Commencement:  4 December 2003

GENERAL CONDITIONS FOR FOREIGN FISHING VESSELS
AND
LOCALLY BASED FOREIGN FISHING VESSELS (1)

	Published Extraordinary Gazette No. 5 of 2003 (04 12 03)

The general conditions specified in this notice apply to foreign fishing vessels and locally based foreign fishing vessels in accordance with section 13(2) of the Fisheries Act [Cap. 158].

1.	Authorized fishing area
Subject to clauses 2, 3 and 4 a foreign fishing vessel and a locally based foreign fishing vessel may fish within the Exclusive Economic Zone of the Republic of Vanuatu within the meaning of section 9 of the Maritime Zones Act [Cap. 138].

2.	Closed Areas prohibited for fishing for a foreign fishing vessel and certain locally based foreign fishing vessels
(1)	A foreign fishing vessel must not fish within a closed area in the Republic of Vanuatu.
(2)	A locally based foreign fishing vessel that is chartered by a company that is not wholly owned by persons who are citizens of the Republic of Vanuatu must not fish within a closed area in the Republic of Vanuatu.
(3)	A closed area for the purpose of subsections (1) and (2) means:
All areas of the sea within a line measured seaward from the archipelagic baselines, every point of which is 12 nautical miles from the nearest point of the appropriate archipelagic baseline.

3.	Closed Areas prohibited for fishing for other locally based foreign fishing vessels
(1)	A locally based foreign fishing vessel that is chartered by a company that is wholly owned by persons who are citizens of the Republic of Vanuatu must not fish within a closed area in the Republic of Vanuatu
(2)	A closed area for the purpose of subsection (1) means:
All areas of the sea within a line measured seaward from the archipelagic baselines, every point of which is 9 nautical miles from the nearest point of the appropriate archipelagic baseline.
Note:
The archipelagic baselines are described in the Maritime Zones Act [CAP 138] as set out below.
An archipelagic baseline commencing  at the outermost point of the low-water line on the reef off Hat Island co-ordinate 1304’18” South 16632’13.8” East, British Admiralty Chart No.1575 and, except where the contrary intention appears, following the Geodesic lines successively linking the outermost points on the low-water lines of the land areas specified below:

Point	Land Area	South	East	British Admiralty Chart Number*	
1	Vat Ganai Island	1315’10.8”	16738’10.5”	1575	
2	Vetvai Point on Motlav Island	1338’46.8”	16742’25.5”	1575	
3	Islet off Meralava Island	1426’22.9”	16804’10.2”	1575	
4	Treerock Point on Pentecost Island	1555’38.4”	16816’32.5”	1575	
5	Tongariki Island	1700’38.4”	16838’27”	1576	
6	Maniuro Point on Efate Island	1741’42”	16835’10”	1576	
7	Goat Islet off Erromanga	1842’09.6”	16917’43.5”	1576	
8	Reef off Futuna Island	1930’ 42”	17013’44.3”	1576	
9	Masi Point on Futuna Island	1932’37.7”	17013’34.7”	1576	
10	Reef on Aneityum Island	2011’45.6”	16953’42”	1576	
and thence along the low-water line to point (11)	
11	Flat Rock off Aneityum Island	2015’30”	16950’42.9”	1576	
12	Reef off Aneityum Island	2015’58.2”	16945’25.9”	1576	
13	Imlao on Tanna Island	1934’51.6”	16916’42.6”	1576	
and thence along  the low-water line to point (14)	
14	West Point Tanna Island	1927’09”	16912’39”	1576	
15	Ountovin Point on Erromanga Island	1852’51”	16859’03.6”	1576	
16	Tukutuku Point on Efate Island	1743’09.6”	16809’02.4”	1576	
17	Tomman Island	1635’37.5”	16727’17.4”	1575	
18	Reef off Santo	1539’24.6”	16645’58.8”	1575	
19	Remarkable Point on Santo Island	1524’04.5”	16638’27”	1575	
20	Reef off Santo Island	1451’06”	16632’00.6”	1575	
21	on NW Coast of Santo	1444’51.6”	16632’42.6”	1575	
22	Thomeuf Point on Hui Island	1310’21”	16631’58.5”	1575	
23	On reef off Hui Island	1304’18”	16632’13.8”	1575	
	
*The Edition of charts referred to in the fifth column are 	
1575  7th September 1979	
1576 24th November 1978	

4.	Other prohibited fishing areas
A foreign fishing vessel and a locally based foreign fishing vessel must not fish within a rectangular closed area defined by the Geodesic lines linking the four points described for each area in the following table:

Area	Point	Latitude (S)	Longitude (E)	
1	1	15° 59' 24.0"	165° 59' 24.0"	
	2	15° 59' 24.0"	166° 11' 24.0"	
	3	15° 50' 24.0"	166° 11' 24.0"	
	4	15° 50' 24.0"	165° 59' 24.0"