During the closing session, the representatives from the participating countries stated their recommendations for aquaculture development projects and the national policies that should be established. The delegated also stated their action plan that the MEDRAP may follow to give international aid to Southern Mediterranean countries.
ALGERIA
Aquaculture is a modern activity, based on the use of recent scientific and technical knowledge for exploiting natural and artificial environments for the production of fish. In this way, aquaculture can contribute to the efforts made to satisfy food needs.
As there is a high water potential, and also as the objective of the recently created National Office of Development of Aquaculture and Production is to coordinate, plan, set up and manage the development of aquaculture in Algeria.
In this context, the Algerian representative makes the following recommendations :
- Use of technological methods adapted to each zone in order to develop and train the workforce necessary.
- Training must be done on two levels :
for people working in fishing and aquaculture fields, a multiple
purpose training (technicians and workmen in aquaculture).
- High-quality university type course in biology, agronomy and economics,
- With the help of preliminary studies, the definition of markets and local consumption of aquaculture species found in aquaculture production.
- Standarization of intervention in the area of aquaculture by setting up a convention between users and public environmental protection organisation.
- Give careful consideration to the profession; the aquaculture farmer, and his status compared to that of the fisherman, and the way he is paid.
Strengthen the bonds of cooperation between the different Southern Mediterranean countries and the Northern mediterranean countires.
TUNISIA
Development of aquaculture in Tunisia must be carried out in response to the following two questions :
- Which markets to produce for?
- How to produce more and better?
Aquaculture, in its various forms, must be encouraged so that it can compensate for the diminishing availability of natural stock due to overexploitation and pollution.
As a result of the seminar on the socio-economic aspects of aquaculture development, the Tunision representatives reached the following conclusions :
- On a technical level, there is a more or less important lack of certain species considered to be of value and the only types that can amortize the technical investments ;
- The socio-economic viability of the projects is unclear due to the lack of meaningful results and competition from other sectors of production and the uncertainty of what the future results will be.
- The partial or total absence of a development plan for fishing aquaculture sectors in certain countries should be noted.
Recommendations made
- The need to plan aquaculture development in relation to the local physical and socio-economic conditions using better adapted technology,
- Help for projects of small and medium-sized concerns, by assuring scientific and technical assistance.
- Better comprehension of the Mediterranean markets for sea-products, and their prospects for evolution,
- Support efforts made in applied research and training in the various Mediterranean basin countries.
- Strengthen cooperation and exchange of information between neighbouring countries.
MOROCCO
The Moroccan representative suggested that research and analysis efforts be made, both by MEDRAP and the national specialists from the concerned countries in the following fields.
- To understand the different markets and prospects for the future for each of the Mediterranean countries,
- To define the level of compatibility between agriculture, fishing, tourism, and aquaculture in each region.
- To establish the various implications of aquaculture production systems aiming at a fair redistribution of created revenues.
To clearly establish the different social and judiciary aspects of aquaculture activities, particularly in relation to local communities.
YUGOSLAVIA
For the Yugoslavian representatives, the MEDRAP seminar on socio-economic aspects was especially interesting.
It showed the complexity of developing these new activities, the need to depend on technology which is more rational in relation to the local context and the need to train the people in charge.
The development of aquaculture in Mediterranean countries must yet deal with more problems :
- The amount of investments and the financial means necessary,
- On a technological level, methods of production must be rationalized in order to make them more operational,
- The need to train competent managers for modern aquaculture production especially in countries with no previous experience.
The recommendations rely particularly on MEDRAP's role and its future activities :
- MEDRAP must prolonge and reinforce its activities, especially concerning the exchange of experiments between countries;
- Mediterranean countries must stress the priority of orienting their aquaculture production towards domestic consumption; exports should be limited and optional;
- All production activities in sea-water must be controlled to ensure the protection of the ecological balance of the environment to permit aqaculture activities;
- To enhance the relationship between tourism and the consumption of sea-products;
- MEDRAP must develop its activities in the field of technology, biology, economics and training;
- In the case of Yugoslavia, shellfish farming must take precedence (mussel and oysters).
CYPRUS
The MEDRAP seminar on the socio-economic aspects of aquaculture showed that this activity can make positive contributions to national production. The areas where conflicts may arise were specified, as were the possibilities for compatibility and coexistance. Commercialization and marketing hold fundamental roles in the development of aquaculture.
Some conclusions may therefore be presented as recommendations :
- Planning the development of aquaculture must take into account social aspects;
- Aquaculture development must follow market trends as regards local market potential and export markets;
- A reliable statistical system must be set up, so that the prospective markets may be evaluated;
- MEDRAP must continue its technology transfer projects and regional cooperation. It must also develop socio-economic activities.
- On a national level, the resources must be carefully distributed in order to avoid conflicts between different producers;
- Aquaculture can be a source of employment. Its socio-economic impact must be seriously taken into account;
- The private sector can effectively handle the commercialization of new production while the State will provide the aid for the necessary infrastructures to develop aquaculture.
TURKEY
Researchers like to refer to the mediterranean as the “blue desert”. For the past 30 years, pollution has increased and it is feared that the Mediterranean will end up being a lake of destruction and death.
In order to stop this from happening, serious efforts must be made to maintain peace in the threatened area and strengthen cooperation and mutual help between all of the Mediterranean countries.
For a long time, the populations that oriented themselves towards fishing activities did so because they didn't have any economic prospects. Fishing is the activity of last recourse, undertaken with the single goal of survival and, up to now, governments haven't bothered to develop this activity.
Today, marine production has become an important sector perhaps even a vital one, and international cooperation has become essential.
The measures taken to develop this sector haven't yet given satisfactory and sufficient results.
The Turkish representatives feel that all Mediterranean countries must get together and share their “know-how”. In this way, the Mediterranean will become a “blue paradise” instead of a desert.
MEDRAP must help to find a solution to numerous problems, market knowledge, lagoon planning, aquaculture development, financial development, financial and socio-economic problems.
GREECE
The development of aquaculture in the Mediterranean has reached a critical threshold, because of the high degree of technology required and the complexity of establishing new production structures. Transfering this activity to interested countries requires a level of competence and previous experience which are often absent. Also, efforts made to quickly develop aquaculture have been bogged down by errors and setbacks which increase the value of previously chosen options. In most cases, transfering technology from one country to another has not sufficiently taken into account the local conditions and the region's needs.
A true development of aquaculture, and not the production of small quantities of aquaculture products, must be based on a local or national development plan, and certainly for the whole of the Mediterranean.
The understanding of the socio-economic context of the regions and the countries is essential before defining the aquaculture investments possible.
The successes and setbacks of aquaculture experiments may be useful, if an exchange of data and information is established between the countries concerned. MEDRAP can play an important role in this field.
MEDRAP measures must be pursued to accelerate the development of certain aquaculture sectors, and also to hinder programmes opposing this type of development. To increase its effectiveness, MEDRAP should be decentralised, by establishing representatives in each Mediterranean country.
ITALY
For Italian representatives, four principal factors determine the types of sea-production and their future :
- The environment in which aquaculture is carried out,
- The men who practice and develop this activity,
- The technology used and its results,
- Markets.
In the spirit, an effort must be undertaken to make a plan in order to follow the evolution of productive systems, of technology and markets, etc… Serious market studies will orient production. At the same time, technical support and research must develop with the help of technology transfer.
The recommendations made are based on the role that MEDRAP must ensure :
- Better cooperation between the Mediterranean countries,
- Better distribution of information,
- The development of stronger relations between the FAO and the E.E.C. (Spain, Portugal and Greece).
Beyond this, the Italian representatives note the necessity to :
- Undertake thorough market studies in order to direct production and new installations,
- Develop technical support and research in developing countries by transfering the technology best suited to the real conditions within various locations,
- Develop freshwater aquaculture by including it in future programmes.
SPAIN
Taking into account MEDRAP goals, which aim at better use of marine resources and the establishment of aquaculture production, the Spanish representatives think that in their country, special considerations must be made for the small-scale fishing in the inland waters of the Mediterranean :
- training in aquaculture must concern in priority the small-scale fishermen,
- Pluridisciplinary research centered on socio-economic aspects must be carried out before any measures and expert interventions are taken in the field;
- The development of production statistics procedures or an overall Mediterranean scale seems to be essential. In this pursuit, it is necessary to have :
Statistical information on the structure of aquaculture production.
Relative data on jobs created by this activity,
Statistics comparing the position of aquaculture production with other national means of production.
FRANCE
It seems important to have a clear overall understanding of what we call aquaculture. It is therefore necessary to make a reasonable inventory of all types of marine activities, from “catching” fish to the most sophisticated production system on a technological level.
We cannot have a restricted view of aquaculture in view of current experiments. These have existed for a very long time and have succeded well in certain fields, for example shellfish culture and fish culture. It can be efficient in new fields of production.
It would seem essential, within the framework of each Mediterranean country, to examine socio-economic and natural contexts in which productive system can be developed and the different types of possible aquaculture applications. One can often note that aquaculture experiments conducted within the Mediterranean basin reveal the same production systems which are independant of their local context and are not always adapted to the real needs of the countries involved.
The needs of each country are often very different. For example, in some cases, it is in response to an imbalance, in food production, for others, the priority is to increase exports.
The natural environment of each country is also highly varied, as some have large lagoon areas and strong fishing traditions, while others are poorly supplied in these fields.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Up to now, intensive aquaculture experiments have not given conclusive and lasting results on an economic level (apart from a few exceptions). Thus, when discussing future investments, we must be prudent when making technological choices, particularly in developing countries,
- Which are often more directed towards producing luxury products destined for European countries. Beyond the technological problems to be overcome (fry, feeding, etc… ) aquaculture must also face the problems of oversupply and of being too dependant on export markets.
The poor understanding of currently established markets for various products brings into question the effectiveness of aquaculture development plans.
A plan, whether regional and national, is essential due to the complex nature of aquaculture-related industries and the contributions of marine culture and other activities shouldn't stop at the border of each country.
In effect, conditions, and project development within each country make the international coordination of national policies essential.
On a national level, the measures must stress small-scale units which, due to their size, pose fewer management problems and function with more flexibility. These projects must have a priviliged status on domestic markets particularly in developing countries.
