Nigeria

10. Prohibited method of fishing. (1) No person shall take or destroy or attempt to take or destroy any fish within the territorial waters of Nigeria or its exclusive economic zone by any of the following methods, that is- (a) by the use of any explosive substance; or (b) by the use of any noxious or poisonous matter. (2) Any person, who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to imprisonment for two years or a fine of N50,000.

1. Licensing of motor fishing boats. (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, no person shall operate or navigate any motor fishing boat for the purpose of fishing or a reefer vessel for the purpose of discharging frozen fish within the territorial waters of Nigeria or its exclusive economic zone, unless that boat or reefer vessel has been duly registered and licensed. (2) Any person operating or navigating or causing to be operated or navigated a motor fishing boat or a reefer vessel in contravention of subsection (1) of this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and on conviction shall be liable to imprisonment for five years or to a fine of N250,000 or to both such fine and imprisonment and in addition forfeiture of the motor fishing boat and the fish or shrimp catch on board.

15. Interpretation. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- ... "fish" means any aquatic creature whether fish or not and includes shell-fish, crustaceans, turtles and aquatic mammals; "fishing boat" means any ship, boat, canoe or other craft used for the taking of fish for sale or barter; ... "motor fishing boat" means any fishing boat propelled by means of steam, internal combustion or other machinery except one or more portable outboard engines; ... "taking fish" includes any method of catching fish; "territorial waters of Nigeria" has the same meaning as in section 1 of the Territorial Waters Act.

1. Restriction on fishing in certain areas. No motor fishing boat (except canoes) shall fish within the first five nautical miles of the waters of the Nigeria continental shelf.

12. Minimum size. The minimum size in relation to seafish for a lobster shall be 7 cm in length, for a crab 6 cm in length, measured from the tip of the beak to the end of the flap of the tail when spread as far as possible flat. ... 19. Possession of undersized lobster or crab. No person shall keep on board either dead or alive or offer for sale any lobster or crab less than 7 cm or 6 cm respectively. 20. Release of berried crabs, etc. Any berried crab or lobster caught by whatever means shall be returned to the waters.

6. Prohibition of unorthodox fishing methods. (1) Except for electro-fishing and the use of chemicals for the purpose of research, no person shall take or destroy or attempt to take or destroy any fish within the inland waters of Nigeria by any of the following methods, that is- (a) the use of explosive substances; (b) the use of noxious or poisonous matter; or (c) the use of electricity. (2) A person who contravenes a provision of subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N3,000 or imprisonment for a term of two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

1. Licensing of fishing craft. (1) As from the commencement of this Act no person shall operate a motor fishing craft (in this Act referred to as a "craft") within the inland waters of Nigeria unless a licence in respect of that craft has been issued to the owner or operator of the craft under this Act. (2) A person who operates or causes to be operated a craft in contravention of subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding N500 or imprisonment for a term of six months or to both such fine and imprisonment.

16. Interpretation. ... "closed season" means a specific period during which fishing is prohibited; ... "fish" means all living aquatic animals, vertebrates and invertebrates, other than plants, which are harvestable for food and other economic purposes; "fishing" means the catching, taking or harvesting of fish, attempted catching, taking or harvesting of fish and any other activity which can reasonably result in the catching, taking or harvesting of fish; ... "licence" means a permit to operate a motor fishing craft for the act of taking fish; ... "motor fishing craft" means a vessel which is used for or equipped to be used for fishing.

9. Closed areas and seasons. (1) A Commissioner may at his discretion declare as closed, for the purpose of fishing within the jurisdiction of a State, such area or season as he may deem fit and the Minister may at his discretion declare as closed, for the same purpose, a body of water shared by two or more States. (2) A person who fishes in a closed area or during a closed season in contravention of subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N3,000 or imprisonment for a term of two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

5. Restriction on use of fishing gear, etc. (1) No person shall fish with a gear constructed with net webbing of less than 76 millimetres except where the gear consists of- (a) pelagic trawl nets used for freshwater sardines, that is, clupeids, which are used with outboard engines of not more than 25 horsepower capable of operating trawl net with three millimetres cod-end; or (b) lift nets used for freshwater sardines constructed with three to five millimetres stretched mesh webbing. (2) No single fishing unit shall operate with a single net or a combination of nets exceeding 500 metres of three millimetres mesh size and above. (3) A person who contravenes a provision of subsection (1) or (2) of this section commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N500 or imprisonment for a term of six months or to both such fine and imprisonment and, in addition, the net and catch shall be forfeited to the government of the State in which the offence was committed.

14. Regulations. (1) The Minister may make regulations- (a) for furthering the interests of sea fishing industry in Nigeria; and (b) for giving effect to the provisions of this Act. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions of this section, regulations made under this section may- (a) regulate, prohibit or restrict the taking of fish in any specific area within the territorial waters of Nigeria; (b) prohibit or restrict the use of any fishing boat, apparatus or method of taking fish that is considered harmful to the sea fishing industry in Nigeria; (c) prescribe limits to the size of nets or the mesh of nets that may be employed in the taking of fish within the territorial waters of Nigeria, or in any specific area therein; ... (h) regulate any other matter relating to the conservation and protection of the stocks of sea fish.

2. Interpretation. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires- ... "firearm" means any lethal barreled weapon of any description from which any shot, bullet or other missile can be discharged, and includes a prohibited firearm, a personal firearm and a muzzle-loading firearm of any of the categories referred to in Parts I, II and III respectively of the Schedule hereto, and any component part of any such firearm;

51. Exemption of air-guns. Without prejudice to the application of the Act to air-rifles and air-pistols, no air-gun, being a smooth-bored weapon designed to discharge a pellet by means of compressed air or inert gas and having a barrel of more than nine inches in length, shall be subject to any of the provisions of the Act or of these Regulations.