The registration of pleasure boats is compulsory in France. In Marseille, it is done with the maritime affairs service of the city after the possible passage through the customs pleasure boating service. The rules for the registration of pleasure boats and the exterior marking of the boat's name on its hull are specified by a decree of April 8, 2009. Depending on the type and size of the boat, the external identification mark must be affixed to the transom and include the name of the boat and the initials of the maritime district. The Marseille small boats, and more generally the fishing boats, bear for the most part the name of a saint or a first name, simple or compound.