BENIN 



The U.S. Embassy in Cotonou, Benin, prepared the following report on the fisheries of Benin. The report 

 has been edited only slightly to help it conform to other country reports. 2 



1. Regulations 



Beninese regulations stipulate that vessels solely 

 engaged in commercial fishing may be no more than 

 18 meters in length, and have an engine no larger 

 than 235-horsepower. Vessels which catch both fish 

 and shrimp, however, may be up to 25-meters in 

 length and have up to 400-horsepower engines. In 

 order to obtain a permit to fish in Beninese waters, 

 an application must be jointly submitted to the 

 Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of 

 Transportation. This application must include: 

 documents for the entire crew, the vessel registration 

 certificate from the builder (certifying the length, 

 tonnage, and age of the vessel), a registration number 

 indicating that the vessel owner has registered with 

 the Beninese Chamber of Commerce, and financial 

 information about past fishing activities in Beninese 

 waters. Once this application is submitted to the 

 aforementioned ministries, the vessel must undergo 

 an inspection performed by the Autonomous Port of 

 Cotonou (PAC); this inspection seeks to ensure that 

 both the fishing gear and the safety/navigation 

 systems of the vessel are in working order. 



Once this process is completed, the vessel owner 

 must satisfy two financial requirements. First, a 

 tariff must be paid to the Government of Benin 

 (based upon the size of the vessel, capacity of 

 equipment, planned catch of the vessel, and other 

 factors); the minimum tariff is 5,000 CFA francs. 

 This tariff is paid annually. Second, a bond must be 

 posted with a Cotonou bank against the violation of 

 Beninese fishing/environmental laws by the fishing 

 vessel. This bond varies in amount according to the 

 size and age of the vessel, ranging from a minimum 

 of 300,000 CFA francs to 5,600,000 CFA francs. 

 Though in principle fines are to be deducted from 

 this bond for infractions, Government of Benin 

 fishery officials reported that (in their memories) all 

 bonds posted had been refunded in full. The U.S. 

 Embassy was unable to verify this fact. 



Finally, once the application has been approved, 

 the vessel has been certified as sound by the PAC, 

 and all financial obligations have been met, the vessel 

 owner must apply for a temporary "authorization" 

 (renewable each 30-60 days) to fish in Beninese 

 territorial waters. This authorization is free, and 

 (according to the Government of Benin fisheries 

 officials), is simply to ensure that vessels wishing to 

 fish continue to conform with Government of Benin 

 reporting, inspecting, and local sale requirements. 



