FFA /FFA Vessel Register
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Registration Guidelines

1.0 Introduction

Procedures for the Operations of the FFA Vessel Register, Annex 4 of the Harmonised Minimum Terms and Conditions (HMTC).

1.1 Responsibility

1.1.1    The Forum Fisheries Committee (FFC) retains the primary responsibility for providing general policy and administrative guidance for the operation of the FFA Vessel Register. The Committee meets from time to time to review the operation of the FFA Vessel Register. FFC delegates to the FFA Director-General the responsibility for detailed administration of the FFA Vessel Register according to such guidance as the Committee, from time to time, might provide.

1.2 Eligibility for FFA Vessel Registration.

1.2.1    All foreign fishing vessels wishing to obtain a national fishing license from any FFA Member country must be authorized by their flag state to operate within the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Convention Area and be listed on the WCPFC Record of Fishing Vessels. The Fish Carrier and Bunker vessels from non-commission members must also be listed on the WCPFC Record of Fishing vessels.

1.2.2    The FFA Vessel Register procedures act as a basic entry level requirement into the region that ensures vessel operators provide a minimum set of registration elements; meet the FAO Standard Specifications for the marking and identification of fishing vessels and reporting automatically, normally and consistently to the FFA VMS. FFA members may require additional National licensing procedures prior to issuing a license to fish.

1.2.3    FFA Vessel Register procedures are additional to any national registration and licensing procedures required by FFA members [1].

1.2.4    Any application received which contains information that is incorrect, inaccurate, misleading or incomplete, will be rejected, and the applicant will be informed of the reasons for rejection. Any vessel operator that contravenes FFA Vessel Register requirements is likely to have its vessel’s good standing on the FFA Vessel Register suspended or withdrawn, so that it will not be legally entitled to fish in any FFA member EEZ.

1.2.5    Further information on FFA Vessel Register procedures is available upon request from the FFA Secretariat (contact details in section (4.) below or email vessel.register@ffa.int) or can be downloaded from the links provided below.

2.0 Application for Registration and Good Standing on the FFA Vessel Register

2.1 FFA Online Vessel Registration System

2.1.1    To improve the vessel registration process, promote client interactivity and also enhance internal data management, the Online Vessel Registration System is available.

2.1.2    For fishing vessels that are no longer in good standing and for those vessels that are currently in good standing, an application must be submitted using the Online Vessel Register System (https://vessel-register.ffa.int).

2.2 Vessel Marking and Photograph of Vessel

2.2.1 Vessel operators should take particular care to ensure that vessels are marked in accordance with the FAO Standard Specifications for the Marking and Identification of Fishing Vessels (available in document Harmonized Minimum Terms and Conditions (HMTCs) in section ANNEX 3).

Sample of Vessel Markings

2.2.2 Upon application, vessel operators must provide recent (12 months or less) date-stamped color digital photographs of the vessel in accordance with the following requirements: (a) side view photograph, (b)  plan view (overhead) photograph, (c) dimensions of color hard copies to be 15cm x 20cm (6 x 8 inch, 150 dpi), (d) vessel’s name in English to be shown clearly, (e) show the International Radio Call Sign (IRCS) issued by the International Telecommunications Union painted in contrasting colors, and (f) the size of the letters as stipulated in the FAO Standard Specifications for the Marking and Identification of Fishing Vessels.

2.2.3 If an IRCS has been provided by the International Communications Union (https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-R/terrestrial/fmd/Pages/call_sign_series.aspx), it must be clearly displayed. In cases where a vessel does not have an IRCS, the flag State registration number must be clearly displayed, the size of the letters and numbers as stipulated in the FAO Standard Specifications for the Marking and Identification of Fishing Vessels.

2.2.4 Applications with inadequate photographs, or where it is clear that the vessel has not been adequately marked, will not be accepted.

2.3 Attachments to the Application for Registration

2.3.1 In addition to a photograph of the vessel, copies of the following supporting documents must be attached to the Application for Registration :

  1. the vessel’s flag State Registration Certificate. (to be provided upon application and annually thereafter or immediately when details change.),

  2. company ownership details and proof of corporate registration. (to be provided upon application and immediately when details change),

  3. the vessel’s schematic stowage plan or diagram showing internal spaces. (to be provided upon application and immediately when details change),

  4. a copy of the valid Mobile Transceiver Unit (MTU) Inspection Certificate issued by the authorized or certified installer, 

  5. the vessel’s valid flag State Authorization to Fish in WCPFC Convention Area. (to be provided upon application and immediately when details change), and

  6. the certified copy of P & I Policy and Certificate of Currency (both in English translation) maintained by the foreign fishing vessel. (to be provided upon application and immediately when details change).

  7. the vessel’s full length and plan view picture taken less than 12 months prior to applying.

Supporting Documents

HMTC as revised in FFC122 May 2022.pdf

[1]: Australia, Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.