Any distant water fisheries operator intending to apply for the distant water fisheries permit(s) for his/her fishing vessel(s) to fish in the Atlantic Ocean in the following year shall fill in the application form, formats of which are as shown in Appendix 4 and 5, in accordance with types of fishing vessels and groups () and submit it with the following documents:
(1) A copy of the valid fishing license which shall contain the International Maritime Organization (IMO) ship identification number or Lloyd’s Register (LR) number.
(2) The color photograph of the fishing vessel no older than three years. The photograph must show a stem-to-stern side view of the vessel; clearly and legibly display the vessel name and international radio call sign; be in the form of a single electronic file and have a resolution of at least 150 pixels per inch at a size of 6 by 8 inches; and be no greater than 500 kilobytes (kB) in size.
(3) The document certified by the commissioned professional institution that the automatic location communicator (ALC) on board the fishing/catching vessel can regularly and normally transmit vessel positions.
(4) The document certified by the commissioned professional institution that the electronic logbook (E-logbook) system on board the fishing vessel/catching can normally transmit catch data.
(5) The vessel tracking agreement form serving as an authorization allowing the competent authority and the international fisheries organization to track vessel positions. He/She who has provided such form shall be exempted from this provision.
(6) The document proving the last port entry or departure of the fishing vessel.

• Appendix 4 Application Form for Longline Fishing Vessels of 100 GT and above Proceeding to the Atlantic Ocean.pdf
• Appendix 5 Application Form for Carrier Vessels of the Republic of China Proceeding to the Atlantic Ocean.pdf

Any fishing vessel that applies for the distant water fisheries permit for the following year shall meet Article 5-1 and any of the following conditions:
(1) For bigeye tuna group:
i. It belongs to the bigeye tuna group in the current year with the competent authority’s approval.
ii. It is a newly built fishing vessel which has received the replacement tonnage of a fishing vessel of the bigeye tuna group.
(2) For north albacore tuna group:
i. It was approved by the competent authority, before 30 November 2014, as the fishing vessel of the north albacore tuna group.
ii. It is a newly built fishing vessel which has received the replacement tonnage of a fishing vessel approved by the competent authority, before 30 November 2014, as the fishing vessel of the albacore tuna group.
(3) For south albacore tuna group:
i. It belongs to the south albacore tuna group in the current year with the competent authority’s approval.
ii. It is a newly built fishing vessel which has received the replacement tonnage of a fishing vessel of the south albacore tuna group.

For the application of the distant water fisheries permit of the following year, the documents prescribed in Article 6 shall be submitted in accordance with the following procedures and deadline:
(1) For any distant water fisheries operator that is a member of the Taiwan Deep Sea Tuna Boat-owners and Exporters Association (hereinafter referred to as “Tuna Association”), it shall apply to the Tuna Association before October 15 of the current year, which shall compile the applications in accordance with the groups for delivery to the competent authority before October 31 of the current year.
(2) For any distant water fisheries operator that is not a member of the Tuna Association, he/she shall apply to the competent authority before October 31 of the current year.
(3) For any distant water fisheries operator of carrier vessel(s) of the Republic of China, he/she shall apply to the competent authority before October 31 of the current year.

The distant water fisheries operator who has obtained the distant water fisheries permit of bigeye tuna group may apply for the approval from the competent authority to fish in the north albacore tuna fishing area or the south albacore tuna fishing area from April to September of the current year. To continue fishing in the north or south albacore tuna fishing area after the expiry of the allowed period, an application for extending the period, the maximum of which shall not exceed 31 December of the current year, may be made.

In the event that the number of fishing vessels obtaining the distant water fisheries permits of the north albacore tuna group does not reach the limit of the current year, the competent authority may announce in due course to accept applications from the fishing vessel(s) which has obtained the permit of south albacore tuna group, notwithstanding the application deadline prescribed in Article 8.
In the event that the number of applying fishing vessels as referred to in the preceding paragraph exceeds the limit, the Tuna Association shall draw lots to decide the priority in an equitable and impartial manner and deliver the list of vessel priority to the competent authority for approval.

In case of any of the following conditions, the distant water fisheries operator may submit the documents prescribed in Article 6 and apply for the distant water fisheries permit from the competent authority, notwithstanding the application deadline prescribed in Article 8:
(1) The distant water fisheries operator of a fishing vessel has changed;
(2) The distant water fisheries operator has obtained the fishing license for the chartered fishing vessel;
(3) The distant water fisheries operator has obtained the fishing license for the newly-built fishing vessel;
(4) The distant water fisheries operator who resumes the operation after the suspension of the operation authorized pursuant to Article 11 of the Fisheries Act has expired;
(5) The distant water fisheries operator applies for the renewal of the fishing license;
(6) The suspension of the fishing license has been executed completely or the fine imposed has been paid up; or
(7) Addition of fishing area(s) for a carrier vessel which has obtained the distant water fisheries permit of the current year.

A certificate of distant water fisheries permit will be issued to the application of approved by the competent authority. The maximum period of validity of the permit shall be one year, and shall not exceed that of the fishing license.
The certificate of distant water fisheries permit shall record, both in Chinese and English, the following:
(1)The number of the certificate;
(2)The name, CT number, GT, length overall (LOA) and fisheries type of the fishing vessel;
(3)Name of the distant water fisheries operator;
(4)The authorized fishing Ocean, group, fishing area(s),and fishing period;
(5)The International Radio Call Sign (IRCS); and
(6)The IMO ship identification number or LR number.
The distant water fisheries operator shall place onboard the fishing vessel a carbon copy of the valid distant water fisheries permit in case of inspection.

Any tuna fishing vessel intending to interchange the groups or fishing Oceans shall apply for the application to the competent authority.
In the event that a tuna longline fishing vessel intends to change the group or fishing Ocean with other fishing vessel, the following provisions shall be met:
(1) Distant water fisheries operators of both vessels are members of the Tuna Association;
(2) Both vessels have the valid certificates of distant water fisheries permits;
(3) The fishing vessel intending to change to the bigeye tuna group shall be equipped with ultra-low temperature devices, and its distant water fisheries operator has made a guarantee letter to assume the duty from the original fishing vessel of bigeye tuna group to pay the reimbursement of the vessel reduction program;
(4) For any fishing vessel intending to change to the north albacore tuna group, there shall be no other vessel in the list of vessel priority to fill in the vacancy in accordance with Article 10 in the current year; and
(5) The penalty of suspending the fishing license has been completely executed.
For any fishing vessel approved to change the group or fishing Ocean, documents shall be provided to prove the fish holds have been emptied and the certificate of the distant water fisheries permit originally issued shall be returned for the issuance of the new certificate of distant water fisheries permit after the change of fishing Ocean or group.