These Regulations are hereby established pursuant to Article 10, paragraph and Article 25, paragraph 6 of the Act for Distant Water Fisheries (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”).

The competent authority may commission the Fisheries Agency, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan to conduct the receipt of applications, issuance, write-offs, cancellation, and re-issuance of catch certificates and other related affairs pursuant to Articles 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 28, 29, and 30.

Catch certificates stipulated herein are divided into the following five types:
(1)Fishing Vessel Catch Certificate, which serves as a proving document for the application of exemption of import tax and exemption of import control to the Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance for catches caught by a fishing vessel permitted by the competent authority to conduct distant water fisheries and shipped back to the Republic of China by commercial cargo vessel, foreign carrier vessel, or airplane.
(2)Catch Origin Document, which is to prove that fishing vessels of catches or fisheries products meet certain sanitation requirements so as to apply for the quarantine certificates of exported animal products that meet the requirements of the import country.
(3)Catch Statistical Document, which is the catch trade document issued in compliance with the conservation and management measures of international fisheries organizations.
(4)Legitimate Catch Certificate, which is to prove that fishing operations of catches or fisheries products are not involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.
(5)EU Catch Certificate, which is to prove that fishing operations of catches or fisheries products meet the requirements of the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the “EU”).

Any applicant of any catch certificate shall meet any of the following conditions:
(1)The distant water fisheries operator who is permitted by the competent authority to conduct distant water fisheries and whose catches or fisheries products are caught by the fishing vessel(s) operated by him/herself.
(2)The industry related to distant water fisheries approved by the competent authority to conduct export trade of catches or fisheries products of distant water fisheries.
The applicant of the Fishing Vessel Catch Certificate shall be limited to the applicant as referred to in subparagraph (1) of the preceding paragraph.

The maximum validity period of any catch certificate shall be four years, except for the Catch Statistical Document of fresh bigeye tuna and fresh swordfish, which shall be valid for two months.
In case that a catch certificate is issued before landing of catches, the validity period as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall begin from the date of issuance. For any catch certificate issued after landing of catches, the validity period shall begin from the date of the completion of landing.