Fines for fishing with no licence

People fishing without a licence from the specialised authority or without being registered in the Ministry of Environment will face a fine of Dh2,000. The fines and violations are specified in Cabinet resolution No. 9 of 2012 issued by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, pertaining to the implementation of a list of fines for people violating regulations related to marine wealth and life. People found to be fishing without a licence will be charged a Dh2,000 fine for the first offence. If the offence is repeated, the boat’s licence will be seized for a month, and if the offence is repeated for the third time the licence will be cancelled. If a boat not registered as a fishing boat or not licensed by the ministry is used for such activity the first offence will result in a written warning. If the offence is repeated, a Dh 1,000 fine will be issued, and a third time will lead to cancelling the fishing licence of the individual. The resolution specifies fines and punishments for failure to present a fishing licence, fishing without a licence, using a boat not licensed for fishing activities, a change in application data or documents given to the ministry and not informing them within a month of these changes, fishing in prohibited areas, trading in and fishing for small fishes in sizes that are a violation of those specified in regulations, diving with the purpose of catching ornamental fishes without a licence, coral reef planting without a licence, and harvesting coral reefs without a permit. The resolutions also lists fines for boats sailing without the presence of an owner or someone who represents him, trading in banned fishing equipment, plastic bag littering, and dumping of fishes or shark and whale bodies, disposal of fishing equipment in waters, fishing using banned equipment, fishing in spawning grounds where fishing is permanently or temporarily prohibited, trading in fishes that are banned during a specific season or period, fishing mammals, sea turtles or collecting their eggs, disturbing nesting grounds, whaling and hunting dugongs.