Rwanda

"Fishing": any activities aiming at capturing any living organisms or plant species contained in free waters, whatever the means and instruments used.

The following are prohibited in fishing: 1° using poisonous substances aimed at stunning, weakening or killing fish; 2° applying explosives; 3° using electromagnetic procedures or electrocution; 4° flashing water with an aim of capturing fish; 5° fishing where water organisms are reproduced.

RARDA authorities, based on the report of the Mayor of the District in which fishing is conducted, shall issue fishing licences. No person shall carry out any fishing activities in public waters without a fishing licence or fishing concession licence authorisation. An Order of the Minister in charge of aquaculture and fishing shall determine requirements for issuance of aquatic and fishing licence.

The types of fishing are as follows: 1° sport fishing; 2° professional fishing; 3° research or scientific fishing. A person who intends to practice the fishing referred to in this Article applies for a license from the authority in charge for aquaculture and fisheries development.

Sport fishing is the fishing which is practiced for recreation purpose in public water using not more than five (5) hooks. A person who needs to do sport fishing must have a license. That licence is issued to hotels, guest houses or individuals.

The category of a sport fishing license is A. The category of sport fishing license comprises of the following types of licenses: 1° category A1: a license of a sport fishing done by a Rwandan; 2° category A2: a license of a sport fishing done by a foreign resident or non-resident in Rwanda; An individual who practices sport fishing uses one (1) hook. A person who practices sport fishing may be accompanied by his or her spouse and not more than two (2) of his or her children who attained the age of at least eleven (11) years. If the holder of license referred to in Paragraph One of this Article is a hotel or guest house, it must not exceed twenty (20) hooks and it complies with the provision of Paragraph 3 of this Article.

The following gears are authorised for fishing: 1° for limnothrissa miodon: lift nets of at least six millimetres (mm 6) mesh size fixed on trimaran boats and lamps. Monofilament nets are prohibited. 2° for rastrineobola argentea: lift nets of at least five millimetres (mm 5) mesh size fixed on trimaran boats and lamps. Monofilament nets are prohibited. 3° for haplochromis: gill nets of more than one point five inch (1.5) or three point eight one centimetres (cm 3.81). monofilament nets are prohibited. 4° for tilapia and carp: gill nets of at least four inch (4) or ten point sixteen centimetres (cm 10.16) and more. Monofilament nets are prohibited. 5° clarias and protopterus: gill nets of at least six centimetres (cm 6) or long line hooks. Monofilament nets are prohibited.

The following acts are prohibited in fishing: 1° using poisonous substances aimed at stunning, weakening or killing aquatic organisms; 2° applying explosives; 3° using electromagnetic procedures or electrocution; 4° beating water with an aim of capturing aquatic organisms; 5° fishing in the reproduction area; 6° fishing in aquaculture concession area, except for the research fishing licence holder.

Areas for fishing are as follows: 1° Lake Kivu: a) limnothrissa miodon: their fishing area is at least in two hundred meters (m 200) from the shores for both trimarans and single boats using gill nets. It is prohibited to fish in bays. b) tilapia and clarias: their fishing area starts from at above fifty meters (m 50) from the shores. c) haplochromis: their fishing area starts from at above thirty meters (m 30) from the shores. 2° Lakes Burera and Ruhondo: a) rastrineobola and limnothrissa: they are fished at above fifty meters (m 50) from the shore; b) haplochromis, tilapia and clarias: their fishing area starts from at above thirty meters (m 30) from the shores. 3° Eastern Lakes: The fishing activities are carried out at above twenty-five meters (m 25) from the shores for all fished species. Official fishing hours are the following: 1° Lake Kivu and Lakes Burera and Ruhondo: between five in the evening (5 p.m.) up to seven in the morning (7 a.m.); 2° Eastern Lakes: between four in the evening (4:00 p.m.) up to eight in the morning (8:00 a.m.).

The biological break is the time dedicated to a suspension of fishing activities every year to allow the recovery of aquatic organisms' stock. The break referred to in Paragraph One of this Article starts from two (2) months that can be extended depending on the assessment carried out by the authority in charge of aquaculture and fishery development. The choice of the period of biological break depends on the particular biological characteristics of aquatic organisms of each lake.