Federal Draft Law Amending Federal Law No. (23) of 1999 on the Exploitation, Protection, and Development of Living Aquatic Resources in the United Arab Emirates
Honorable Secretary:
Newly introduced clause (2) by the committee states: “2. Erecting barriers in fishing waters that alter the pattern of water currents or obstruct the movement of aquatic life, or filling or dredging the seabed or shores, or removing, exploiting, or dredging marine grasses, except with a license necessitated by the public interest issued by the competent authority in coordination with the ministry.”
Honorable President:
Please proceed, Mr. Advisor.
Mr. Hisham Mohammed Fawzi (Legal Advisor to the Council):
Honorable President, regarding the first paragraph which states: “… any materials or methods specified by the executive regulation,” there is an existing original article in the law, which is Article (23), addressing this matter. It states: “Fishing is prohibited using absolutely banned fishing tools or equipment, or using tools or equipment prohibited at certain times or in specific areas, or according to specific specifications, or for certain types of living aquatic resources. The executive regulation specifies the tools and equipment used in fishing, and the tools and equipment that are restricted or prohibited from use.” Therefore, this is already covered under Article (23), making the addition unnecessary. Hence, as proposed by the committee, it is better to avoid redundancy. Thank you.
Honorable President:
So, Honorable Minister, this is already included in Article (23) of the same law, making it unnecessary here. Please proceed with the second clause, Mr. Advisor.
Mr. Hisham Mohammed Fawzi (Legal Advisor to the Council):
Regarding the second clause newly introduced by the committee, this clause addresses fishing waters. According to the definition, fishing waters include territorial waters, which may extend up to (211) miles from the coast. Thus, it pertains to all waters, not just the coast. Thank you.
Honorable President:
Please proceed, Honorable Minister.
Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd (Minister of Environment and Water):
Honorable President, I disagree with the advisor because this clause specifies the prohibited actions. The clause specifically names nylon material, and we argue that other materials or methods may need to be prohibited in the future. Therefore, we should not close the door because this is a law. If we only ban nylon and someone uses a new material that is not nylon, they could argue that they are not violating the law. Why restrict it unnecessarily?
Honorable President:
Therefore, we keep the proposed addition by the Honorable Minister, which is: “… or any other materials or methods specified by the executive regulation or by a decision of the ministry.” … The phrasing is important, Honorable Minister. Please read it to us again. Proceed.
Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd (Minister of Environment and Water):
The proposed phrasing as mentioned before: “… or any materials or fishing methods specified by a decision of the ministry” because these matters are subject to change. Thank you.
Honorable President:
Please proceed, Mr. Advisor.
Mr. Hisham Mohammed Fawzi (Legal Advisor to the Council):
The article I mentioned, Honorable President, which is Article (23) of this law, states: “… and the tools and equipment that are restricted or prohibited from use …
Honorable President:
No, no, we are now discussing Article (26) regarding the first clause. Let’s focus a bit. The first clause states: “The following is prohibited: fishing using bottom trawling nets or fixed bottom nets, or using lights, or using nets made of nylon material,” and the Honorable Minister added at the end of the clause: “… or any other materials or fishing methods specified by a decision of the ministry.” Does the council agree with this proposal? Mr. Sultan Al Shamsi, you have the floor.
Sultan Jumaa Al Shamsi:
Honorable President, it should be specified by a decision or by the executive regulation. Also, Honorable President, it should include both methods and equipment because it is possible that the nets themselves might be made of a non-prohibited material, but the method used for fishing is prohibited. Therefore, it is important to emphasize both the method and the equipment. Thank you.
Honorable President:
The intent is methods or materials. Proceed, Honorable Minister.
Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd (Minister of Environment and Water):
It is important to mention “or any methods or materials.” Thank you.
Honorable President:
Please proceed, Mr. Advisor.
Mr. Hisham Mohammed Fawzi (Legal Advisor to the Council):
Regarding the second clause provided by the government, which states: “The executive regulation specifies the methods, specifications, and controls for fishing tools and equipment and the necessary licenses for them,” it was deleted by the committee because it is covered under Article (23) of this law. With the amendment of the first clause and also not deleting this clause and the existence of Article (23), it would seem like we are repeating the same meaning perhaps three times. Thank you.
Honorable President:
Please proceed, Honorable Minister.
Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd (Minister of Environment and Water):
Honorable President, Article (23) discusses equipment, and here we are talking about methods and materials, so there is no problem with that.
Honorable President:
No problem, Honorable Minister. We will add to the first clause both methods and equipment. Please proceed, Mr. Advisor.
Mr. Hisham Mohammed Fawzi (Legal Advisor to the Council):
In this case, we add only methods, Honorable President, and leave the other article for equipment and tools. Thank you.
Honorable President:
Proceed, Honorable Minister.
Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd (Minister of Environment and Water):
We proposed “methods or materials.” Thank you.
Honorable President:
So, does the council agree on the first clause as proposed by the Honorable Minister?
(Agreed)
Honorable President:
And now does the council agree on the second newly introduced clause by the committee? Please proceed, Honorable Minister.
Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd (Minister of Environment and Water):
What I mentioned applies to the first clause. As for the second newly introduced clause by the committee…
Honorable President:
In fact, regarding the second newly introduced clause, the members insist on it. Proceed.
Dr. Rashid Ahmed bin Fahd (Minister of Environment and Water):
If the members insist on it, we propose an amendment to remove the ambiguity. We suggest adding at the end of the clause the phrase “… in accordance with the relevant regulatory legislation.” This is to clarify that there are existing regulatory legislations. For example, Law (24) addresses the environmental impact of any project anywhere in the country, whether on an island, on land, or at the coast. Therefore, we propose – if the council insists on keeping this clause, which we believe is unnecessary – to add the phrase I mentioned at the end of the clause, “… in accordance with the relevant regulatory legislation.” Thank you.
Honorable President:
Mr. Rashid Al Shreiki, the Honorable Minister now proposes adding a phrase at the end of the newly introduced clause so it would read: “… except with a license necessitated by the public interest issued by the competent authority in coordination with the ministry, and in accordance with the relevant regulatory legislation.” Please proceed.
Rashid Mohammed Al Shreiki:
Honorable President, doesn’t the Honorable Minister think that this could create confusion regarding which law prevails? Is it the Environmental Protection Law or the current law which specifically protects living aquatic resources? Thus, this specific law might restrict the general provisions of the Environmental Protection Law, causing confusion. However, if the council believes that this addition will not cause confusion, I personally have no issue with it. Thank you.
Honorable President:
Mr. Advisor, will there be any confusion if we add the phrase proposed by the Honorable Minister?
Mr. Hisham Mohammed Fawzi (Legal Advisor to the Council):
In fact, if the word “license” is understood to comply with the relevant regulatory legislation, it means we are talking about the license, so there is no problem with that. I believe the phrase becomes correct: “… except with a license necessitated by the public interest issued by the competent authority in coordination with the ministry, in accordance with the relevant regulatory legislation.” Here, the phrase does not talk about barriers but about the license, meaning when issuing a license, it should comply with other legislations. So there is no harm in that. Thank you.
Honorable President:
So, does the council agree on this clause as amended?
(Agreed)
