The Aquatic Resources Authority of Panama (ARAP) published Resolution ADM/ARAP No. 097, signed on October 22, in Official Gazette No. 30644 of October 28, 2026. Its second article adopts as Annex I the Technical Manual for the Grading of Administrative Sanctions in Fishing and Aquaculture, and its twenty-first article repeals resolutions ADM/ARAP No. 078 and No. 065 of 2025.

The manual responds to the ranges in article 146 of Law 204 of 2021, which run from B/.50,000 to B/.300,000 for fishing vessels of up to 100 net registered tons and from B/.300,000 to B/.1,000,000 for larger ones; for fishing support vessels of more than 5,000 tons, the range is B/.150,000 to B/.600,000. The calculation starts from the minimum of the range according to the vessel's type and tonnage and adds cumulative percentages for each documented aggravating factor: 40 % for each additional transshipment, port entry or landing without notice; 50 % if the species is regulated by a regional fisheries management organization and another 50 % if the activity takes place in its area; 30 % for every 24 hours without a satellite signal; and 75 % if there is intent or knowing disobedience. The result can never exceed the legal maximum.

The annex illustrates the method with a 6,200-ton refrigerated cargo vessel that carried out two unreported transshipments of yellowfin tuna in the area of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission: the recommended fine rises from the B/.150,000 minimum to B/.420,000. For owners and operators of Panamanian-flagged fishing or support vessels, the formula makes the financial exposure of each violation more predictable and raises the importance of keeping satellite transmission, transshipment declarations and electronic catch records up to date.

Articles three to sixteen create a permanent Institutional Commission, which will meet at least once a month and issue advisory, non-binding recommendations. It is chaired by the director general of Inspection, Surveillance and Control; if that directorate departs from the recommendation, it must set out its technical and legal reasons in the sanctioning resolution.

The scope is still partial. The manual only grades serious violations; the scale for minor ones is left for a later phase. The resolution takes effect upon promulgation, and ARAP may amend the manual by administrative resolution. Nexo Capital will follow the first sanctions calculated under this methodology.

Research assisted by Sentinel, with editorial verification of official sources. Discover Legislat.ai