Definitions

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— (a) 'Appellate authority' means the Director of Fisheries; (b) 'Aquaculture' means growing any aquatic animals or plants by collecting and conserving them naturally or artificially in restricted circumstances in any private or public water body or in any aquatic environment and includes cage culture, pen culture, running water fish culture, ornamental fish farming, fish farming in reservoirs; (c) 'aquaculture area' means an area notified under sub-section (1) of section 4; (d) 'authorised officer' means in respect of the matter to which reference is made in the provisions of this Act in which the expression occurs means an officer of the Fisheries Department authorised by the Government by notification in the Gazette; (e) 'filtration' means the traditional fish farming by naturally or artificially trapping the fish seed that flow along with tide from sea or back waters or from other water body into large group of paddy fields or shallow water bodies and leaving them to grow and thereafter catching the grown-up fish; (f) 'fisherman' means any person engaged mainly in inland fishing activity for his livelihood and includes the wife of fisherman engaged in fish selling and the widow of a fisherman; (g) 'fish farmer' means the person doing farming of different varieties of aquatic animals and plants for his livelihood or to enable him to earn economic gain at any stage of their life cycle; (h) 'fishing vessel' means any boat or vessel engaged in fishing or fish farming activities and includes vessel, country boat, canoe or any other device for travelling in water for fishing or fish farming activities; (i) 'fish' includes shell fish at any stage of their life cycle and all aquatic plants; (j) 'fishing operation' means catching fish by using fishing vessel, fixed machine, free net or otherwise and includes stocking of shell fish, conchs and any type of filtration and culturing of them; (k) 'fisheries' means any activity or occupation related with the conservation development, propagation, protection, exploitation, utilization of fish and fish products; (l) 'fish harvest' means catching of fish from the aquaculture area by any manner; (m) 'protected fish sanctuary' means any area notified as protected fish sanctuary under section 28 of this Act; (n) 'fish seed' means infanthood of any fish in any form at its life cycle; (o) 'fixed machine' means any Chinese net or dip net or any other net or cage or fishing fence or anchor or tray or any other device fixed in the soil or immovably installed in any other way in land or in water for fishing; (p) 'free net' means any net, cage, cramp iron hook or other device other than a fixed machine used for fishing; (pa) 'Government' means Union Territory Administration of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu headed by the Administrator appointed by the President under article 239 of the Constitution; (q) 'hatchery' means the centre of producing fish seed; (r) 'inland fishery' means any fishery of fresh water fish or brackish water fish or other fresh water-brackish water, cold water, estuary water, ornamental fishery, backwater resources having fishery related value and commonly conducted in any public or private water body; (s) 'inland water body' means any private or public water body to be a transformable area utilising or utilisable for any fishery related activity within the Union Territory; (t) 'localself Government institution' means a panchayat constituted under the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Panchayat Regulation, 2012 or a Municipality constituted under the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Municipal Council Regulation, 2004; (u) 'person' includes a company or firm or institution or co-operative society or any body of individuals;