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Informative Notice

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Industrial sea fishing

To pursue this activity, an entry permit and suitable personnel are required.

Industrial fishing is a fishing and gainful activity. This refers to:

  • searching for fish,
  • shooting, setting, towing, hauling of fishing gear,
  • taking catch on board,
  • transshipment,
  • retaining on board,
  • processing on board,
  • transferring,
  • caging,
  • fattening and
  • unloading of fish and fishery products.

The activity of industrial fishing may be pursued by legal and natural entities appropriately entered in the register of fishermen – natural entities.

To carry out the industrial fishing, the acquisition of an industrial fishing permit is required.

A legal or natural entity may also acquire a special industrial fishing permit to carry out the fishing upon the occurrence of winter schools of fish (grey mullets) and the mass occurrence of fish at coastal areas.

An entity pursuing the activity must have a valid industrial fishing permit, adhere to the industrial fishing restrictions and adequately carry out the first sale.

Slovenia has three fishing ports, namely Koper, Izola, Piran.

The majority of fishing activities is carried out in territorial waters. The capacity of fishing fleet (i.e. all fishing vessels entered in the register of fishing vessels) is 596.98 GT (gross tonnage) and 8,491.73 kW (capacity).

Applies for SKD:

  • Marine fishing A03.110

Conditions

  • Registration and appropriate status form are required in order to pursue the activity.

    The activity may be also pursued by individuals entered in the register of fishermen - natural persons and thus have the status of farmer as per regulations on pension, disability and health insurance.

    Fishermen who want to acquire the status of fisherman – natural entities must delete their sole trader undertaking from the Business Register after receiving the decision on the entry in the register of fishermen – natural entities. The deletion may be conducted after 15 days after the request for deletion.

    Upon deletion, the Agency of the Republic of Slovenia for Public Legal Records and Services issues a resolution, the copy of which must be submitted by a fisherman upon the request to the regional unit or the branch of the Health Insurance Institute of Slovenia together with the decision of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Environment, certificate of health capacity and achieved financial threshold.

    Evidence

    Extract from the business register (AJPES) or other appropriate register – obtained by the competent authority in the course of official duties.

    Legal basis

  • An industrial fishing permit is an official document granting a holder the right to use specific fishing capacities for commercial exploitation of living aquatic resources.

    An application to obtain an industrial fishing permit is individually drawn up in a written form. A competent authority does not prescribe a form. On the basis of the application with corresponding certificates the competent authority issues an industrial fishing permit.

    The permit is issued for an unlimited period. The permit is issued by the minister responsible for fishing on the A4 format and includes all data on the identification of a fishing vessel and its operator. The permit also states technical characteristics of a fishing vessel and equipment.

    Individuals who want to obtain an industrial fishing permit must fulfil additional conditions. After obtaining an industrial fishing permit as a fisherman/natural entity, this person is entered in the register of fishermen by the competent authority ex officio.

    The permit is not transferable. The issued permit must be kept on the fishing vessel during the industrial fishing. The fishing equipment stated on the permit must be kept at the vessel.

    If the number of already issued permits exceeds the fishing possibilities determined in the fishing programme that provides for the sustainable use of fish, the new permit is not issued. Permits are issued on the basis of the chronological order of received applications.

    Details

  • A special industrial fishing permit is issued at the occurrence of winter schools of fish and the mass occurrence of fish at coastal areas.

    The Fisheries Research Institute of Slovenia prepares an expert opinion regarding the determination of conditions of catching.

    To obtain a special industrial fishing permit, the application to a call published by the competent authority is required. The application, which has no prescribed form, states the data on the fishing vessel used to conduct the catch.

    If the applicant fulfils the conditions of the call, the competent authority issues him the special industrial fishing permit on the A4 paper. Otherwise, a negative decision is issued to the applicant.

    The permit is applicable only for one fishing vessel, while an individual vessel may have several special industrial fishing permits.

    A valid industrial fishing permit is required to obtain a special industrial fishing permit.

    Details

  • In conducting industrial fishing it is prohibited:

    • to catch fish with trawls less than 200 metres from the bottom-set nets marked as prescribed;
    • to catch fish less than 300 metres from the fishing vessel when it emits light or performs fishing with the encircling net;
    • to place the bottom-set nets less than 200 metres from the already placed bottom-set nets;
    • to perform fishing less than 150 metres from the facilities intended for breeding marine organisms;
    • to use all types of dredges in internal maritime waters and territorial water of the Republic of Slovenia;
    • to catch fish in the ports,
    • catch fish in the areas designate for the implementation of sport fishing competitions;
    • to catch fish with explosives or poisons;
    • to use devices that enable underwater breathing.

    Evidence

    The observance of prohibitions is verified by the fishing inspection.

    Legal basis

  • A fisherman may sale fishing products in the first sale.

     

    The first sale means the placement on the market which means to have fishing products and products from the fish farming for sale and all other forms of transfer, free or against payment, sale, distribution and other types of transfer.

     

    In the first sale, a fisherman may sell fishing products only to a registered purchaser at the auction centre or approved organisation. A registered purchaser of fishing products or products from the fish farming is a legal or natural entity which has the facilities registered or approved by the authority competent for veterinary science or other business entity which is entered in the register of registered purchasers with the competent authority, or an approved organisation of purchasers in the field of fishing.

     

    It is important that a fisherman sells only small quantities of fishing products of his own catch directly to the final consumer. Small quantities are the quantities of fishing products and products from the fish farming up to the total weight of 30kg per individual purchaser.

     

    A fisherman must observe the restrictions of sale:

     

    1. Keep the list of the first sale of fish. The list of the first sale of fish is kept by the fishing vessel commander (hereinafter referred to as: commander) responsible for a fishing vessel and caught fishing products. The fishing vessel commander issues a notification on the first sale of a fishing product. The registered purchaser is also responsible for the issue of a notification on the first sale of fishing products.

     

    2. Appropriate unloading of fish. Fishing products must be weighted upon the unloading at the measured and sealed scales at the latest, namely before the storage, transport or sale of fishing products. The commander is responsible for the accuracy of weighing and entry of weighing results on the unloading documents, if the fishing products are weighed on the board of a fishing vessel. The entry of weighing results on the unloading documents must be legible and clear. The data on weighing must be kept for three years. The caught fishing products or products from the fish farms must be stored in the labelled consignments before the first sale.

    3. Keeping of logbooks and declarations on the unload

     

    The fishing vessel commander must keep logbooks and logs on the unloading for all species and quantities of caught or discarded fishing products in an electronic or paper form.

     

    The commander of a fishing vessel, the total length of which is the same or longer than 12 metres, must keep an electronic logbook and declaration on the unloaded catch. In the case that a fishing vessel is shorter than 12 metres and operates only in the territorial waters of the Republic of Slovenia and is less than 24 hours at the sea from the departure to the return to the port, the commander must keep a paper logbook and declaration on the unloaded catch. Before departing the port, the commander must fill out the data in the logbook, except for the data on the catch. The logbook must also be kept at the fishing vessel during the implementation of fishing. Before unloading the fishing products, the commander must fill out the logbook for all species and quantities of caught or discarded fishing products. The commander must fill out the document on the unloaded catch before the storage, transport or sale of individual fishing products. The logbook and declaration on the unloaded catch must be accurately and legibly prepared.

    Legal basis

Cross-border/temporary provisions of activity