Kerala Fish Seed Act, 2014

No: 4 of 2015 Dated: Feb, 13 2014

Kerala Fish Seed Act, 2014

(Act 4 of 2015)

    An Act to provide for the regulation of the quality in production, marketing and stocking of fish seed and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

    Preamble:- Whereas, it is expedient to provide for the regulation of the quality in production, marketing and stocking of fish seed and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto;

Be, it enacted in the Sixty-fifth Year of the Republic of India as follows:-

CHAPTER I

Preliminary

1. Short title and commencement. - (1) This Act may be called the Kerala Fish Seed Act, 2014.

(2) It shall be deemed to have come into force on the 13th day of February, 2014.

2. Definitions. - In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-

(a) 'Adjudicating Officer' means an officer authorised under section 28;

(b) 'Appellate Authority' means an officer authorised under section 29;

(c) 'Authorised Officer' means an officer authorised under section 27;

(d) 'container' means a polyethylene bag, earthen pot, box, bottle, casket, tin, barrel, case, receptacle, wrapper or other means by which fish seeds are carried;

(e) 'export' means taking fish seed from Kerala to other States or to outside India;

(f) 'fish culture' means culture of fish or prawn or shrimp or any other aquatic animals and aquatic plants in fresh waters, brackish waters or marine waters;

(g) 'fish farmer' means an individual or a group of individuals Or a firm or an agency or a Company or any other juristic person owning or having taken on lease a land or a water body and having taken up for fish seed rearing or fish culture in pond or in confined waters or in structures erected in them or in any other manner;

(h) 'Fisherman' means a person who is engaged mainly in fishing activity for livelihood;

(i) 'fish seed' means larval stages or juveniles or any other classes of seeds of aquatic life, including plant, plant origin, used for stocking in confined or open waters, such as ponds, tanks, lakes, reservoirs, rivers, pools, check dams and pens or cages or any other structures erected in water and includes,-

(i) seeds of aquatic animals including ornamental fish reared in fresh water, brackish water and marine water and in aquaria;

(ii) seeds of shell fish, such as prawns, shrimps, lobsters, crab, gastropods, bivalves and such other crustaceans and molluscs;

(iii) early stages of fish and larval states of prawn, shrimp, lobsters, crabs, post larvae, zoea, mysis, megalopa and larval stages of molluscs, veliger and spat; '

(j) 'Fish Seed Analysis' means the procedures of Fish Seed Analysis to verify that the seeds are free from pathogen and diseases and meet the required standards of quality and size;

(k) 'Fish Seed Analyst' means a Fish Seed Analyst appointed under section 20;

(l) 'Fish Seed Farm' means a place with water body or structures used for fish seed culture;

(m) 'Fish Seed Inspector' means a Fish Seed Inspector appointed under section 18;

(n) 'Fish Seed Laboratory' means the Fish Seed Laboratory established under section 11;

(o) 'Fish Seed rearing' means rearing of seeds of fin fishes or shell fishes or any" other aquatic animals and aquatic plants in fresh waters or brackish waters or marine waters;

(p) 'Government' means the Government of Kerala;

(q) 'hatchery' means a place where brooders are maintained and used for production of fish seed and includes a place where rearing of the seed for supply to fish farmer and this includes backyard hatchery or part of the farm including rearing in nurseries;

(r) 'import' means bringing fish seed into Kerala from other States or from outside India;

(s) 'kind' means one or more related species or such species of aquatic animals or aquatic plants each individually or collectively are known by one common name such as carps, shrimps, prawns, crabs, mussels, lobsters, sea weeds, aquarium plants;

(t) 'marketing' means the business of selling, offering to sell, bartering or otherwise supply or keeping for sale of any fish seed;

(u) 'notification' means a notification published in the official Gazette;

(v) 'notified kind or variety' in relation to any fish seed means any kind or variety thereof notified under section 12;

(w) 'prescribed' means prescribed by rules made under this Act;

(x) 'quarantine' means a place of isolation for the purpose of observing animals and plants suspected of harbouring a pathogen prior to the introduction of such species to the new environment or state;

(y) 'Regional Fish Seed Centre' means the Regional Fish Seed Centres established under section 7;

(z) 'State Fish Seed Centre' means the State Fish Seed Centre established under section 3;

(aa) 'sub-centres' means the sub-centres established under sub-section (1) of section 10;

(ab) 'variety' means a sub division of a kind identifiable by morphology, growth, yield, seed, re-production or other characteristics. ·