed 550 metric tons after the transfer; and
(2) Both the transferring and receiving fishing vessels shall 
not have any record of violation in the current year. 
 
In the event that any fishing vessel of the north or south 
albacore tuna group has transferred accumulated 30 metric tons 
of albacore tuna quota, it shall enter into a port for stop 
fishing for one month in the current year; for the transfer of 
accumulated 60 metric tons of albacore tuna quota, it shall
 enter into a port for stop fishing for two months, and so 
forth.   
 
For the fishing vessel entering into a port for stop fishing 
in accordance with the preceding paragraph, the starting and 
ending dates of the period and the berthing location shall be 
specified at the time when applying for the approval of 
transferring quota from the competent authority.
 
Article 29
The competent authority may, depending on the catch amount of
 each species in the current year, reallocate the total 
remaining quota of the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
Article 30
The competent authority may, after July of each year, 
announce the additional bigeye tuna quota that can be applied
 for.
For the application of the additional quota as referred to in 
the preceding paragraph, the fishing vessel shall be of 
bigeye tuna group, and have received the bigeye tuna quota
 from other vessel(s) or applied to the competent authority
 for the reallocated bigeye tuna quota as referred to in 
Article 29, and its accumulated 330 metric tons of bigeye
 tuna quota has been used up to 70%.
 
The additional bigeye tuna quota acquired shall not be 
transferred.
 
Article 31
The competent authority may grant premium quota to the tuna 
longline fishing vessel which cooperates with the competent
 authority to carry out relevant experiments, researches or 
management measures.
 
The premium quota as referred to in the preceding paragraph 
shall not be transferred.
 
Article 32
For any fishing vessel of the bigeye tuna group  that obtains
 the permit to fish in the north albacore tuna fishing area or
 the south albacore tuna fishing area pursuant to Article 9,
 the competent authority shall allocate, in accordance with 
the number of months approved, 33.3 metric tons of north or 
south albacore tuna quota per month to individual vessel, and
 the bigeye tuna quota of such vessel shall be deducted by 10 
metric tons per month which will be retrieved by the competent
 authority for arrangement.
 
Chapter VI Management of Vessel Position Reporting
 
Article 33
The ALC on board shall be maintained functional at all time, 
whether at sea or in port.
 
Tuna longline fishing vessels or carrier vessels of the 
Republic of China shall transmit at least one vessel position
 in every four hours.
 
Fee for the services and communications of the ALC shall be 
borne by distant water fisheries operators.
 
Article 34
In case that a fishing vessel needs to stay in a domestic port
 for three days and above or in a foreign port for maintenance
 or repair, its distant water fisheries operator may apply to 
the competent authority with documentary proof for switching 
off the ALC, which may only be switched off after obtaining 
approval.
 
The period of switching off the ALC as referred to in the 
preceding paragraph shall not exceed six months for each 
application. Extension may be applied in accordance with the 
preceding provision before the period is expired.
 
Any fishing vessel shall not leave the port during the period
 of switching off the ALC.
 
In the event that the ALC onboard is rebooted, the fishing 
vessel may only leave the port after the commissioned 
professional institution has confirmed that such ALC can 
regularly and normally transmit vessel positions.
 
Article 35
Any fishing vessel shall carry at least one spare set of ALC
 on board.
 
In case that the identification number of ALC on board has 
been changed, the distant water fisheries operator shall 
notify the competent authority or the commissioned 
professional institution in writing.
 
Article 36
The ALC is deemed as signal-lost in the event that the
 commissioned professional institution has not received 
positions automatically transmitted by the ALC twice 
consecutively. In the event that the ALC is signal-lost for
 three consecutive days, it is deemed as mal-function.
 
The malfunctioning ALC shall be repaired no later than 30 days.
 
In the event that the ALC on board is signal-lost or 
mal-functional, the distant water fisheries operator or the 
captain shall send the Form for Vessel Position and Fishing 
Operation Information (format as shown in Appendix 9) by 
facsimile to the commissioned professional institution. The 
vessel positions shall be recorded by automatic recording 
satellite navigator for perusal in later days. 
 
The transmit of vessel positions as referred to in the 
preceding paragraph shall be every four hours for any tuna 
longline fishing vessel and carrier vessel of the Republic of
 China,
 
For any fishing vessel with spare set of ALC on board, it shall
 report to the competent authority of using the spare set 
during the mal-function of the ALC. In case that the spare set
 is also mal-functional, the spare set from other fishing 
vessel may be deployed after obtaining the competent 
authority’s approval.
 
Article 37
In the event that the ALC onboard is deemed as signal lost for 
an accumulative period of 15 days and above during one fishing 
trip, the competent authority may order such fishing vessel to 
stop fishing immediately and directly navigate to a designated 
port within the required timeframe for repair. The vessel shall
 not leave the port until the commissioned professional 
institution has confirmed that such ALC can regularly and 
normally transmit vessel positions.
 
Any expense incurred from port return, port entrance and 
confirmation of position transmitting as referred to in the 
preceding paragraph shall be borne by the distant water 
fisheries operator.
 
Chapter VII Logbooks and Catch Reports
 
Article 38
In the event that any tuna longline fishing vessel leaves the 
port, its captain shall daily report catch data through the 
E-logbook system designated by the competent authority, and 
shall completely and accurately fill in the logbooks 
designated by the competent authority by fishery types, where
 there is any catch or not.  
 
In case of malfunction of the E-logbook system, the distant 
water fisheries operator or the captain shall daily transmit
 catch data via facsimile to the competent authority or the 
commissioned professional institution. Such catch data shall 
be signed by the distant water fisheries operator or the 
captain.
 
The malfunctioning E-logbook system shall be repaired no later
 than 30 days.
 
In the event that the E-logbook system onboard is deemed as 
mal-functional for an accumulative period of 15 days and above 
during one fishing trip, the competent authority may order 
such fishing vessel to stop fishing immediately and directly
 navigate to a designated port within the required timeframe 
for repair. The vessel shall not leave the port until the 
commissioned professional institution has confirmed that such
 E-logbook system can normally transmit data.
 
Any expense incurred from port return, port entrance and 
confirmation of E-logbook system as referred to in the 
preceding paragraph shall be borne by the distant water 
fisheries operator.
 
Article 39
Any fishing vessel of the bigeye tuna group that catches 
albacore tuna or swordfish in the sea area north of 5°N shall 
record such catches on the E-logbook system and the logbooks 
as north Atlantic albacore tuna or north Atlantic swordfish. 
In case of catching such catches in the sea area south of 5°N,
 such catches shall be recorded as south Atlantic albacore 
tuna or south Atlantic swordfish. 
 
Article 40
Any tuna longline fishing vessel shall not catch southern 
bluefin tuna without permission. In case of bycatch of southern
 bluefin tuna, the fishing vessel shall immediately discard 
such catch and record the amount of discard on the logbooks and
 E-logbook system.
 
In the event that the quota of the fish species with catch 
limit, swordfish, blue marlin, white marlin or longbill marlin 
is exhausted, any tuna longline fishing vessel shall 
immediately discard any catch of such species and shall record 
the amount of discard on the logbooks and the E-logbook system.
 
Article 41
Any tuna longline fishing vessel catching the following fish 
species shall immediately discard into the sea and shall not 
retain on board. The amount of discard shall be recorded on the
 logbooks:
(1) Atlantic bluefin tuna;
(2) Swordfish in the entire Atlantic Ocean less than 15 
kilograms, or in alternative, less than 119 centimeters lower 
jaw fork length (LJFL)
 
The amount of discard of the fish species as referred to in 
subparagraph (2) shall also be recorded on the E-logbook. 
 
Article 42
In case that any tuna fishing vessel finds any sea turtle 
during fishing operation, such vessel shall, where practicable,
 bring aboard any comatose or inactive sea turtle as soon as 
possible, and foster its recovery and return it to the sea at 
once after recovery.. 
 
Any seabird, sea turtle, whale shark, cetacean, penguin or 
prohibited species promulgated by the competent authority 
incidentally caught by any tuna fishing vessel shall be 
released when caught alive or discarded dead, and the number(s)
 be duly recorded on the logbooks and the E-logbook system.
 
Article 43
Any fish species of no economic value or no utilizing value
 caught by any tuna fishing vessel shall be released 
immediately, and number(s) discarded shall be duly recorded on
 the logbooks and the E-logbook system.
 
Article 44
The E-logbook data or the logbook submitted shall not be 
altered or amended, unless there is apparent error with the 
content and the competent authority has approved.
 
Article 45
The complete logbooks shall be maintained on board any tuna 
longline fishing vessel for at least one year. 
 
In case that any tuna longline fishing vessel enters a port or
 transships its catch at sea, a copy of the logbooks shall be
 submitted to the competent authority for perusal in 
accordance with the following timeframe:
(1) For port entry: within 60 days starting from the date the 
fishing vessel enters the port.
(2) For transshipment at-sea: within 60 days starting from the 
date the carrier vessel enters the port.
 
Article 46
For fish species with catch limit, the discrepancy between the 
catch amount recorded in the E-logbook or the logbook during
 one fishing trip of any tuna fishing vessel and the actual 
landing amount shall not exceed 10% of the actual landing 
amount. For fish species not under catch limit, such discrepancy
 shall not exceed 20% of the actual landing amount.
 
In case that the discrepancy as referred to in the preceding
 paragraph for fish species with catch limit is less than two 
metric tons, or four metric tons for fish species not under 
catch limit, it may be deemed that the catch amount recorded in 
the E-logbook or the logbook corresponds with the actual
 landing amount..
 
Article 47
Any of the following conditions shall be defined as “seriously
 misreporting” as referred to in subparagraph (12) of Article
 13, paragraph 1 of the Act:
(1) For fish species with catch limit, the discrepancy between 
the catch amount recorded in the E-logbook or the logbook and 
the actual landing amount exceeds two metric tons as well as 20% 
of the actual landing amount. 
(2) For fish species not under catch limit, the discrepancy 
between the catch amount recorded in the E-logbook or the 
logbook and the actual landing amount exceeds one metric ton as 
well as 50% of the actual landing amount. 
 
Chapter VIII Management of Shark Catch
 
Article 48
For any tuna longline fishing vessel employing freezing method 
to preserve its shark catches and transporting such sharks 
catches to land in a domestic port, shark fins shall not be 
fully cut off and shall be naturally attached to the carcasses.
 
Article 49
In case of at-sea transshipment of shark catches, shark 
carcasses and fins shall be transshipped or landed concurrently
 in the same shipment. 
 
When sharks catches arrive at the first foreign port of 
landing, the weight of fins shall not be more than 5% of the
 weight of the shark catches.
 
Chapter IX The Designation and Management of Ports for 
Transshipment or Landing
 
Article 50
Any tuna longline fishing vessel intending to conduct 
transshipment or landing at foreign ports located in the Atlantic
 Ocean shall be limited to the following ports:
(1) Cape Town of the Republic of South Africa;
(2) Port of Spain of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago; or  
(3) Montevideo of Oriental Republic of Uruguay. 
 
Any fishing vessel with the distant water fisheries permit to 
fish in the Pacific or Indian Ocean applying for landing or 
transshipping in the ports as referred to in paragraph 1 shall 
apply for the authorization from the competent authority 14 days
 before the fishing vessel enters into the port.
 
Article 51
Any carrier vessel intending to transship catches from tuna 
longline fishing vessel(s) shall meet any of the following 
requirements:
(1) It is a carrier vessel of the Republic of China and has 
obtained the distant water fisheries permit; or 
(2) It is a foreign carrier vessel listed on the carrier list of 
the International Commission for the Conservation of the Atlantic
 Tunas (hereinafter referred to as “ICCAT”), and has been 
installed with the ALC which meets the standards specified by 
the competent authority. At least one position in every four 
hours shall be sent to the commissioned professional institution.   
 
Article 52
Any carrier vessel of the Republic of China shall not transship 
with, refuel or supply any fishing vessel not listed in the 
authorized fishing vessel list of ICCAT, or any fishing vessel 
that has altered its name or registration number.
 
Article 53
In case of any of the following circumstances, the competent 
authority shall list the foreign carrier vessel concerned which 
transships catches from tuna longline fishing vessel(s) on the
 non-cooperative carriers list:
(1) The foreign carrier vessel has violated any provision
 regarding vessel position reporting; or
(2) The foreign carrier vessel has violated any provision 
regarding transshipment or landing.
 
Article 54
Any carrier vessel intending to conduct transshipment at sea 
shall receive an observer in accordance with the ICCAT regional
 observer program to conduct observation mission on board. For 
any carrier vessel intending to conduct transshipment in port, 
it shall receive the observer designated by the competent 
authority to conduct observation mission on board
 
The distant water fisheries operator whose tuna longline fishing
 vessel(s) conduct transshipment at sea on the Convention Area 
shall share the cost for the implementation of the ICCAT 
regional observer program.
 
Article 55
For any carrier vessel intending to transship in port or at sea, 
the distant water fisheries operator shall submit the 
transshipment plan and relevant information (as shown in 
Appendix 10) and apply to the competent authority ten working
 days before the in-port transshipment or 30 days before the 
at-sea transshipment for approval.
 
In case of any addition to the list of the tuna longline fishing
 vessel(s) in the transshipment plan approved by the competent 
authority, the application shall be submitted three working days
 before making such addition to the competent authority for 
approval. The transshipment with the concerned tuna longline 
fishing vessel(s) may only be conducted after the approval has 
been granted. Any application submitted after the prescribed 
deadline shall be denied.
 
In case that the number of the tuna longline fishing vessel(s)
 listed in the transshipment plan referred to in the preceding 
paragraph is reduced, such change shall be reported to the
 competent authority within three working days of such change.
 
Article 56
In case of any of the following circumstances, the application 
of transshipment plan made in accordance with Article 55 shall 
be denied:
(1) The carrier vessel concerned does not meet the requirements
 stipulated in Article 51;
(2) Three years have not passed since the carrier vessel 
concerned was listed in the non-cooperative carriers list; or
(3) The fine for violating the Act imposed on the carrier vessel
 has not been paid completely.
 
Article 57
Any tuna longline fishing vessel or carrier vessel that intends 
to conduct transshipment shall respectively apply for the 
approval from the competent authority before the transshipment.
 
Any distant water fisheries operator or captain applying for the
 approval as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall fill
 in the Transshipment Notification and submit it to the 
competent authority three working days before the estimated date
 of transshipment. The formats of the Transshipment Notification
 is as shown in Appendix 11. 
 
Article 58
In case of any of the following circumstances, the competent 
authority may not authorize the concerned tuna longline fishing 
vessel and the carrier vessel to transship at sea: 
(1) The ALC on board is mal-functional and has not been 
repaired.
(2) Entering into waters under national jurisdictions of other 
countries without valid authorization for the catches to be 
transshipped.
 
Article 59
In the event that the catch of any tuna longline fishing vessel 
transshipped in port is stored in a cold storage in a foreign 
port or a container pending sales, an application shall be made 
pursuant to Article 57 before re-transshipping such catch.
 
Article 60
The tuna longline fishing vessel or carrier vessel which obtains 
the approval to transship pursuant to Article 57 shall not 
conduct the transshipment in the event that the ALC on board is 
signal-lost and has not been repaired.
 
Article 61
The ICCAT Transshipment Declaration shall, within one working 
day after the completion of transshipment in the Atlantic Ocean 
or the transshipment of catch taken from the Atlantic Ocean 
conducted by the carrier vessel, be filled in and submitted to 
the competent authority. The format of the ICCAT Transshipment 
Declaration is as shown in Appendix 12.
 
After a tuna longline fishing vessel completes the transshipment,
 its distant water fisheries operator or the captain shall,
 within seven working days of the completion of transshipment, 
submit the ICCAT Transshipment Declaration to the competent 
authority.
 
Article 62
The distant water fisheries operator or the captain of any tuna 
longline fishing vessel intending to enter a domestic/foreign 
port to land the catch by itself, or by assigning a carrier 
vessel or container vessel shall, three working days before the
 landing, fill in the Advance Notice of Landing and submit to 
the competent authority for approval. The format of the Advance 
Notice of Landing is as shown in Appendix 13.
 
Article 63
The distant water fisheries operator or captain of any tuna 
longline fishing vessel shall fill in and submit to the 
competent authority the Landing Declaration within five working 
days after the completion of landing. The format of the Landing
 Declaration is as shown in Appendix 13.
 
The term “completion of landing” as referred to in the 
preceding paragraph means a shipment of catch has completed its
 whole weighing process at one fishing port during specific 
period. In the event that catches have been landed in batches at
 different ports, the landing declaration of each batch of catch
 shall be submitted separately within the deadline as prescribed
 in the preceding paragraph.
 
Article 64
For any tuna longline fishing vessel that lands or transships at
 foreign ports, permission documents for landing or
 transshipment issued from the port State concerned shall be 
enclosed when submitting landing declaration(s) or transshipment
 declaration(s). 
 
In the event that the port State concerned doesn’t have 
regulations which provide that permission documents shall be 
applied for landing or transshipment, documents proving the
 whereabouts of catches and containing the information on 
species and catch amount such as the bill of landing, 
certificate of storage, invoice and details of trade deal shall
 be submitted.   
 
Article 65
The distant water fisheries operator and captain of any fishing
 vessel shall accept port inspections conducted by the competent
 authority or the independent third party for verification of 
the catch landed or transshipped.
 
The distant water fisheries operator or captain of any fishing 
vessel that is designated by the competent authority to be 
inspected shall comply with the following:
(1) For inspections conducted by the competent authority: the 
landing or transshipment shall be started only after the 
personnel of the competent authority has arrived.
(2) For inspections conducted by the independent third party: 
application and contact with the independent third party shall 
be made, and the landing or transshipment shall be started only 
after the personnel of the independent third party has arrived.
 
The cost incurred from any inspection on catches conducted by 
the independent third party at the foreign ports shall be borne 
by the distant water fisheries operator of the vessel being 
inspected.
 
Article 66
The distant water fisheries operator of any tuna longline 
fishing vessel shall, within 60 days after the completion of 
landing, submit sales or inventory information to the competent
 authority. The sales information shall at least include 
buyer(s), fish species and quantities.
 
Chapter X Observation and Inspection during Fishing Operations
 
Article 67
The distant water fisheries operator of any fishing vessel that
 receives the observer dispatched by the competent authority 
shall comply with the following:
(1) He/she shall notify the competent authority in writing 
seven working days before the date of intended port entry or 
departure.
(2) To embark and disembark the observer at the time and place 
informed by the competent authority.
(3) To provide the observer, while onboard the vessel, with food,
 accommodation, adequate sanitary amenities, and medical 
facilities of a reasonable standard equivalent to those normally
 available to an officer onboard the vessel.
(4) To instruct the captain and crew of the fishing vessel
 matters related to the cooperation with or assisting the 
observer in carrying out the duties.
 
Article 68
The captain of any fishing vessel that receives the observer 
dispatched by the competent authority shall comply with the 
following:
(1) The captain shall attend the pre-sail training course given 
by the competent authority.
(2) When an observer is on board the fishing vessel, the captain 
shall inform the observer of the daily routine, personal safety 
and vessel equipment.
(3) The captain shall cooperate with and assist the observer in 
carrying out duties, and shall not evade, obstruct or refuse to 
answer the inquiry related to the observation mission.
(4) The captain shall not interfere with, assault, intimidate, 
or bribe the observer.
(5) The captain shall provide the observer with adequate space, 
facilities, equipment and information on the vessel necessary 
for his daily living and for carrying out his/her duties.
(6) The captain shall request the crew to comply with the 
provision stipulated in the preceding 3 subparagraphs.
(7) The captain shall sign on the record(s) written by the 
observer. In case there are different views on the record(s) of
 the observer, captain’s opinions may be added.
(8) The captain shall ensure the safety of the observer. In 
case of emergency or distress, special care and refuge shall be
 provided to the observer.
 
Article 69
In the event of boarding and inspection conducted by the 
inspector(s) dispatched by the competent authority, any captain
 and crew of the inspected vessel shall cooperate with, 
facilitate the safe boarding and disembarkation of the 
inspector(s), and provide the inspector(s) with adequate space,
 facilities and equipment for carrying out the duties.
 
Chapter XI Special Management Measures for High Risk Fishing 
Vessels
 
Article 70
Matters related to the management of high risk fishing vessels 
categorized by the competent authority shall be governed by 
this Chapter. Matters not stipulated in this Chapter shall be 
governed by these Regulations.
 
Article 71
Any distant water fisheries operator of the high risk fishing 
vessels shall, starting from the date that the competent 
authority informs the distant water fisheries operator of such 
vessel, comply with the special management measures as follows:
(1) Any high risk fishing vessel shall not engage in fisheries 
cooperation by means of being chartered to any foreigner. 
(2) For each fishing trip of such vessel, the observer 
dispatched by the competent authority shall be carried on 
board, or the functional electronic monitoring equipment shall
 be installed on board before leaving a port. For such vessel 
that has carried on board the observer who meets the 
requirement of the international fisheries organization(s), it
 shall be exempted.
(3) The vessel positions shall be transmitted hourly at least.
(4) Catch reports shall be conducted in accordance with 
provisions stipulated in Chapter VII.
(5) Such vessel shall not conduct at-sea transshipment.
(6) In case of transshipment or landing in port, inspections 
shall be conducted by the competent authority or the
 independent third party.
 
Article 72
In the event that any high risk fishing vessel does not 
violate any regulation for one year starting from the date of 
being listed as high risk fishing vessel, such vessel shall be
 de-listed and exempted from the special management measures.
 
Chapter XII Supplemental Provisions
 
Article 73
Any tuna longline fishing vessel shall not fish within one 
nautical mile off a data buoy, or take on board, possess or 
cause damage to the data buoy. 
 
In case that the fishing gear becomes entangled with the data
 buoy, the entangled fishing gear shall be removed with as 
little damage to the data buoy as possible.
 
In case of finding any data buoy that is damaged or 
non-functional, the captain shall report to the competent 
authority the date, location, and the identifying information
 on the data buoy.
 
Article 74
To prevent harming marine living species, any fishing vessel
 shall not dispose any type of plastic trash or discharge any
 oil on the sea.
 
Article 75
These Regulations shall become effective on January 20, 2017.
 
Attachments: