5.1 Government policy in the region
5.2 Government organization in the region
5.3 Aquaculture legislation
5.4 Trade and business associations
5.5 Information resources for management
5.6 Technical assistance projects in the sub-sector
In 1985 a survey of the Northwestern countries was made to identify the current national policies and interest in aquaculture. The results of the survey are summarized as follows:
In Denmark there was interest in the further development of aquaculture sites in the country, in association with regional planning, to support the Government's policy to increase employment and exports. Since 1980 the Government had increased the budget for research and development.
In the FRG the Government recognized the contribution of aquaculture products to national food resources. Research and development were supported, together with financial aid to aquaculture projects in developing countries through the national bilateral programmes.
The Government of the Netherlands actively supported national research and development, particularly that relevent to international assistance, and involved national personnel and resources in bilateral projects.
In Finland the Ministry of Trade and Industry supported aquaculture through public funding, particularly for development in sparsely populated rural areas. State hatcheries and farms produced seed and juveniles for stocking private farms, and conducted research and development.
Iceland had little interest in aquaculture until 1984, but since then the Government has been active in the support of research and development.
In Norway the Government had a firm policy toward aquaculture and provided the industry with considerable research and development support, and other services.
The Government of Sweden had a modest interest in aquaculture, and provided some support through the central authorities. The regional bodies were more active in the sector.
The Government of Ireland was especially favourable toward aquaculture and had identified priority species. It provided capital grants, extension, training, and research services in support of aquaculture.
In the UK the Government was generally supportive within the constraints that aquaculture was one of many sectors which used common resources, and therefore could not be recognized individually.
No policy or statement of interest was identified in Austria, Belgium, and Switzerland.
The survey concluded that most of these countries had continued to increase their interest in aquaculture as an industrial sector, having supported it modestly as a developing technology throughout the 1970s. Some countries, such as Norway and the UK, had been making public investments since the early 1960s.
A survey by OECD in 1988 showed significant developments. Many of the countries had promulgated legislation for aquaculture in support of its development. In particular there was support for national infrastructure, promotion of investment, greater emphasis on siting, and more support for research and development. As major developed countries active in bilateral assistance, most of the countries were including more aquaculture in their aid projects. However, there was also evidence of growing concern for the specific issues of aquaculture, in particular the environmental impact. These points are illustrated in sections 5.2 and 5.3.
National responsibility for aquaculture in all the countries of the region continues to be confused. Most aquaculture is aquatic animal husbandry, and therefore is closely associated with animal husbandry. Its products are almost entirely food for human consumption, and therefore distributed and sold through the same channels as meats and vegetables. In these terms aquaculture has considerable affinity with the agriculture sector. On the other hand, the products, many of which are of marine origin, are the same as those harvested by capture fisheries, and therefore there is an affinity with the fisheries sector. Finally, aquaculture is invariably carried out on land or in coastal areas and competes for national resources. From a government perspective, it has affinities with a number of other sectors which do the same, such as rural development, natural resources, environment, etc. Consequently aquaculture responsibilities can be vested in a variety of government departments, some of which constrain its development. In many cases responsibilities can be vested in more than one department.
In a number of countries (e.g. UK) the Ministry of Agriculture has responsibilities for both agriculture and fisheries, and therefore includes aquaculture. In these cases aquaculture, as a new component of the economy and small by comparison with agriculture, invariably has difficulties defending its position for support. In other countries (such as Denmark and Norway), with a separate Ministry of Fisheries, aquaculture has been included. More active responsibilities are usually shown in the latter case, although there is often competition between fisheries and aquaculture departments for funding and development priorities.
Another factor influencing the priority of aquaculture in terms of government responsibilities is the strength of the ministerial department or authority responsible for environmental protection. The general government policy toward the sector may be different from the policies of environmental boards.
In Denmark responsibility for aquaculture is within the Ministry of Fisheries. The Ministry has enacted a programme for structural improvements in the sector (1987-1991), and particularly to take advantage of the grants and subsidies being provided by the EEC for fisheries and aquaculture. The Government regulates development through licenses for producers. It separates licenses for inland aquaculture, which are handled by local authorities, from those of offshore aquaculture, which are handled by the Ministry. There is also an Act on Fisheries in Offshore Waters, which regulates the types of construction and required safeguards, and also minimizes pollution.
In Finland the basic regulations which control aquaculture are in the 1961 Water Law, which prohibit activities which may change water quality or the natural migration of fish. Licenses for aquaculture are therefore issued by the Finnish Water Court, and enforcement is through the national Board of Waters.
The State Governments of the FRG, rather than the Federal Government, have responsibilities for inland fisheries, and hence aquaculture. The various state laws and regulations which affect the industry, concern animal protection, fish diseases, introduction of exotic species, and pollution. Research and development in aquaculture are financed in part by the Federal Ministry for Technology.
Production licenses in Iceland are approved by the Institute of Freshwater Fisheries and the National Centre for Hygiene, Food Control, and Environmental Protection. Consequently the emphasis of the rules and regulations for the producers is quality control, standards of hygiene, disease prevention, and pollution control.
In Ireland the Department of Marine is responsible for the formulation and implementation of policies and programmes for the management, conservation, development, protection, improvement, and commercial exploitation of aquaculture resources, under the Fisheries Act, 1980. Designated areas for lawful activities are under the authority of the Minister for the Marine. Enforcement of the licensing regulations and protection is the responsibility of the Regional Fisheries Boards. The Water Pollution Act of 1977 also affects the industry through measures to control and reduce water pollution, but it also functions to resolve competing uses for water resources by all sectors.
Inland aquaculture in the Netherlands is considered to be a branch of agriculture, and is therefore legal on land already designated for agricultural production. A number of laws and regulations affect the producers, including licenses for construction on agricultural land, the Nuisance Act, draining of farm effluents, the use of substrate water or public waters, and the legal size limits of marketable products (under the Fisheries Act, 1963).
A new law was established in 1985 in Norway governing the conditions under which farms operate. Predominantly this was to balance the sector and its regional distribution through the control of the number of sites and size of individual farms. The size was fixed at 8 000 m3, but in 1989 this was increased to 12 000 m3. This is controlled through licenses.
In Sweden the National Board of Fisheries was appointed the responsible authority for aquaculture in 1984. However, permits, production, and quality control are managed by different laws and regulations and several agencies are involved. In addition, the Board regulates practices with regard to potential disease problems, and the county administration regulates potential environmental issues.
In the UK the administrative responsibility for aquaculture rests with the Fisheries Departments of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, the Department of Agriculture for Scotland, the Welsh Office Agricultural Department, and the Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland. The legislation varies between different part of the country and distinguishes between finfish farming and shellfish farming. All discharges from fish farms are subject to regulations under the Control of Pollution Act 1974, and disease control under the Diseases of Fish Acts 1937 and 1983. Shellfish, on the other hand, come under the Sea Fisheries (Shellfish) Act 1967. In addition, there are other Acts which concern planning, water use, pollution, fish diseases, wildlife and countryside protection, introduction of fish and shellfish, some of which are very specific to genera and species, such as molluscs, lobsters, and salmon.
Legislation which regulates aquaculture therefore varies from country to country. In many cases the legislation was written for other industries, such as agriculture and fisheries, or resources, such as water protection or wildlife conservation, and long before aquaculture was established. This type of legislation has been a major constraint to development in many countries.
Some governments impose many laws, regulations, and ordinances on the aquaculture sector and its associated components and activities, whilst other governments do not. Typical legislation can be concerned with:
- Planning and construction,
- Access to sites,
- Water utilization, drilling and extraction,
- Intake and effluent water quality,
- Wildlife conservation,
- Utilization of tidal areas, seabed, and coastal water resources,
- Diseases, and transmission,
- Introduction and transfer of natural and exotic species,
- Environmental impact,
- Use of chemical treatments and veterinary drugs, and their residues,
- Product quality control, and marketing standards.
Most countries regulate entry into the industry through licenses. The procedures for application in some cases are simple and cheap, and in others complicated, prolonged, and costly, and may differ within the same country. For example, in Sweden for farms larger than 10 t capacity of finfish (or above 20 000 m2 of mussels) the investor must make full application to the authorities after first passing the regulations of the Environmental Application Act. For farms of below 10 t finfish capacity the investor is only obliged to notify the authorities of the operation. Applications from the investor proposing the larger farms must be evaluated under the regulations of the Fisheries Act and the Nature Conservancy Act (which regulates protection of the seashore).
Licenses are difficult to obtain in countries where there are many regulations concerning the environment and potential impacts. In Sweden, for example, there are 15-20 authorities, and the procedure is complicated by such things as estimation of future discharges of nutrients and organic materials in relation to the trophic level of the receiving waters. All information goes to the regional fishery officer and to the county administration. Applications are sent to 15-20 authorities and more than ten Acts are applicable.
The purpose of legislation, in addition to managing and regulating the sector, is principally to prevent the destruction of valuable natural resources, and to prevent a negative environmental impact by the discharge of waste materials. Farm effluents in particular are of major concern in most countries.
However, legal regulations may be interpreted quite broadly depending on the attitude of the authorities and the public toward aquaculture, For example, regulations regarding water quality might be for protection of the environment, or alternatively for the quality control of the end product which will be consumed.
There may also be very specific regulations. For example, many countries have recently banned the use of products containing tributylin (TBT). For some years these have been used by the aquaculture industry in antifouling paints used to protect marine facilities, particularly sea cages and nets.
In order to control and regulate the growing aquaculture industry the laws, regulations, and ordinances with regard to conservation can be divided into (i) those which impact production, and (it) those which impact the environment. For the former these are specifications which restrict the numbers of seed, cultivation volume, production capacity, feed delivery, and production units per farm, etc.; for the latter these are specifications which define the distances between farms, distances between production units, distances to natural shellfish beds, spawning areas, water depths, stock densities in relation to water quality (dissolved oxygen concentrations), etc.
Regulations for the production of high quality products for human consumption include water quality criteria, the use of veterinary medicines and drugs, the use of antibiotics, feed additives, and directions for the slaughter and handling of products. Most of these follow the standards and guidelines of international sanitary recommendations for food products, produced by the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission. Many countries formally adopt these regulations and apply them through national legislation.
Finally, the EEC member countries within the region have agreed to a number of measures to protect the environment (Council Directive 76/464/EEC), and are supposed to change their national legislation to comply with these measures. For example, the UK is empowered to control discharges into estuaries and coastal waters and a full account is taken of the potential implications for fisheries. The offshore disposal of waste from ships is strictly controlled in accordance with the provisions of the Oslo Convention and the London Dumping Convention.
Similarly, the UK has designated 29 areas as conforming Co the European Community's quality standards for shellfish growing waters (Council Directive 79/923/EEC), and is reviewing possible additions.
Although not compulsory, recommendations and regulations proposed by the European Inland Fisheries Advisory Commission (EIFAC) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on the introduction and transfer of organisms have been developed for member countries. These include codes of practice and a manual of procedures for consideration of introductions and transfers of marine and freshwater organisms. In principle no organisms should be imported without quarantine.
There are no professional trade and business associations in the region at this level of the sector. In the interests of standards for the industry the idea of a professional association for consultants has been proposed and discussed at meetings of the EAS, but nothing further has developed. Many fisheries biologists who work and practice aquaculture are accredited members of the Institute of Biologists (UK).
In this highly developed region several general trade and business associations have been long established. Many producers, for example, are associated with their chambers of commerce. For information about opportunities for trade, which are not available from other sources (see sections I.6 and 3.8), most embassies have commercial attaches.
Most information resources for management in the past have only dealt with site selection and appropriate technology. Through national financing or private investment most areas of the region with aquaculture potential have been surveyed to identify sites and to evaluate production potential using established technology. Some countries, such as Norway and Sweden, have reviewed and listed all sites with potential so that administrators in charge of land planning and development are aware of areas for aquaculture development, and can avoid conflicts between industrial sectors and pollution. Typical competing sectors are urban development, tourism, merchant marine, military (navy), heavy and light industry, fisheries, aquaculture, and agriculture. This information has also been invaluable for licensing and distribution of farms for both economic reasons and protection.
Besides information on site selection, there is considerable literature relevant to the countries of the region published about species, production techniques, and economic aspects of aquaculture development in national and international journals. This information comes in proceedings of conferences, seminars, symposia on aquaculture, and of course many books which are very specific to the region. Most of the published information is available in the library of the Fisheries Department of FAO in Rome.
Civil servants, investment bankers, and politicians concerned with aquaculture development lack general information and a view of aquaculture realities in the region. This situation results at times either in excessive hesitation about a logical and viable project, or in excessive confidence in a project of more doubtful interest. An example is the environmental impact of aquaculture on other activities, particularly the risk of water pollution by aquaculture discharge which may at times be completely forgotten or excessively emphasized.
The ADCP now produces an information newsletter called "Aquaculture Minutes" for decision-makers which responds to some of the needs for executives and administrators. There is still a great need at the resources management level for the production of more continuously updated information on species and techniques, sites and zoning of activities, prices and markets of aquaculture items, legislation, farm economy, and the socio-economic impact of aquaculture development. Regional reviews are needed to constitute a proper base for solid resources management, such as the ADCP reports and guideline documents. The ADCP has produced some 60 publications related to aquaculture in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, the Near East, the Pacific and North America, planning, research, training, feeds, information systems, development aid, engineering, economics, marketing, socio-economics, seed production, and women in aquaculture.
The private sector produces a number of leaflets of its own. For example, in U.K., the Aquacultural Insurance Service produces information on risk management and insurance; and Ernst and Whinney produce bulletins on financial investment, planning, taxation, and many other aspects of financial management.
There are no technical assistance projects related to national sector management in the region. The British Council (UK) funds the Fisheries Planning and Management Course at the Humberside International Fisheries Institute at the University of Hull (UK) and funds trainees from African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. An aquaculture planning course will be started in 1990.
