If you are interested in commercial fishing, you have to apply for a commercial fishing authorisation. Commercial fishing authorisations are available for operators registered in the commercial register. A commercial fishing authorisation may be a fisherman’s fishing authorisation (for fishing in the coastal waters or on inland waterways) or a fishing authorisation of a fishing vessel (for trawling on the Baltic Sea or in international waters outside of the Baltic Sea).
A commercial fishing authorisation is issued within the limits of the total annual allowable catch, number of fishing days, amount of fishing gear, fishing efforts or fishing capacity of vessels, or number of fishing vessels (hereinafter fishing opportunities) for a specified time limit, but for not longer than one calendar year. Where an annual catch limit per fishing gear has been established, the permit also includes the total annual catch limit per species.
As the opportunities for commercial fishing are limited, historical fishing rights (the quotient of the sum of the fishing opportunities legally acquired by the applicant during the previous three years and the sum of all the fishing opportunities legally acquired by the applicants for the same fishing opportunities during the previous three years) and the historical fishing opportunity calculated on the basis thereof are generally required to obtain a fishing authorisation.
Commercial fishing authorisations are issued by the Agriculture and Food Board.
Legal bases
Commercial fishing is regulated by the:
Requirements for the applicant
In order to apply for a fishing authorisation, you have to comply with the following criteria:
- A person who is registered in the commercial register as an operator and whose area of activity entered in the commercial register is fishing may fish or collect aquatic plants by commercial fishing gear on the basis of a fishing authorisation on internal water bodies, on transboundary water bodies, at sea, in the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Estonia, or outside the waters under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Estonia.
- Fishing rights obtained independently of the Republic of Estonia may be used outside the waters under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Estonia only unless such use is not contrary to requirements arising from the EU law.
Cross-border operation
The fishing authorisation of a fishing vessel grants the right to fish by commercial fishing gear at sea up to the external border of the exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Estonia, outside the waters under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Estonia if the state guarantees the right to fish there, or on the open sea not specified in this subsection.
Filling in and submission of an application
An application for a commercial fishing authorisation for the subsequent year is submitted within the current year during the period from 1 September to 1 December.
If the minister responsible for the area has extended the time limit for submission of applications for commercial fishing authorisations, the applicant must submit the application to the Veterinary and Food Board within the period of time set by the minister responsible for the area.
The documents to be submitted upon application for a commercial fishing authorisation
Applicants for a fishing authorisation of a fishing vessel are required to submit the following documents to the Agriculture and Food Board:
- an application (in Estonian);
- a seaworthiness certificate or a fishing vessel certificate of compliance pursuant to section 17 of the Maritime Safety Act;
- a document which proves that the fishing vessel is in the applicant’s legal possession, if the applicant is not the owner of the fishing vessel specified in the application;
- if the applicant holds historical fishing rights or has been able to use a fishing opportunity on the basis of sections 58 and 59 of the Fishing Act, they are required to submit to the Agriculture and Food Board a document proving this, if such a document has not already been submitted;
- a document which proves obtaining the right to fish if the fishing opportunity was obtained outside the waters under the jurisdiction of the Republic of Estonia independently of the Republic of Estonia.
Applicants for a fisherman’s fishing authorisation are required to submit the following documents to the Agriculture and Food Board:
- an application (in Estonian);
- if the applicant holds historical fishing rights or has been able to use a fishing opportunity on the basis of section 58 of the Fishing Act, they are required to submit to the Agriculture and Food Board a document proving this, if such a document has not already been submitted.
Applications can be submitted:
- electronically in the commercial fishing register (in Estonian), if the applicant is applying for the authorisation for the first time, user rights of the electronic environment of the commercial fishing register are required;
- by e-mail to the Agriculture and Food Board to [email protected] or to the e-mail address of the regional fisheries management specialist;
- by post to Väike-Paala 3, Tallinn 11415.
The fishing rights charge
A charge is paid for fishing rights in the cases and pursuant to the procedure prescribed in the Environmental Charges Act and the legislation established on the basis thereof, taking account of the specifications arising from the Fishing Act.
Processing of an application
The Agriculture and Food Board makes a decision on the allocation of fishing opportunities for the following year in December of the year before and, in the event of submission of an application for a fishing opportunity in the ongoing year, generally within 15 working days after submission of the application or after expiry of the period for submission of applications. The decision is immediately sent to the applicant to the e-mail address or regular postal address specified in the application.
Amendment of the terms and conditions of an authorisation
Replacement of the fishing vessel or fisherman specified in a commercial fishing authorisation
For the replacement of the fishing vessel or fisherman specified in a fishing authorisation of a fishing vessel, the holder of a commercial fishing authorisation is required to submit to the Agriculture and Food Board the respective authorisation and the following documents:
- a seaworthiness certificate or a fishing vessel certificate of compliance pursuant to section 17 of the Maritime Safety Act;
- a document which proves that the fishing vessel is in the applicant’s legal possession, if the applicant is not the owner of the fishing vessel specified in the application.
For the replacement of the fishing vessel specified in a fisherman’s fishing authorisation, the holder of a commercial fishing authorisation is required to submit to the Veterinary and Food Board the respective authorisation and a document which proves that the fishing vessel is in the applicant’s legal possession, if the applicant is not the owner of the fishing vessel specified in the application.
For the replacement of the fisherman in a fisherman’s fishing authorisation, the holder of a commercial fishing authorisation is required to submit to the Agriculture and Food Board the respective authorisation and the following documents:
- the fisherman’s first name and surname;
- the fisherman’s personal identification code;
- the fisherman’s contact details;
- the details of the fishing gear (permitted quantities of fish in the required cases), the expiry date of the fisherman’s fishing authorisation, the fishing season and fishing ground, and the details of the fishing vessel (name of the fishing vessel, side number of the vessel, and the internal number in the commercial fishing register) to be specified on the fishing authorisation in which the fisherman is entered in the event of a fisherman’s fishing authorisation being issued for fishing for herring by pound nets or for plaice fishing by demersal seine on a fishing vessel with a total length of at least ten metres;
- the business name and commercial registry code of the applicant for a fisherman’s fishing authorisation;
- confirmation of the applicant for the fisherman’s fishing authorisation that the fishermen included in the list hold the professional qualification of a level four coastal fisherman within the meaning of the Professions Act or whose professional qualifications have been recognised in accordance with the Recognition of Foreign Professional Qualifications Act.
Suspending a fishing authorisation and cessation of economic activity
It is allowed to transfer historical fishing rights to a person to whom a fishing authorisation may be issued. Historical fishing rights of permanent residents of small islands may be transferred only to permanent residents of the same small island who have been permanent residents of this island for at least one year prior to conducting the transaction of transfer of historical fishing rights or to companies in which all shareholders or members have been permanent residents of the same small island for at least one year prior to conducting the transaction of transfer of historical fishing rights.
The transfer transaction must be notarially authenticated. The transaction document shall set out the extent of the transferred fishing rights, the basis therefor, and the time of transfer of the fishing rights. The transfer of fishing rights enters into force as of the day on which a copy of the transfer transaction is delivered to the Agriculture and Food Board, unless the transaction provides for a later date.
A person may assign the historical fishing rights and the unused fishing opportunities calculated on the basis thereof by submitting a written application to the Agriculture and Food Board. The application shall set out the extent of the fishing rights or fishing opportunity assigned. If historical fishing rights and fishing opportunity are waived for the purposes of receiving support, the person is deemed to have assigned the fishing rights and fishing opportunity as of the day of satisfying the application for support. If the application for support is not satisfied, the application for assignment of historical fishing rights and fishing opportunities is deemed to be withdrawn.
Revocation of an authorisation
The Agriculture and Food Board suspends the validity of a fishing authorisation if at least one of the following circumstances exists:
- the authority of a third state which issues authorisations suspends the fishing authorisation issued to an Estonian fishing vessel, as it is discussed in the first paragraph of Article 16(2) of Council Regulation (EU) No 1006/2008;
- the validity of the fishing licence has been suspended.
The Agriculture and Food Board revokes a fishing authorisation if at least one of the following circumstances exists:
- the person who obtained the authorisation or the vessel entered in the authorisation no longer meets the requirements for the authorisation;
- a foreign state or international organisation regulating fishing reduces the fishing opportunities in waters outside the jurisdiction of the Republic of Estonia to an extent which does not enable fishing pursuant to the given authorisation;
- the fishing opportunities assigned to the Republic of Estonia or the EU pursuant to international agreements are exhausted and the state or the EU is required to stop fishing in the area;
- the person who obtained the authorisation fails to pay the charge for the right to fish within the set time limit;
- the fishing vessel of the person who obtained the authorisation is not allowed to fish in the fishing ground by the legislation regulating fishing or by the state or international organisation regulating fishing in the fishing ground;
- the person who obtained the authorisation does not ensure monitoring of the position of the fishing vessel by a GPS or other satellite monitoring system or does not enable the presence of an observer on board the fishing vessel in a fishing ground where this is required by the EU or the state or international organisation regulating fishing;
- the fishing licence of the vessel indicated in the authorisation is revoked;
- the person who obtained the authorisation, the fisherman, or the master entered in the authorisation has committed a serious infringement of the fishing requirements specified in subsection 71 (1) of the Fishing Act more than once during a calendar year;
- in the case specified in Article 16 (2) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1006/2008.
The Agriculture and Food Board notifies the holder of the authorisation of the decision to suspend or revoke a commercial fishing authorisation immediately pursuant to the procedure laid down in Division 7 of Chapter 1 of the Administrative Procedure Act.
Supervision
State supervision over compliance with the requirements of the Fishing Act and legislation established on the basis thereof is exercised by the Environmental Board.
Supervision over fulfilment of the requirements of legislation regulating fishing and conditions designated in a fishing authorisation, even in waters outside the jurisdiction of the Republic of Estonia, may be exercised by the Environmental Board pursuant to Articles 74 to 95 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009. In that case, the general and special measures arising from the Law Enforcement Act apply in so far as this is not regulated by the EU legislation or international agreements.
In the cases prescribed by the EU legislation or international agreements, state supervision over fulfilment of the requirements of legislation regulating fishing and the conditions designated in a fishing authorisation may also be conducted by the EU inspectors or, in waters outside of Estonian jurisdiction, by inspectors of the coast states or organisations regulating fishing.
Contact
Further information
Gunnar Lambing .
Agriculture and Food Board, tel: +372 605 1717, +372 514 5627, e-mail: [email protected]
General information of the register and technical issues
Kaidi Kaljula
Agriculture and Food Board, tel: +372 776 2583, e-mail: [email protected]