Obtaining an Industrial Fishing Licence in Cameroon

Many industrial anglers will like to carry out fishing without facing recurrent arrests and catch seizures due to lack of a fishing licence.  Industrial Fishing Licence concerns both human and juridical persons irrespective of their nationalities. Hundreds of fishermen are fishing in Cameroons marine waters, most of whom are foreigners from neighbouring Nigeria, Congo, Central African Republic, etc. In a bid to regulate and formalise fishing activities along the Cameroon coast, fishing licences are issued every year by Cameroon’s Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA), to industrial fishermen. Fishing without a fishing licence is an offence in Cameroon and will incur significant financial remedy as provided for in Cameroonian fishing legal instruments. First, gird your loin, take a seat, while we look at some relevant fishing regulations in the next section.

What are the major legal instruments governing the issue of an industrial fishing licence in Cameroon?

Some legal instruments provide for industrial fishing licences and related fines in the event of failure to own one as a fisherman in Cameroon. It is noteworthy that they will come into play in the event of any conflict with another fishing counterpart, voluntary or involuntary non-respect of State regulations on industrial fishing, and use of environmentally unfriendly fishing efforts, or any other offence while fishing in Cameroonian water bodies. They include:

1. Law No. 94/01 of 20 January 1994 to laydown forestry, wildlife and fisheries regulations;

(This is the framework law regulating three wide fields – forestry, wildlife and fisheries. All other legal instruments in fisheries, which we have listed below, come into play to implement this framework law.)

2. Finance Law in force (This simply refers to the law on State expenses and budget for the current fiscal year. It influences prices of all goods and services in Cameroon, including licences);

3. Decree No. 2012/382 of 14 September 2012 to organise the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (This is a decree signed on 14 September 2012 to organise MINEPIA. It highlights among others, the duties of all the department in charge of fisheries);

8. Decree No. 95/413/PM of 20 June 1995 to lay down certain conditions for the application of the fisheries law (This law further applies the 1994 fisheries framework law);
9. Order No. 0010/MINEPIA of 24 April 1998 to lay down the procedures for health checks and monitoring of production conditions for fishery products (Health inspectors patrol waterbodies to check fishery products caught);
10. Order No. 0012/MINEPIA of 24 April 1998 to laydown technical conditions applicable to fishing vessels;
11. Order No. 0025/MINEPIA/DIRPEC/SDPIA/SPI of 16 February 2000 to prohibit pair trawling (This law concerns pair trawlers)/;
12. Order No. 0002/MINEPIA of 01 August 2001 to lay down the conditions for protecting fishery resources;
13. Order No. 0002/MINEPIA of 01 August 2001 to lay down the conditions for protecting fishery resources; (IUU fishing regulatory text);
14. Instruction No. 001/CAB/PM of 18 March 2010 to laydown administrative formalities for setting up enterprises in Cameroon (Since you are somehow setting up a fishery business, check this out).

What are the conditions to be met in order to be issued an industrial fishing licence in Cameroon?

According to Cameroon’s industrial fishing administrative body, the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA), before applying for an industrial fishing licence, the following three conditions must be met:

• have industrial fishing approval;
• natural persons must be resident in Cameroon;
• have a head office in Cameroon and, in the case of legal entities, the composition of their capital should be known to the ministry in charge of fisheries.

If you meet the aforementioned conditions, you are set to proceed with other formalities! You are eligible to submit an application for industrial fishing licence. Proceed to compile needed documents as listed in the following section.

Components of the application file to get an industrial fishing licence

MINEPIA has set out a list of documents to be enclosed with your application. These file components are same for juridical persons and individuals, once an industrial fishing approval has been granted.

1. An application stamped at the current rate specifying the surname, first name, address and nationality of the boat owner;
2. certified copy of the industrial fishing approval;
3. certificate of inspection;
4. HACCP plan;
5. name and permanent registration number or any other identification document of the boat for which the licence is requested;
6. ship’s/ boat’s date of construction;
7. receipt of payment of the tax relating to the issue of the approval;
8. tonnage, power, length, capacity, speed;
9. equipment;
10. type and quantity of fishing gear; and the characteristics of the boat;
11. designation of the fishery resources to be fished by the boat;
12. technical operating documents indicating the type of fishing gear to be used;
13. valid certificate of seaworthiness issued by the Minister responsible for the Merchant shipping;
14. certificate of non-conviction less than three months old in the name of the owner of the boat if the applicant is an individual;
15. five-year recruitment and training programme for sea fishermen where the applicant is a legal entity;
16. declaration on stamped paper at the current rate certifying that the applicant will cooperate with the administrative body responsible for fisheries to monitor the proper management of fish stocks, to accept on board a scientific observer at his own expense; undertakes to land all of its catches before they are exported;

How is an application for industrial fishing licence processed in Cameroon?

After compiling all the necessary documents, tender your application hierarchically via the relevant MINEPIA delegations to the Minister, in Yaounde. When this application gets to Minister, they are forwarded to MINEPIA’s Service of Industrial Fishing at Mvog-betsi, Yaounde, for processing.

Once in the Service of Industrial Fishing, the file components are checked for any irregularities and compliance with fisheries regulations in force, authenticity of certified documents, and veracity of the information provided in them. If all necessary file components are present and valid, an Approval is drafted and forwarded hierarchically to the Minister for signing.

All licences to carry out industrial fishing are signed by the Minister in charge of fisheries. This processing averagely takes thirty (30) days, after which it can be withdrawn following notification. Industrial fishing licences are ministerial Orders and are titled ‘Arrêté accordant licence de pêche’ in French, translated as ‘Order to grant fishing licence.’

FAQs on obtaining industrial fishing licence

Who initiates the procedure to issue an industrial fishing licence in Cameroon?

The individual or legal person aspiring to have a licence is the initiator of the procedure.

How long does it take for an industrial fishing licence to be issued after all needed documents have been submitted?

All file components being compliant, the application file will be processed. This processing averagely takes thirty (30) days, after which it can be withdrawn following notification.

How does an industrial fishing licence look like?

An industrial fishing licence is an Order signed by the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA). It is titled ‘ Order to grant fishing licence.’

Where should the compiled application file for an industrial fishing licence be submitted?

The compiled application file for an industrial fishing licence should be submitted at the closest MINEPIA delegation. It will then be forwarded hierarchically to the Minister in charge of fisheries.

Who signs an industrial fishing licence in Cameroon?

An industrial fishing licence is signed by only the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (MINEPIA).

How long can an industrial fishing licence be valid?

An industrial fishing licence is valid for one (1) year and could be renewed by submitting an application file at the Ministry in charge of fisheries.

How much is an industrial fishing licence in Cameroon?

Applying for an industrial fishing licence will incur:

• some document certification fees (a fiscal stamp costs 1500 CFA francs as at now);
• vessel inspection fees;
• receipt of payment of registration fees for your fishing company;

Apart from that, no extra fees are to be paid upon submitting your application file.

How many licences can a ship owner have in Cameroon?

Once registered (flagged) under the Cameroon flag, a ship owner can hold as many fishing licences as the number of seagoing vessels it owns.

Where can one withdraw signed industrial fishing licences?

All signed fishing licences can be withdrawn at MINEPIA’s mail service once they are issued.