The cluster of issues that were addressed in the Fisheries Act of 1991 were mainly concerns on the territorial and zone boundaries, nationality criteria for Gambian vessels, appointment of agents, control over the import of fishing vessels, requirement for storage of fishing gear, subscription to standardization of vessel marking scheme as proposed by FAO and associated penalties.

The Fisheries access agreements were also treated in the Act. In addition to being subject to normal conditions of license, foreign fishing vessels may be subjected to other controls and conditions aimed at the protection and conservation of resources and the promotion of infrastructural development, training and research.

Like in the 1995 fisheries regulation in which the main addressed issues were the conservation measures, aquaculture and export of fish. In this regulation, restricted zones were clearly defined out, giving latitudes and longitudes. Fishing gear restrictions were also defined, including a ban on the use of the beach seine, setting of gill nets around Dog Island and maintaining minimum mesh sizes for industrial operations in order to conserve the fish resources.

However, licensing for aquaculture operations were defined in the regulation as a mean to enhance biodiversity and to take account of prospects for commercial development. All aquaculture and fish processing establishments must be permitted before they start operation.

Main Fisheries Regulations:
The Fisheries Act 1991 (a revision of the Fisheries Act 1977) and the Fisheries Regulations 1995 (a revision of the Fisheries Regulations 1978) constitute the legal instruments for regulations and control of activities under The Gambia fisheries sector.

The revisions were necessitated by the observation that the circumstances under which the 1977 Fisheries Act and the 1978 Fisheries Regulations were promulgated changed significantly in the 1980s. Specifically, there was a significant growth in both local and foreign industrial fishing of high-value species, as well as increased instances of illegal fishing in Gambian waters.

The legal framework for concerted public-sector intervention in the fisheries sector is provided under the Fisheries Act of 1991 and the supporting Fisheries Regulations 1995. However, these two documents also provide a framework for harmonizing the private and public roles in the development of the fisheries sector and assist the fisheries department in technical aspects of the implementation of the fisheries management plan.

Development Measures:
Immediate management measurers / controls contained in the two documents include the systematic reduction and regulation of fishing effort particularly the foreign fishing vessels that used to target demersal fish species. The 1991 fisheries Act and 1995 Fisheries Regulations also seek to improve Monitoring Control Surveillance (MCS), land and sea as well as the increase in fishing licence fees, critical review of bilateral fishing agreements and critical review of performances of fishing companies with the view to eliminating non-performing/non-viable companies.

The Gambia does not make use of closed seasons nor TAC in its fisheries management. Industrial fishing vessels are monitored through regular patrols by the Gambia Navy to enforce regulations for the purpose of resources management and to reduce conflict between the industrial and artisanal fishing fleets. Waters of the Gambia have been delineated into 7 and 12-nautical-mile fishing areas.

No industrial fishing vessel is allowed to fish within the 7 nautical miles limit, which is fished by artisanal fishers with environmentally friendly fishing techniques. Vessels up to 250 GRT capacities fish the grounds between 7 and 12 nautical miles, and beyond the 12 nautical miles to the EEZ boundary is open to all licensed vessels.

Resource management efforts are also to place special emphasis on the shrimp fishery (its biology, population, dynamics, potential and profitability), aquaculture development (fish pond culture, oyster culture and shrimp farming), protection of the aquatic environment (water bodies, mangroves and nursery areas/habitats, protection against pollution), studies on the resource potentials (feasibility of development of freshwater fishery), the study on impact of granting access of foreign fishing vessels and study on plankton abundance and distribution as source of food for fish.