At the Expert Consultation on Planning for Aquaculture Development, held in Policoro, Italy in 1988 (see ADCP/REP/89/33), the participants put forward an integrated set of opportunities for technical assistance to developing countries. The opportunities were predominantly a group of identified needs or ideas, which collectively would assist in guiding investment decisions, primarily at the national level in both the public and private sectors.
One of the vital needs of national sector management was legislation in support of aquaculture. Few developing countries at the present time are enacting legislation dealing with aquaculture, other than regulations regarding the importation of species (as guided by their respective regional fisheries commissions). There are no projects currently directed toward the development of appropriate national legislation for the sector.
The Consultation noted that although legislation was a national responsibility, action was required first at an interregional level to identify and classify aquaculture legislation and to provide general guidelines.
To this end "A Preliminary Review of Selected Legislation Governing Aquaculture", commissioned by ADCP, has been prepared by staff of the Legislation Branch, FAO Legal Office in Rome.
In the preparation of this review, primary reliance has been placed on the materials available at FAO in Rome, supplemented by further materials received from a number of sources. Given the breadth of the laws which might impinge on aquaculture, only a visit to individual countries would ensure that all relevant laws, as well as the most up-to-date versions, would be located. As this was not a practicable option, the study has necessarily been characterized as a preliminary review at this stage, even though it is novel in approaching aquaculture from a comparative viewpoint, as well as drawing information from a wide number of different countries and varied legal systems.
Every care has been taken to rely on the latest information available, but in a study of this kind it is inevitable that occasionally reliance will have been made on an out-of-date law. The Legislation Branch particularly welcomes being kept informed of recent developments concerning aquaculture legislation.
One of the ideas behind the preparation of this Preliminary Review was the hope that it would lead to an expert consultation on aquaculture legislation, mainly to assist countries in developing guidelines for the elaboration of the legal issues which desirably should be addressed in formulating aquaculture legislation. This might in appropriate circumstances lead to the formulation of model provisions on certain aspects of an aqua-culture law, and taking into account the requirements of different systems - common law, civil law, centrally planned or free market. Ideally this might then be followed by action at the regional and sub-regional levels to (i) transfer such model provisions into comprehensive guidelines for nations within the region to use or amend as appropriate for their own use, (ii) organize meetings amongst groups of nations to discuss legislation for issues of common interest (such as introduction of species, genetic conservation, water resource use), and (iii) provide expert assistance when required.
Colin E. Nash
Craig B. Kensler
Rome, 1989
