Malaysia legislation
Section 2
Section 2
In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires―
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“aquaculture” means the propagation of fish seed or the raising of fish through husbandry during the whole or part of its life cycle;
“authorized officer” means the Director General, a Deputy Director
General of Fisheries, a fisheries officer, a port officer as defined in section 2 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance 1952 [Ord. 70 of 1952], the commanding officer of any Government naval vessel or
Government aircraft, the commanding officer of any Government marine police vessel or any other person or class of persons appointed to be an authorized officer or authorized officers under section 36;
“culture system” means any establishment, structure or facility employed in aquaculture and includes on-bottom culture, cage culture, hanging-net culture, pen culture, pond culture, pole or stick culture, raceway culture, raft culture, rope culture and hatchery;
“Director General” means the Director General of Fisheries appointed under this Act;
“estuarine waters” means the waters of a river extending from the mouth of the river—
(a)
up to the point upstream penetrated by sea water at neap tides; and
(b)
in the case of the State of Sarawak, up to the limits set by the Minister, with the concurrence of the State Authority, in regulations made under this Act;
“exclusive economic zone” means the exclusive economic zone of
Malaysia as determined in accordance with the Exclusive Economic
Zone Act 1984 [Act 311];
“fish” means any aquatic animal or plant life, sedentary or not, and includes all species of finfish, crustacea, mollusca, aquatic mammals, or their eggs or spawn, fry, fingerling, spat or young, but does not include any species of otters, turtles or their eggs;
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“fish-aggregation device” means any structure or device of a permanent or semi-permanent nature made from any material and used to lure or aggregate fish for the purposes of fishing;
“fish seed” means fish egg or larva or post-larva of fish or the spawn, fry or fingerling of fish;
“fisheries officer” means a fisheries officer or deputy fisheries officer appointed under section 4;
“fisheries plan” means any of the plans related to fisheries prepared by the Director General under Part III;
“fishery” means any one or more stocks of fish which can be treated as a unit for the purposes of their conservation, management and development and includes fishing for any such stocks, and aquaculture;
“fishing” means—
(a)
the catching, taking or killing of fish by any method;
(b)
the attempted catching, taking or killing of fish;
(c)
engaging in any activity which can reasonably be expected to result in the catching, taking or killing of fish; or
(d)
any operation in support of, or in preparation for, any activity described in paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of this definition;
“fishing appliance” includes a fishing net, a fishing trap, and any gear, with or without floats, buoys or sinkers, designed for capturing fish but does not include—
(a)
any such gear of the hook-and-line type having not more than two hooks; and
(b)
a cast net of the type known as “jala”;
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“fishing stakes” means any device used for fishing which is made up of poles or other supports fixed into the ground and enclosed by ramie, rattan, wire or other screening material and so designed as to lead fish into such device;
“fishing vessel” means any boat, craft, ship or other vessel which is used for, equipped to be used for, or of a type used for—
(a)
fishing;
(aa) aquaculture; or
(b)
aiding or assisting any other boat, craft, ship or other vessel in the performance of any activity related to fishing, including any of the activities of preparation, processing, refrigeration, storage, supply or transportation of fish;
“foreign fishing vessel” means any fishing vessel other than a local fishing vessel;
“inland fisheries” means fisheries in riverine waters;
“inland fisheries officer” means an inland fisheries officer or a deputy inland fisheries officer appointed under section 5;
“internal waters of Malaysia” means any areas of the sea that are on the landward side of the baselines from which the breadth of the territorial sea of Malaysia is measured;
“international fishery agreement” means any bilateral or multilateral treaty or agreement, which relates to fishing or fisheries, between the
Government of Malaysia and the government of any other country or between the Government of Malaysia and any competent international organization;
“local fishing vessel” means any fishing vessel—
(a)
which is not registered outside Malaysia and which is wholly owned by—
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(i)
a natural person who is a citizen or natural persons who are citizens of Malaysia;
(ii)
a statutory corporation established under any of the laws of Malaysia;
(iii)
the Government of Malaysia or the Government of a State in Malaysia; or
(iv)
a body corporate or unincorporate established in
Malaysia, and wholly owned by any of the persons described in subparagraph (i), (ii) or (iii) or this definition; or
(b)
which is chartered, subchartered, leased or subleased by any person, statutory corporation, Government or body corporate described under subparagraph (a)(i), (a)(ii),
(a)
or (a)(iv) of this definition;
“Malaysian fisheries waters” means maritime waters under the jurisdiction of Malaysia over which exclusive fishing rights or fisheries management rights are claimed by law and includes the internal waters of Malaysia, the territorial sea of Malaysia and the maritime waters comprised in the exclusive economic zone of Malaysia;
“marine park” or “marine reserve” means any area or part of an area in Malaysian fisheries waters established as a marine park or marine reserve under Part IX for the purposes specified in that Part;
“maritime waters” means areas of the sea adjacent to Malaysia, both within and outside Malaysian fisheries waters and includes estuarine waters, and any reference to marine culture system, fishing or fisheries shall be construed as referring to the conduct of any of these activities in maritime waters;
“master”, in relation to a fishing vessel, includes every person
(except a pilot or port officer as defined in section 2 of the Merchant
Shipping Ordinance 1952) having for the time being command or charge of the vessel, or lawfully acting as the master thereof;
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
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“Minister” means the Minister of the Federal Government who is for the time being charged with the responsibility for fisheries;
“owner”, in relation to a fishing vessel, means any person or body of persons, whether corporate or unincorporate, by whom the vessel is owned and includes any charterer, sub-charterer, lessee or sub-lessee of the vessel;
“person” includes any individual (whether or not a citizen of
Malaysia), any body corporate, partnership, association, or other entity, established within or out-side Malaysia, the Federal or any State
Government, a local authority or foreign government, or any entity belonging thereto;
“pollutant” means any substance which, if introduced into the maritime or any riverine waters, is liable to create hazards to human health or to harm aquatic living resources, or to damage amenities or interfere with other legitimate use of the maritime or riverine waters and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes any substance that is prescribed by the Minister by order in the Gazette to be a pollutant for the purposes of this Act;
“processing”, in relation to fish, includes cleaning, filleting, icing, freezing, canning, salting, smoking, cooking, pickling, drying or otherwise preserving or preparing fish by any method;
“riverine fishing” means fishing in riverine waters;
“riverine waters” means the waters of any rivers, lakes, streams, ponds and such other waters in Malaysia other than maritime waters, whether natural or man-made, privately owned or otherwise;
“sedentary species” means organisms which, at the harvestable stage, either are immobile on or under the seabed or are unable to move except in constant physical contact with the seabed or the subsoil;
“State Authority” means the authority in any State in Malaysia responsible for inland fisheries;
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“territorial sea of Malaysia” means the territorial waters of Malaysia determined in accordance with the Emergency (Essential Powers)
Ordinance No. 7 1969 [P.U. (A) 307A/1969];
“this Act” includes regulations and other subsidiary legislation made under this Act and anything else done under this Act or under such regulations or other subsidiary legislation, and any reference to a provision of this Act shall be construed accordingly;
“traditional fishing appliance” means any fishing appliance enumerated hereunder operated with the use of a non-motorized fishing vessel or a motorized fishing vessel of not more than forty gross registered tonnage:
(a)
trap;
(b)
hook-and-line;
(c)
drift net or gill net;
(d)
seine net;
(e)
hand liftnet;
(f)
bagnet or stow net; and
(g)
barrier net.