Any person with the nationality of the ROC that intends to engage in distant water fisheries shall obtain a fishing license pursuant to the Fisheries Act and apply to the competent authority for the issuance of a distant water fisheries permit.
Regulations on the qualifications for application, terms and conditions, required documents, application procedure, timeframe, the total allowable numbers and tonnages or fish hold capacities of fishing vessels, the total allowable catch, conditions for revocation, and other requirements of distant water fisheries permits as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the competent authority.

In case that any applicant as referred to in Article 6, paragraph 1 is under any of the following circumstances, the issuance of any distant water fisheries permit shall be denied:
(1) The applicant has no or is limited in capacity to make juridical acts.
(2) The applicant has become subject to an order of commencement of guardianship or assistance, and the order is not yet withdrawn.
(3) The applicant is declared bankrupt and has not yet resumed his/her rights.
(4) The applicant is sentenced imprisonment or a more severe punishment for violating the Act, the Fisheries Act, or the Act Governing the Investment and Operation of Non-Republic of China (ROC) Flagged Fishing Vessels and such sentence is not yet executed, not executed completely, or is on probation the period of which is not yet expired; or 2 years have not passed since such sentence is executed completely, on probation which is expired, or pardoned.
(5) The applicant is sentenced to a short-term imprisonment or criminal fine for violating the Act, the Fisheries Act, or the Act Governing the Investment and Operation of Non-Republic of China (ROC) Flagged Fishing Vessels and such final sentence is not yet executed, not executed completely, or 2 years have not passed since such sentence is executed completely.
(6) The applicant operates any fishing vessel that is sentenced to revocation or withdrawal of fishing license pursuant to the Act or the Fisheries Act and 2 years have not passed since such sentence is executed completely.
(7) The fishing vessel that applies for a distant water fisheries permit is sentenced to a fine pursuant to the Act, the Fisheries Act, or the Act Governing the Investment and Operation of Non-Republic of China (ROC) Flagged Fishing Vessels and such fine is not paid completely.
(8) The fishing vessel that applies for a distant water fisheries permit is sentenced to suspension of its fishing license pursuant to the Act or the Fisheries Act, and such suspension is not executed completely.

In any of the following circumstances, the competent authority shall deny the issuance of any distant water fisheries permit. For a distant water fisheries permit that has been issued, the competent authority shall adjust, limit, or revoke it:
(1) Where restrictions placed by conservation and management measures are changed.
(2) Where it is in response to the conclusion as a result of consultation between the ROC and other States or international fisheries organizations.
(3) Where it is subject to a voluntary or interim conservation and management measure adopted by an international fisheries organization under establishment.
(4) Where the country with which a fishing vessel engages in fisheries cooperation lacks mechanisms in controlling and managing foreign fishing vessels fishing in the waters under its national jurisdiction.
(5) Where the country with which a fishing vessel engages in fisheries cooperation is listed on the IUU fishing non-cooperating countries list or is subject to a letter of identification for more than 2 years by other States, international fisheries organizations, or other economic integrated organizations.
(6) Where it is necessary for the management of marine fisheries resources.

Any fishing vessel of distant water fisheries shall be installed with a vessel monitoring system (hereinafter referred to as VMS) and an electronic logbook system (hereinafter referred to as E-logbook) before leaving ports.
Regulations on the management and guidance of the VMS and E-logbook as referred to in the preceding paragraph, the electronic navigational chart, and monitoring center shall be prescribed by the competent authority.

Any fishing vessel of distant water fisheries shall comply with conservation and management measures and international standards for fishing on the high seas.
The competent authority shall prescribe regulations on the following matters with respect to the conservation and management measures and international standards for fishing on the high seas as referred to in the preceding paragraph:
(1) Fishing areas and seasons; and prohibited fishing areas and seasons.
(2) Fishing gears, methods, and mitigation measures for bycatch.
(3) Restriction(s) or prohibition(s) on catch species.
(4) Catch limits or quota.
(5) Filling in and submission of logbooks and catch reports.
(6) Marking of fishing vessels and fishing gears, and reporting of vessels positions.
(7) Disposal of catch.
(8) Designation and management of ports for landing or transshipment.
(9) Observation or inspection of fishing vessel operations.
(10) Issuance of catch certificate documents.
(11) Publication and transparent management of data related to fishing vessels and fishing.
(12) Other matters concerning management of fishing vessel operations.
Regulations on the matters as referred to in the preceding subparagraphs shall be periodically reviewed in accordance with the needs of distant water fisheries operations.

Any fishing vessel of distant water fisheries shall not conduct transshipment in port or at sea or landing in port without authorization from the competent authority.
The competent authority may dispatch personnel or commission professional institution(s) to conduct on-site inspections on the operations as referred to in the preceding paragraph, and any subject for the inspection shall not refuse, evade, or obstruct the inspection.
Regulations on the qualifications for application, terms and conditions, required documents, application procedures, matters to be reported and reporting procedures for transshipment at sea or in port or landing in port, inspection, conditions for revocation, and other requirements of the authorization as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be prescribed by the competent authority.

Any fishing vessel shall not enter waters under national jurisdictions of other States for fishing. Notwithstanding this provision, for any fishing vessel that has obtained authorization from other State(s) and has been approved by the ROC competent authority to engage in fisheries cooperation may fish in the exclusive economic zone(s) of other States.
Any distant water fisheries operator and distant water fisheries employee of the fishing vessel as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall comply with the terms and conditions for approval from the ROC competent authority and relevant regulations of the State(s) with which the fisheries cooperation is engaged, and shall not evade, obstruct, or deny inspection conducted by the State(s) with which the fisheries cooperation is engaged.
Regulations on the qualifications for application, terms and conditions, required documents, application procedures, validity of approval, conditions for revocation of approval, items of fisheries activities, manners of cooperation, and other requirements of the approval as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be prescribed by the competent authority.

Any person with the nationality of the ROC shall not conduct any of the following serious infringements:
(1) Conducting distant water fisheries without a fishing license or distant water fisheries permit as referred to in Article 6, paragraph 1, or conducting distant water fisheries during the period of the execution of suspension of a fishing license.
(2) Leaving ports without installing VMS or E-logbook system onboard, in violation of Article 9, paragraph 1.
(3) Conducting transshipment at sea or in port or landing in port without authorization from the competent authority, in violation of Article 11, paragraph 1.
(4) Engaging in fisheries cooperation without approval from the competent authority and fishing in waters under national jurisdictions of other States, in violation of Article 12, paragraph 1.
(5) Falsifying, altering, or concealing Chinese/English vessel names, names of registry ports, CT numbers, or international radio call signs.
(6) Intentionally causing a VMS to misreport vessel positions or rendering VMS non-functional when fishing.
(7) Continuing catching species with catch limit when the total catch of such species of a fishing vessel has exceeded 20 percent of the quota allowed by the competent authority pursuant to the regulations prescribed in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 2, subparagraph (4).
(8) Fishing in prohibited fishing areas or seasons.
(9) Using fishing gears as prohibited by the competent authority.
(10) Engaging in any fishery that is not authorized by the competent authority.
(11) Fishing for, retaining, transshipping, landing, or selling prohibited species.
(12) Not submitting or filling in logbooks or catch reports, in violation of the regulations prescribed in accordance with Article 10, paragraph 2, or seriously misreporting logbooks or catch reports.
(13) Refusing, evading, or obstructing any observer dispatched by the competent authority, any international fisheries organization, or a State with which the fisheries cooperation in engaged for conducting observation tasks.
(14) Refusing, evading, or obstructing any inspection as referred to in Article 11, paragraph 2; Article 12, paragraph 2; Article 16; Article 17, paragraph 1; or Article 25, paragraph 1; or any audit conducted pursuant to the regulations prescribed in accordance with Article 25, paragraph 4.
(15) Falsifying, altering, destroying, or concealing any evidence related to a violation of the Act.
(16) Providing catch certificate documents of a fishing vessel for the use of catch of other fishing vessel(s), or using catch certificate documents of other fishing vessel(s) for selling catch caught by itself.
(17) Falsification or alteration of catch certificate documents, using catch certificate documents not issued to the catch concerned, or intentionally using catch certificate documents that are falsified or altered to sell catch or fisheries products.
(18) Participating in joint fishing with, transshipping with, or supplying any fishing vessel listed on IUU fishing vessel lists of international fisheries organizations or any stateless vessel.
(19) Trading (purchasing, selling, marketing, etc.) or processing catch or fisheries products with the knowledge that such catch or fisheries products originate from any of the following circumstances:
i. Any circumstances as stipulated in subparagraph (1) to the preceding subparagraph of this Article; or
ii. Catch is caught by any fishing vessel listed in IUU fishing vessel lists of international fisheries organizations
The prohibited fishing seasons and areas as referred to in subparagraph (8), the prohibited fishing gears as referred to in subparagraph (9), the prohibited species as referred to in subparagraph (11), and the IUU fishing vessel lists as referred to in subparagraph (18) and item ii of subparagraph (19) of the preceding paragraph shall be announced by the competent authority.

In addition to the serious infringements as stipulated in Article 13, paragraph 1, any person with the nationality of the ROC shall not engage in or support IUU fishing.
In the event that a person with the nationality of the ROC employed on board any foreign flagged fishing vessel is suspected to be involved in IUU fishing as referred to in the preceding paragraph, the competent authority shall, without prejudice to the sovereignty of the flag State, take appropriate measures to prevent IUU fishing.
The competent authority shall cooperate with international fisheries organizations or other States to prevent and deter any person with the nationality of the ROC from engaging in or supporting IUU fishing.

Any catch or fisheries product that is involved in IUU fishing activities shall not be imported.
For the catch or fisheries product as referred to in the preceding paragraph, item(s) and information related to the transportation or harvesting thereof are announced by the competent authority.
In the event that any international treaty, agreement, United Nations resolution, or international cooperation calls for it, or for the purpose of combating IUU fishing activities, the competent authority may announce the prohibition of importation of some or all catch or fisheries products from certain nation(s) or area(s). Upon the disappearance of the reason(s) for importation prohibition, the competent authority shall announce the lift of such prohibition forthwith.

For the purpose of fisheries management or submission of relevant data of individual fishing vessel to relevant international fisheries organizations, the competent authority may require distant water fisheries operators, distant water fisheries employees, or data holders to provide information on catch quantities, fishing area(s), fishing period(s), fishing gear(s), fishing method(s), vessel positions, operational level data, transshipment, landing, selling, and other relevant information. Distant water fisheries operators, distant water fisheries employees, or data holders shall not refuse such requirement.

The competent authority or the Coast Guard Administration may, pursuant to their mandates, dispatch personnel to inspect fishing vessels, catch and fisheries products, fishing gears, account books, and other objects, as well as to question distant water fisheries operators, distant water fisheries employees, or data holders. Distant water fisheries operators, distant water fisheries employees, or data holders shall not refuse, evade, or obstruct such requirement.

Any fishing vessel fishing on the high seas shall accept boarding and inspections conducted by inspectors from vessels designated by the States that conduct reciprocal high seas boarding and inspections with the ROC or from vessels designated by international fisheries organizations, and distant water fisheries operators and employees shall not evade, obstruct, or refuse such inspections.
The international fisheries organizations or States that conduct reciprocal high seas boarding and inspections with the ROC and the names and registration numbers of the designated vessels as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be announced by the competent authority.

In the event that sufficient and concrete evidence indicates a fishing vessel being involved in any serious infringement as stipulated in Article 13, paragraph 1, the competent authority shall order such fishing vessel to stop fishing and navigate to a designated port within required timeframe for further inspection.
Expenses incurred from navigation, port entry, inspection, and other activities by the fishing vessel as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be borne by the distant water fisheries operator concerned.

The competent authority shall immediately conduct an inspection upon the fishing vessel’s entry into the designated port in accordance with paragraph 1 of the preceding Article and shall complete the investigation within 30 days upon such vessel’s port entry. If necessary, the period for the investigation may be extended for once and shall be limited to 30 days.
The fishing vessel concerned shall not leave the designated port before the competent authority completes the investigation pursuant to the preceding paragraph.

In case of any of the following circumstances, a fishing vessel shall not leave a port:
(1) The fishing vessel whose fishing license is revoked.
(2) The fishing vessel whose fishing license is suspended and is still during the period of punishment.
In case that a fishing vessel has left the port before the suspension or revocation of its fishing license is imposed upon it by the competent authority pursuant to Article 35, paragraph 3; Article 36, paragraphs 1 and 3; Article 40, paragraph 2; Article 41, paragraphs 1 and 2; or Article 42, paragraph 3, the competent authority shall order such fishing vessel to navigate to a designated port within the required timeframe.

For any fishing vessel that leaves a port against the provisions stipulated in Article 9, paragraph 1; Article 19, paragraph 2; and Article 20, paragraph 1, the competent authority may commission coast guard authorities to take appropriate measures to stop such fishing vessel from leaving the port. In case that such fishing vessel resists, the coast guard authorities may take compulsory measures. For such fishing vessel that has already left a port, the competent authority shall order such fishing vessel to navigate to a designated port within the required timeframe.

Any foreign flagged fishing vessel that intends to enter into ports of the ROC shall obtain permission from the competent authority, in addition to complying with regulations of shipping administration, customs, sanitary, immigration, inspection, quarantine, and coast guard. In case of force majeure or distress, port entry of such fishing vessel may be granted after notification.
In any of the following circumstances, any fishing vessel as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be denied from port entry:
(1) The fishing vessel is listed on the IUU vessel lists of other States, international fisheries organizations, or other regional economic integrated organizations.
(2) The flag State of the fishing vessel is identified as IUU fishing non-cooperating country or is subject to a letter of identification for more than 2 years by other States, international fisheries organizations, or other regional economic integrated organizations.
(3) The fishing vessel is involved in IUU fishing.
(4) Where there is written request from the flag State to prohibit the fishing vessel from port entry.
(5) Where the fishing vessel is stateless.
Regulations on the qualifications for application, terms and conditions, required documents, procedures for application, conditions on revocation, advance notifications of landing, areas and times for landing, management, and other requirements of the permission as referred to in paragraph 1 shall be prescribed by the competent authority.

The competent authority may dispatch personnel to fishing vessels as referred to in the preceding Article, relevant offices, storages, or other sites to inspect catch or fisheries products, account books, and other objects, as well as to question any relevant party who shall not refuse, evade, or obstruct the inspection or inquiry. If necessary, such inspection may be conducted by the competent authority together with official(s) from coast guard authorities or police authorities. The course of the inspection shall be recorded and filed for reference.
In case that there is sufficient evidence indicating that a fishing vessel has conducted or supported IUU fishing after the inspection as referred to in the preceding paragraph, the competent authority shall deny such fishing vessel from unloading, transshipment, packaging, processing of catch, refueling, supplying, maintenance, or using other port services, and prohibit such fishing vessel from leaving a port. Notwithstanding this provision, the activities of supplying crew members for maintenance of basic living needs shall be exempted.
When carrying out an inspection, the personnel as referred to in paragraph 1 shall present his/her identification document and the authorization specifying the scope of the inspection. In case that such personnel fail to do so, any person being inspected may refuse the inspection.
Information related to the result of the inspection as referred to in paragraph 2 shall be notified to the flag State of the fishing vessel concerned, relevant States, and international fisheries organizations by the competent authority.
In case that the competent authority has made the notification pursuant to the preceding paragraph and does not receive within 60 days the written request from the flag State, relevant States or international fisheries organizations as referred to in the preceding paragraph, or an agreement is not reached after bilateral consultations, it may order the fishing vessel concerned to leave the port within the required timeframe.

In case that any distant water fisheries operator is under any of the following circumstances, the competent authority shall categorize his/her fishing vessel(s) as high risk fishing vessel(s), and shall implement special management measures:
(1)Any serious infringement as stipulated in Article 13, paragraph 1, is conducted by the distant water fisheries operator.
(2)Fines accumulated 2 million New Taiwan Dollars or above within 3 years have been imposed upon the distant water fisheries operator for violating the Act.
(3)The accumulated period of suspension of any fishing license is 3 months or above for violating the Act, and 3 years have not passed since such punishment is executed completely.
Regulations on fisheries cooperation limitations, dispatch of observers, reporting frequency of vessel positions, catch reporting, landing inspections, transshipment limitations, duration of special management, and other requirements provided in the special management measures as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the competent authority.
In case that the concerned distant water fisheries operator of any high risk fishing vessel as referred to in paragraph 1 is changed, the competent authority shall still implement the special management measures in accordance with the regulations as referred to in the preceding paragraph on such fishing vessel.

The competent authority may dispatch personnel to vessels, offices, storages, or other relevant sites of the industry related to distant water fisheries to inspect catch or fisheries products, account books, and other objects, as well as to question any relevant party who shall not refuse, evade, or obstruct the inspection or inquiry. If necessary, such inspection may be conducted by the competent authority together with official(s) from coast guard authorities or police authorities. The course of inspection shall be recorded and filed for reference.
When carrying out an inspection, the personnel as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall present his/her identification document and the authorization specifying the scope of the inspection. In case that the personnel fail to do so, any person being inspected may refuse the inspection.
Industry related to distant water fisheries that intends to conduct export trade of catch or fisheries products of distant water fisheries shall establish codes of conduct and operating procedures for purchase and sales of catch or fisheries products and submit them to the competent authority for prior approval.
Regulations on the qualifications of applicants as referred to in the preceding paragraph, species of catch or fisheries products, required documents, conditions for approval and revocation, declarations, write-off of sales, and audit of purchasing and selling, and other requirements shall be prescribed by the competent authority.
The application of issuance of catch certificate documents shall only be conducted by industry related to distant water fisheries that has obtained approval from the competent authority to conduct export trade of catch or fisheries products of distant water fisheries pursuant to paragraph 3.
Regulations on the application procedures, terms and conditions, required documents, write-off of sales, and other requirements shall be prescribed by the competent authority.

Any distant water fisheries operator intending to employ overseas any foreign crew member shall obtain permission from the competent authority. Such employment shall be done by the distant water fisheries operator him/herself or through domestic intermediaries or agents (hereinafter referred to as “recruitment agents”).
Recruitment agents as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be authorized by the competent authority and shall deposit a certain amount of security deposit.
Regulations on the qualifications of foreign crew members, conditions for permission, required documents, rights and interests of distant water fisheries operators and foreign crew members, contents of contracts, conditions for authorization of recruitment agents, period, management, conditions for revocation, rights and interests of recruitment agents and foreign crew members, contents of contracts, management responsibilities, the certain amount, submission, and refund of the security deposit, and other requirements as referred to in the preceding two paragraphs shall be prescribed by the competent authority.

To strengthen the management of distant water fisheries and to promote the cooperation with other States or international fisheries organizations, the competent authority shall assign and dispatch staff stationed abroad responsible for fisheries.

The competent authority shall establish an integrated comprehensive information system on distant water fisheries to strengthen the management of distant water fisheries.

The competent authority may commission professional institution(s) to conduct the following matters:
(1) Providing advice and guidance on distant water fisheries.
(2) Monitoring and management of vessel positions.
(3) Development and management of E-logbook reporting software.
(4) Collection, statistics, analysis, and utilization of catch data.
(5) Transshipment in port or landing in port inspections.
(6) Dispatch of observers.
(7) Assisting fisheries associations to implement fisheries management policies and measures prescribed by the competent authority.