No Support JavaScript
Main Content Area
:::

Content

Title: Regulations for Issuing Distant Water Fisheries Catch Certificates Ch
Date: 2018.01.16
Legislative: 1.The full text of 29 articles promulgated on 20 January 2017
by the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan under Order No.
Nung-yu-tzu 1061332071.

2.The full text of 32 articles amended and promulgated on 16
January 2018 by the Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan
under Order No. Nung-yu-tzu 1061339210.
Content: Chapter I General Principles

Article 1
These Regulations are hereby 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 
pursuant to Articles 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25,
 28, 29, and 30. 

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 of 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 of 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 validity period 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 a catch certificate is issued before landing of 
catches, the validity period as referred to in the preceding 
paragraph shall begin from the date of issuance. For any catch 
certificate issued after landing of catches, the validity 
period shall begin from the date of the completion of landing.

Chapter II Fishing Vessel Catch Certificates

Article 6
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 the 
following documents:
(1)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.
(2)Details of the catches transported back to the Republic of 
   China for landing. 

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 7
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 is not frozen 
   round fish.
(3)The fishing vessel conducts distant water fisheries 
   without the permission from the competent authority.
(4)The applied amount exceeds the amount verified by 
   transshipment inspection. In case of no transshipment 
   inspection conducted, the applied amount exceeds the amount 
   recorded in the Advance Notice of Landing.

Chapter III Catch Origin Documents

Article 8
Any fishing vessel applying for the Catch Origin Document 
shall have passed the hygiene inspection.

Fishing vessels which have passed the hygiene inspection as 
referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be promulgated 
by the competent authority.

Article 9
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, together with the 
following documents: 
(1)The chart recording the temperature of fish holds during 
   fishing operation.
(2)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 10
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) or 
   (3) of Article 7.
(4)The applied amount exceeds the amount verified by landing or
    transshipment inspection or the landing inspection 
   conducted by any port State. In case that catches have been 
   landed without verification or inspection, the applied 
   amount exceeds the actual landing amount. In case that 
   catches not have been landed, the applied amount exceeds the
    amount recorded in the transshipment declaration.
(5)The fishing vessel does not meet the provisions stipulated 
   in Article 8, paragraph 1.
(6)The Catch Origin Certificate previously obtained by the 
   applicant is not written off in accordance with Article 11, 
   or not cancelled in accordance with Article 29. 

Article 11
Any applicant shall, within two months after the issuance of 
the Catch Origin Certificate, fill in the application form in 
the required format and submit it to the competent authority 
together with a copy of the quarantine certificate of exported 
animal product for write-off.

Chapter IV Catch Statistical Documents

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 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 application form in the 
required format shall be filled in and submitted 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 catches landed for sale in designated foreign ports, the
    document(s) proving the trade shall be enclosed.
(4)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.
(5)A copy of the transport document of the exported catches. 
   For catches transported by the fishing vessel itself or 
   directly exported from the Republic of China, the enclosure 
   of such document shall be waived.

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 the 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, bigeye tuna or swordfish 
catches 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.

Article 15
For any application of the Catch Statistical Document of fresh 
bigeye tuna or fresh swordfish, the application form in the 
required format shall be filled in and submitted to the 
competent authority together with the following documents: 
(1)For catches landed for sale at a foreign port, the 
   document(s) proving the trade, and the copy of the cargo 
   list obtained from the authority concerned of the port 
   State prior to port entry of the fishing vessel or the 
   Landing Inspection Report, shall be enclosed.
(2)For catches landed for sale at a domestic port, the fish 
   market transaction document or the Landing Inspection 
   Report shall be enclosed.

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 a Catch Statistical Document of fresh bigeye tuna or
 fresh swordfish landed for sale domestically with that of 
frozen bigeye tuna or frozen swordfish, the application form in
 the required format shall be filled in and submitted 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 
   (4) of Article 10.
(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 obtained by the 
   applicant is not written off in accordance with Article 18 
   or 19, or not cancelled in accordance with Article 29.
(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, 
   or the suspension of fishing license imposed upon the 
   distant water fisheries operator has not been executed.

Article 18
Any applicant shall, within six months after the issuance of 
the Catch Statistical Document of frozen bigeye tuna or frozen 
swordfish, fill in the application form in the required format 
and submit it to the competent authority together with the 
following documents for write-off:
(1)The document(s) proving the customs clearance.
(2)The document(s) proving the trade between the applicant and 
   foreign buyer(s).
(3)For catches directly exported from the Republic of China, a 
   copy of the transport document.

In case that the documents as referred to in the preceding 
paragraph are not in Chinese, English or Japanese, copies of 
Chinese or English translation shall be enclosed.

In the event that the Catch Statistical Document of frozen 
bigeye tuna or frozen swordfish has not been written off six 
months after the issuance, the applicant may apply for the 
extension of the write-off period to the competent authority, 
with the enclosure of the original copy of the Catch 
Statistical Document and the statement of reason(s) therefor. 
The maximum period of each extension shall be six month, and 
shall not exceed the validity period of the Catch Statistical 
Document stipulated in Article 5, paragraph 1. 

For any applicant for the extension in accordance with the 
preceding paragraph, the competent authority may dispatch 
personnel to inspect catches and fisheries products pursuant 
to Article 16 and 25 of the Act.      

Article 19
Except for the circumstances prescribed in paragraph 3, any 
applicant shall, within two months after the issuance of the 
Catch Statistical Documents of fresh bigeye tuna or fresh 
swordfish, fill in the application form in the required format 
and submit it to the competent authority together with the 
following documents for write-off:
(1)The document(s) proving the customs clearance.
(2)The document(s) proving the trade between the applicant and 
   foreign buyer(s).
(3)For catches directly exported from the Republic of China, a 
   copy of the transport document.

In case that the documents as referred to in the preceding 
paragraph are not in Chinese, English or Japanese, copies of 
Chinese or English translation shall be enclosed.

In case that the Catch Statistical Document of fresh bigeye 
tuna or fresh swordfish landed for sale domestically has been 
replaced with that of frozen bigeye tuna or frozen swordfish, 
the applicant shall be exempted from conducting the write-off 
as referred to in paragraph 1.

Chapter V Legitimate Catch Certificates

Article 20
For any application of the Legitimate Catch Certificate, the 
fishing vessel shall meet the following requirements during 
its fishing operation:
(1)Provisions on vessel position reporting, logbooks and catch 
   reports, and transshipment and landing prescribed in related 
   Regulations for fishing operation in three Oceans are 
   complied with in accordance with its fishing area.
(2)It is not listed on the IUU fishing vessels list as 
   promulgated pursuant to Article 13, paragraph 2 of the Act. 
(3)It has not violated any of the provision stipulated in 
   Article 13, paragraph 1 of the Act; or Article 48, paragraph 
   1 of the Fisheries Act.

Article 21
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 transport document/bill of the exported catches or
    fisheries products. In the event that the application for 
   the Legitimate Catch Certificate is to replace it with the 
   EU Catch Certificate; or is to be served as the origin 
   certificate to apply for relevant documents from other 
   authorities; or is to be served as the certificate for 
   purchasing or selling legitimate catches, the enclosure of 
   such document shall be waived.  

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 22
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 
   (4) of Article 10, or subparagraph (5) of Article 17.
(2)The fishing vessel does not meet the provisions stipulated 
   in Article 20.
(3)The Legitimated Catch Certificate previously obtained by the 
   applicant is not written off in accordance with Article 23, 
   or not cancelled in accordance with Article 29.

Article 23
Except for the circumstances prescribed in paragraph 3, any 
applicant shall, within two months after the issuance of the 
Legitimate Catch Certificate, fill in the application form in 
the required format and submit it to the competent authority 
together with the following documents for write-off:
(1)The document(s) proving the customs clearance.
(2)The document(s) proving the trade between the applicant and 
   foreign buyer(s).

In case that the documents as referred to in the preceding 
paragraph are not in Chinese, English or Japanese, copies of 
Chinese or English translation shall be enclosed.

In case of any of the following circumstances, the applicant 
shall be exempted from conducting the write-off as referred to 
in paragraph 1:
(1)The Legitimate Catch Certificate has been replaced to apply 
   for the EU Catch Certificate.
(2)The Legitimate Catch Certificate is served as an origin 
   certificate to apply for relevant documents from other 
   authorities.
(3)The Legitimate Catch Certificate is served as the 
   certificate for purchasing or selling legitimate catches.

Chapter VI The EU Catch Certificates

Article 24
For the exportation of catches to the EU, both the fishing 
vessel and the carrier vessel concerned shall pass the EU 
hygiene inspection, be registered in the EU SANCO list, and 
comply with the provisions stipulated in Article 20, during the
 fishing operation.

Article 25
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 transport document of exported catches or 
   fisheries products.
(3)In the event that the Legitimate Catch Certificate has been 
   applied for such 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 26
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 27
In case of any of the following circumstances, the EU Catch 
Certificate shall not be issued:
(1)Any of the circumstances stipulated in subparagraph (1) to 
   (4) of Article 10; or subparagraph (5) of Article 17. 
(2)The fishing vessel does not meet the provisions stipulated 
   in Article 24.
(3)The EU Catch Certificate previously obtained by the 
   applicant is not written off in accordance with Article 28, 
   or not cancelled in accordance with Article 29.
(4)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.
(5)The exporter recorded in the EU Catch Certificate is not the
    applicant.

In the event that any of the circumstances stipulated in the 
preceding paragraph is found after the issuance of the EU Catch
 Certificate, the competent authority shall withdraw such Catch 
Certificate and notify the EU and the authority concerned of 
the importing country.

Article 28
Any applicant shall, within two months after the issuance of 
the EU Catch Certificate, fill in the application form in the 
required format and submit to the competent authority together 
with the following documents for write-off:
(1)The document(s) proving the customs clearance.
(2)The document(s) proving the trade between the applicant and 
   foreign buyer(s).

In case that the documents as referred to in the preceding 
paragraph are not in Chinese, English or Japanese, copies of 
Chinese or English translation shall be enclosed. 

Chapter VII Supplemental Provisions

Article 29
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 enclosure of the following documents:
(1)Statement of the cause(s) of the cancellation.
(2)The original copy of the catch certificate. In case of the 
   loss of the original copy of the catch certificate, such 
   provision shall be waived.
(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 or other proving document(s), shall be enclosed.

Use of the cancelled catch certificate or a copy thereof shall 
be deemed as using catch certificate documents not issued to the
 catch concerned as stipulated in subparagraph (17) of Article 
13, paragraph 1. 

Article 30
In the event that a catch certificate has been cancelled in 
accordance with Article 29, paragraph 1, the applicant may 
apply for the re-issuance to the competent authority. 

Article 31
In case that the application form submitted, the required 
documents or contents therein 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 
supplement shall be subject to denial of the application.

Article 32
These Regulations shall become effective on the date of 
promulgation.