Objective of “Good Legal and Institutional Arrangements”
The overall objective of good legal and institutional arrangements is to ensure that shrimp culture is practised and developed in a sustainable manner maximizing its contribution to the realization of national economic, social and nutritional goals for current and future generations.
What are legal and institutional arrangements?
Good legal and institutional arrangements reduce uncertainty by encouraging sustainable shrimp culture and protecting interested parties against potential negative social, environmental or economic impacts of shrimp culture. There are three aspects of legal and institutional arrangements:
A good way to understand an institutional and legal arrangement is to use an analogy with a sport, such as football. The rules of football consist of formal written rules and, often, unwritten codes of conduct, which underlie and supplement these formal rules such as good sportsmanship. For the game to function smoothly, the rules have to be workable and the cost of discovering violations not prohibitive. This means the rules have to be acceptable, practical, adaptable and enforceable. Compliance can be either voluntary; or by direct enforcement by the recognized authority of a referee and, more remotely, by the decisions of national and international football associations. Furthermore, the punishment for violations of rules have to be both appropriate and proportional and include a system of increasing sanctions for repeated violations. Appropriateness and proportionality implies that the level of punishment varies according to the nature, gravity and recurrence of the violation.
Even with a recognized set of rules, the game will be different according to the types of players. The game will be different between amateurs and professionals who have more skills and knowledge, or between a team in its first game and a team in its 100th game. This is the same for shrimp culture. As farmers increase their skills and knowledge and/or gain more experience in shrimp culture, they are likely to be better farmers. In addition, the perceptions of common rules will be different according to national social and economic development contexts. For example, in some countries, a particular set of rules may be perceived as unreasonably idealistic or costly to enforce or comply with, whilst in other countries, the same rules will be seen as being too rudimentary.
Staying with the football analogy, the interested parties of the game include direct participants (the players), those who can affect the game (referees, football associations, sponsors), those who are directly affected by the game (spectators) and those who are indirectly affected (such as people living close to the football stadium). In shrimp culture, direct participants would include farmers and investors; those who can affect the development and conduct of shrimp culture would include governments, regulatory bodies, NGOs, consumers and other sectors such as tourism; and those who are affected by shrimp culture would include local communities, fishers and other water users.
The third aspect of institutional and legal arrangements is the development of processes to encourage interested parties to agree and co-operate to achieve a common goal, whilst recognizing their individual objectives, capabilities, capacities and the resources available to them. A critical component of this process is the mechanisms that encourage interested parties to develop strategies to comply with, rather than break, the rules. For example, in football, the common goal could be to ensure that the game is enjoyable for all interested parties, despite the fact that interested parties may have different objectives. Players want to win the game, sponsors want to sell products and spectators want to show support for their team. By understanding each others objectives and agreeing that they share a common goal but different interests in the game, the rules can be designed to accommodate and achieve the goal.
In shrimp culture, the common goal should be sustainable shrimp culture, although different interested parties may have different goals and have yet to agree this common goal. Farmers want to make a profit, local communities want to maintain their livelihoods, investors want to ensure loans are repaid, processors want a good quality product and governments want export earnings. Inevitably there will be some trade-offs, but processes which take into account different interests and enable interested parties to work together, are more likely to lead to acceptable and more resilient institutional and legal arrangements.
There is a close interrelationship between the three elements of institutional and legal arrangements. The types of interested parties that emerge from the establishment of shrimp culture and how they evolve are fundamentally influenced by rules and processes. In turn, interested parties influence how rules and processes evolve.
Legally binding and non-binding instruments
Although the terms “guidelines” and “code of practice” are widely used, in relation to a broad spectrum of activities, they are expressions which often conceal a high degree of ambiguity. Most fundamentally, a distinction must be drawn between a formal legal requirement and obligation that arises from any set of guidelines or code of conduct.
A legal requirement is mandatory in nature, so that the failure to adhere to it is, potentially, the subject of whatever legal consequences follow from the breach. Where a requirement is provided for in guidelines or a code of conduct, however, the consequences of failing to adhere to it are less clear. In some instances, guidelines overlap with strict legal requirements so that the consequences of breach will be difficult to distinguish from a breach of a strict legal requirement. In other instances, guidelines address matters which are not the subject of legal requirements and for which no specific legal penalty is provided. In such instances, there is a range of possible consequences that depend upon the status of the code, the body that has established it and the process that led to its elaboration.
In some instances adherence to guidelines may be supported by various non-mandatory mechanisms to encourage compliance. Education and training may be used to instill in those to whom the code is addressed an appreciation that compliance is in the best interests of those individuals and the industry of which they form a part. Economic and other kinds of incentive may also be used to provide important financial incentives for compliance. Possibly, shrimp farming associations may give their weight to the need for compliance with guidelines by the imposition of internal pressures, such as making compliance with guidelines a condition of membership of the association and receiving any commercial or other benefits which membership entails. In each instance, however, the distinction must be emphasized that guidelines are not normally supported by any formal legal sanction of the kind that is available where legislative requirements are involved.
The role of (legally) non-binding instruments
The lack of formal legal sanctions to support guidelines or codes of practice should not be regarded as a problem. Indeed, the economic pressures to adhere to a code of practice might be seen by many shrimp farmers as a greater reason for compliance than the possibility of a legal penalty that might accompany breach of a legislative requirement. Clearly guidelines have a valuable function, but it is a function that is important to distinguish from that provided by strict legal requirements.
Similarly in the description of key elements of institutional and legal arrangements that follow, it is hoped that the non-mandatory character of the regulatory practices that are proposed will not detract from their value as a guide to good institutional and legal practice. The objective has been to identify good institutional and legislative practice from amongst the countries that have been surveyed. Largely, therefore, the elements of institutional and legal arrangements that are discussed consist of a consolidation of examples of good practice distilled from the actual practice of jurisdictions where shrimp farming is presently undertaken. Whatever obligation attaches to adherence to these elements will derive from the emergence of a general consensus that they represent good institutional and legal practice for shrimp farming.
The approach
In relation to the following elements on institutional and legal arrangements, the principal addressees are the governments of those countries in which shrimp farming is undertaken. The enactment of legislation, policy-making and planning is usually a function of government, though some degree of devolution of legislative powers is found in many jurisdictions. Therefore, the responsibility for establishing a satisfactory institutional and legal framework for shrimp farming, and ensuring its proper administration, implementation and enforcement, rests largely with national governments.
The limitations of addressing common guidelines to different governments must also be acknowledged. The difficulty is that of formulating generally applicable guidelines for countries with shrimp farming industries in different stages of development. Guidelines which fail to take sufficient account of the national economic and developmental contexts in which shrimp farming is undertaken will be perceived to be unreasonably idealistic by some governments to which they are addressed and, at the same time, perhaps seen as too pedestrian by other governments. Because of these concerns, the elements described in this document have sought to strike a pragmatic balance between the possible extremes of institutional and legal arrangements.
Nonetheless, the need for specific guidelines for different developmental contexts is fully recognized. Finally, guidelines have a dynamic and progressive character so that, though they may represent good practice at the present time, the concept of ‘good practice’ evolves over time and will need to be superseded as actual practices improve.
Structure of this document
As already explained, institutional and arrangements are comprised of three components: rules, interested parties and processes. There is no hierarchy to these components; all are equally important and all interrelated. However, there is far less information available on interested parties and processes than on rules as witnessed by the survey on the national regulation of shrimp culture, conducted under the auspices of the FAO Legal Office. Experience suggests that the weakest components of institutional and legal arrangements in shrimp culture, have not been the rules per se, but the parties and processes supporting the development, implementation and enforcement of these rules. For this reason, the following document addresses generic elements concerning processes and parties first, and then addresses elements concerning rules.
Processes
An important component of any good legal and institutional arrangement (GLIA), is to ensure that there are adequate processes to encourage interested parties to agree and co-operate together to achieve common goals and realistic and acceptable rules as well as to develop strategies which comply with, rather than break, the rules. For shrimp culture, the critical processes are as follows.
Reviews
Good institutional and legal arrangements depend on existing laws, traditions, institutional and consultative structures. Therefore, before any changes are introduced to institutional and legal arrangements, it is necessary to first review the current situation. A legal review would look into legislation, codes of practice, policies and plans and any rule which may affect shrimp culture.
A review of the responsibilities, roles and structures of formal and informal institutions involved in shrimp culture is also essential. The review should include the identification of interested parties. Such a review will help in the selection or development of appropriate mechanisms and responsible authorities at various levels to co-ordinate and manage the sector and/or make recommendations to streamline and consolidate roles, responsibilities and structures of existing institutions.
The institutional and legal arrangements have to be reviewed periodically to allow for regular updating in the light of developments in the shrimp culture sector.
Deliberations
Consultation with, and among, interested parties makes it easier to develop more realistic and effective institutional and legal arrangements by bringing greater information and broader experiences into the process, embedding new initiatives into existing arrangements and by increasing an understanding of goals and aspirations of interested parties.
Decisions should be the outcome of a process that provides channels and consultative structures for representations to be made by the different individuals and interest groups involved and for these to be fully and fairly considered in the formulation of policy or the making of any particular rule or procedure.
The greatest possible degree of transparency in the operation of any institutional and legal arrangement is desirable, so that the responsible authority is required to make decisions against explicit criteria as to how competing demands for shared resources are to be reconciled against the needs of shrimp culture.
No particular consultative structure can be recommended. Different approaches may be used for different tasks and for different interested parties. However, it is highly desirable that mechanisms are developed which include vulnerable groups and in order to overcome social norms undermining the participation of certain interested parties in the consultation process. Furthermore all participants in the consultative process should have realistic expectations of their roles and not be misled into believing that their role is more influential than it actually is, or vice versa.
Zonal planning
States should recognize the multiple use nature of coastal resources and the sensitivity of ecologically important habitats. Coastal zone planning is an important tool to identify and allocate areas permissible for aquaculture, including shrimp culture development.
The overall distribution of public and private rights to own and use coastal resources should be conducive to protecting the environmental quality and long-term sustainable development of coastal resources. An appropriate balance between shrimp culture concerns and public concerns, including the rights of local communities, should be reached in the allocation and use of land for shrimp culture purposes. Zoning for shrimp culture will contribute to the co-ordinated development of individual farms and be particularly beneficial for small scale shrimp farmers while reducing the negative impacts often associated with shrimp culture.
In carrying out zonal planning for shrimp culture development, States should take into account, amongst others, (a) carrying capacity of the ecosystem, (b) technical and environmental compatibility, (c) social and economic criteria, (d) the use of sea and freshwater (e) involvement of local communities and relevant interested parties, (f) integration into other forms of farming practices, (g) effluent and waste management, and (h) provision of appropriate infrastructure.
Environmental impact assessments
Many countries have introduced environmental impact assessment procedures in relation to shrimp culture. There are many differences concerning the stage at which the EIA is required as well as the contents of the EIA procedure. Ideally, the EIA should occur as early as possible in the process of analyzing a proposed project or programme. EIAs should contemplate cumulative and long term social and health risks and impacts; large-scale effects; design, location and technological alternatives to the proposal being assessed and sustainability considerations including resource productivity, assimilative capacity and biological diversity.
Economic incentives for compliance
Weak enforcement mechanisms often do not encourage compliance. Inadequate penalties do not function as a sufficient deterrent. It is particularly important to develop economic incentives to increase the net benefits to farmers and to make compliance with the rules more attractive than breaking the rules. These incentives may include taxes on unsustainable practices and eco-labelling. To secure compliance, economic incentives must be cost-effective to administer.
Extension and training
Training, education, awareness creating programmes and use of extension to support institutional and legal arrangements are extremely important. This should include information dissemination on current and proposed rules and compliance mechanisms. States should pay special attention to small scale farmers and help them in improving their culture practices through the provision of extension services and training.
Training and education programmes should also include training interested parties in their role in the consultative process.
Consideration needs to be given to whether provision of training programmes and extension services are a legal obligation upon States, or whether they can be voluntarily provided, for example, by producers’ associations.
Research
To improve the knowledge base for sustainable shrimp culture, appropriate research is encouraged on topics such as the carrying capacity of coastal ecosystems and improved management practices.
Financial arrangements
Sustainable shrimp culture is a means of achieving such national goals as food production, employment and foreign exchange earnings. To achieve these goals appropriate financial mechanisms should be made available.
Information collection and dissemination
There should be a general obligation upon States to secure free access to all publicly held information which is relevant to the development and conduct of shrimp culture.
Procedures should be implemented to enable regular collection and analysis of data from farmers and such information should, within the constraints of commercial confidentiality, be disseminated to interested parties.
States should develop and make information available on suitable site selection criteria for shrimp farming, and identify sites, locations and zones suitable for shrimp farm development.
Monitoring
To assure that shrimp culture development and management are proceeding in a sustainable manner, impacts on environmental and social conditions potentially affected by the shrimp farming activity should be regularly monitored.
Research and environmental monitoring should be directed towards provision of improved information for the formulation and implementation of laws, regulations and effective codes of conduct for the development and management of shrimp culture.
Enforcement
Acknowledging the importance of ensuring compliance with the regulatory framework governing shrimp culture, various mechanisms of enforcement should be taken into consideration. These mechanisms may include administrative sanctions, social sanctions, mediation and arbitration and traditional community dispute resolution.
Shrimp culture legislation requires adequate mechanisms for enforcement. Moreover, given the specialized nature of shrimp culture, and the corresponding level of technical expertise that must be possessed by regulators, the cost of enforcement might be considerable. States should recognize, however, the potential environmental, economic and social cost of not enforcing relevant legislation.
Analyzing the areas where there are the greatest risks of non-compliance and where an improvement in compliance will have the greatest impacts, will contribute to more effective use of compliance resources.
A key goal of regulatory enforcement should be transparency. Enforcement institutions should provide information as to the staffing and resources available for enforcement purposes, and uses that will be made of discretion in exercising regulatory powers, such as the circumstances in which prosecutions will be initiated. Public reports should be periodically provided by enforcement institutions that document the manner in which regulatory powers have been exercised and including details and results of specific legal proceedings.
Interested parties
Interested parties include direct participants in shrimp culture, those who can influence the development and conduct of shrimp culture and, those who are affected by shrimp culture.
Identification of interested parties
It is necessary to identify interested parties in order to include them in the consultative process and to determine who will be positively or negatively affected by changes in the institutional and legal arrangements.
Objective and transparent criteria for defining interested parties should be developed and regularly reviewed so that parties are clear as to who should be involved in the consultation process.
Allocation of institutional responsibilities
Institutional responsibilities for shrimp culture need to be defined in legislation so that rights and duties relating to policy formulation and implementation, economic incentives, law enforcement, product quality control and the provision of support services concerning research, education and training are allocated to appropriate bodies.
There should be a clear allocation of institutional responsibilities for policy, legislation, enforcement and plan formulation and implementation, which are aligned with existing institutional capacities and resources and minimize overlapping and conflicting responsibilities. Where possible, an overall responsible lead authority for coastal aquaculture, where appropriate for shrimp culture, should be established.
Given that several licences, permits or other authorizations are typically required from different government institutions, a lead authority should be identified in order to streamline and co-ordinate the authorization process for establishing a shrimp farm as well as to monitor and control compliance with the respective terms and conditions attached to such licenses, permits or other authorizations.
Specialist bodies
Insofar as shrimp culture is the subject of specific legislation, that legislation must be implemented and enforced by authorities which are staffed by a sufficient number of appropriately qualified staff and provided with adequate resources to ensure that the legislation is effectively and efficiently enforced.
Considering the importance of collective action in sustainable development, shrimp farmer groups and associations should be encouraged.
It is in the interests of farmers operating within a particular aquatic system to form representative bodies or associations to co-operate in the environmental management of that system. This could include regular reporting of environmental and socio-economic conditions as well as the establishment of a fund for environmental restoration and maintenance.
Rules for shrimp culture
Basic principles: legislation
The most important controls upon shrimp culture should be provided in legislation which should be focused on shrimp culture activities and coastal aquaculture. The enactment of shrimp culture legislation without providing adequate mechanism for law enforcement is not satisfactory. An appropriate balance between mandatory measures and other obligations and incentives for securing compliance should be sought.
The enactment of activity-specific legislation should not preclude shrimp culture from being governed by additional legislation relating to matters such as land use, environmental and ecological quality, and public health and food safety where these are satisfactorily provided for within more general regulatory regimes.
The enactment of legislation concerning shrimp culture should not preclude the use of non-mandatory mechanisms for the encouragement of increasingly higher standards of performance in all aspects of the industry. The use of informal or incentive-based measures for the improvement of standards should be encouraged and supported by whatever means are appropriate but should not be seen as a substitute for legislation on matters of paramount concern to the sustainable development of the industry.
The costs of over-regulation and excessive administrative burdens on shrimp farmers should be recognized. Shrimp farmers can become overburdened by mandatory legal requirements which are inappropriate or disproportionate in relation to their objectives. These can obstruct effective enforcement and increase the potential for corrupt practices. In a situation where mandatory and non-mandatory mechanisms are likely to be equally effective as means of securing a desired improvement, the least coercive mechanism is preferred.
It should be recognized that over-regulation also leads to an increasing bureaucratic burden on administrators and which increases the cost of administration and the potential for corrupt practices.
The application of ‘sustainable development’ to shrimp culture should be explicitly interpreted nationally, and sometimes in relation to local circumstances. Where appropriate, the need for sustainable development should be explicitly incorporated in legislation governing shrimp culture. In addition, performance indicators (particularly for sustainability) to measure achievement of policy and legislative objectives should be identified.
Relevant interested parties should take management decisions for shrimp culture based on the best scientific evidence available, also taking into account traditional knowledge of the resources and their habitat, as well as relevant environmental, economic and social factors. Where current knowledge is insufficient, for example in respect to environmental carrying capacity, the precautionary approach should be adopted.
Protection of shrimp farming from other activities
Shrimp culture is completely dependent upon good water quality and therefore vulnerable to contamination from industrial, agricultural and other effluent sources. Pollution of water supplies will impact shrimp health or cause contamination to shrimp stocks, with consequent food safety implications.
Shrimp farms are therefore entitled to regulatory protection against pollution. Discharge licencing requirements should be applied to all significant dischargers of harmful effluents so that the quality of water is maintained at a level which ensures that there are no harmful effects upon shrimp farms in the vicinity. Where effluent quality parameters governing harmful discharges are exceeded, environmental regulatory authorities should pursue legal proceedings and, where provided for, seek compensation from dischargers for any damage caused to shrimp farms.
Basic principles: Codes of practice
Voluntary codes of conduct, codes of practice and guidelines can be extremely useful, and States should encourage and participate in their development.
Codes of practice addressed to shrimp farmers perform an important role in identifying good practices and encouraging adherence to their principles whilst avoiding the potential adverse effects of unnecessary legal formality, and reducing regulatory costs. Codes are a means for promoting efficiency, providing protection and assurance to consumers and producers, and helping to achieve sustainable shrimp culture operations. Nonetheless, to be effective, a code of practice has to have a widely recognized status. This is usually acquired by its promulgation by a body that is acknowledged to have recognized technical expertise and the capacity to formulate principles of conduct which are generally endorsed as being in the best interests of the industry and its participants.
Codes can be developed at local, national, sub-regional, regional and international level as well as for various sectors - production, processing, suppliers, importers - wherever there is a cohesive unit of participants.
Associations of those involved in shrimp culture have an important collective interest in the quality of the product that they produce and the enhancement of the public perception of the industry as being committed to achieve high environmental and social standards. Hence, where a shrimp culture association exists, it should work towards performing an important educational and quality enhancement role and influencing its members to maintain the highest possible standards. Accordingly a shrimp culture association should establish a code of practice and exert its influence over its members to encourage adherence to that code.
In some cases, the government is best placed to produce and disseminate a code of practice on shrimp culture and should in every case give careful consideration to the benefits which may be secured by the establishment of an appropriate code to encourage standards to be raised beyond the minimum required by regulatory provisions.
Whether a code of practice is formulated by a government department or a shrimp farming association, it must be recognized that promulgation of a code carries a continuing commitment upon the part of that department or association to use all reasonable means to ensure that the code is fully and effectively implemented.
Land tenure arrangements
States and governments should recognize that a shrimp farmer is a legitimate user of coastal resources. Relevant legislation should provide for clearly defined and legally enforceable land use rights for shrimp farmers. Land use rights should allow the shrimp farmer to conduct his/her activities in a responsible manner and contribute to the achievement of good shrimp culture management practices.
There needs to be an effective mechanism to ensure that the use of land does not detract from public interests in the protection of the environment and ecosystems, and that there is no unacceptable intrusion upon the rights of others to make use of land or water.
In allocating land use rights for shrimp culture, States should also protect the rights of traditional local communities. Where and when necessary, mechanisms should be put in place for settling conflicts between shrimp farmers and traditional local communities of a coastal area and for compensating them, as appropriate, for any damage the development of shrimp culture might create to them.
Where land which is to be used for shrimp culture is within the public domain, there needs to be a mechanism for ensuring that shrimp culture is appropriately undertaken at the proposed location and that the authorization to conduct shrimp culture at that location is subject to whatever conditions are necessary to ensure the protection of public interests.
Where government financial support is provided for the acquisition of land-use rights for the purposes of shrimp culture, appropriate environmental, ecological and other public-interest conditions should be imposed, along with effective mechanisms to ensure continuing compliance with such conditions.
The authorities responsible respectively for the allocation of land-use rights and for aquaculture in a coastal area should closely collaborate and consult with each other to ensure that the development of shrimp culture activities takes place in the light of the local, regional and national policy objectives for the development of shrimp culture and the management of the coastal zone.
Shrimp culture development license
A shrimp culture development licence should be established to enable the commencement of shrimp culture operations, whether on public or private land. The shrimp culture development licence should require prospective shrimp farmers to prevent the potential adverse environmental, ecological and social impacts of his/her activity.
In particular, the authority responsible for granting the shrimp culture development licence should have the powers to consider a license application in the context of:
Where an environmental assessment is a mandatory requirement for obtaining an aquaculture development licence, the circumstances in which such assessment is required should be clearly spelled out either in the law or in another formal instrument and take place preferably before the acquisition of land use rights.
Where potential adverse impacts cannot be satisfactorily accommodated by the imposition of appropriate conditions, the shrimp culture development licence should be used to prevent the commencement of shrimp culture activities in unsuitable locations or to prevent the establishment of an excessive concentration of farms in particular areas.
Where a shrimp culture development licence is required for a specified kind or size of shrimp farm, or a shrimp farm in a particular area, commencement of shrimp culture in breach of licence should be subject to a penalty. As appropriate, powers to remove an unlawfully established shrimp farm and to restore the site to its former condition.
Continuing controls upon shrimp culture activities
Although shrimp culture development licence is an effective means of regulating the initial establishment of shrimp farms, it is not always a sufficient means of controlling the various continuing activities that take place at shrimp farms.
Accordingly, there are a range of further licences, permits or other authorizations which may need to be imposed to address the day-to-day activities which are capable of giving rise to environmental, ecological and social concerns. These are considered in more detail in the subsequent sections. Where possible, States should consider incorporating these various authorizations into a unique set of terms and conditions attached to the aquaculture development licence.
Where new legislation is being enacted, the interests of those persons engaged in shrimp culture should be carefully considered. Special transitional provisions may need to be provided for existing shrimp farms to allow them to comply with the new legal requirements.
Fresh water use
Given the increasing scarcity of freshwater resources, appropriate regulatory mechanisms should be put in place to ensure sustainable use of these resources.
Where competing demands for water supplies exist, these are most effectively addressed and reconciled by the use of a water licensing system which requires a shrimp farmer to obtain a licence for water use and not to exceed the authorized amount of use or to contravene any conditions to which water use is subject. As appropriate, a water licensing system may be combined with the pricing of water as appropriate.
Government and/or farmer associations, in collaboration with other water resource users, should agree on appropriate quality standards for open water and groundwater within a defined aquatic system used for shrimp culture, and develop an arrangement to maintain these standards.
Wastewater discharge licensing
The discharge of wastewater and sediment from shrimp farms is capable of having significant adverse effects upon the quality of receiving waters and the ecosystems. In addition, wastewater discharges are capable of spreading contamination and disease to other shrimp farms that are dependent upon the same receiving waters as a source of water supply. Where the quality of wastewater is a matter of concern, the problem may be most effectively addressed by the imposition of a licensing requirement upon the wastewater discharges from shrimp farms.
A suitably empowered authority should be entitled to impose conditions upon the quality of effluent that may be discharged from a shrimp farm, or to require alternative methods of effluent treatment.
The failure of a shrimp farmer to meet the conditions of a waste water discharge licence should be subject to a requirement that specific measures are taken to ensure that future effluent quality is satisfactory and perhaps, to a penalty.
Shrimp movement licensing
The unrestricted collection and movement of shrimp, potentially over large distances and between different countries and ecosystems, raises various concerns relating to the impact that the collection of stock and the introduction of non-native stock may have upon local aquatic ecosystems. Appropriate legal mechanisms are needed to address these concerns and these may take the form of prohibitions, restrictions or licensing measures to regulate the collection of stock from the wild and to control the introduction of non-native stock into shrimp farms.
The movement of living aquatic animals within and across national boundaries should be regulated consistent with the international standards and obligations (e.g. the Office of International Epizooties (OIE) International Aquatic Animal Health Code and the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement)).
The movement of diseased stock between shrimp culture installations in different ecosystems enables the transmission of disease with potentially devastating consequences for the industry. Hence this concern could be addressed by the imposition of an authorization requirement and the adoption of an information procedure concerning the movement of shrimp stock.
Disease and health management
Farmers, government and hatcheries should co-operate to develop a disease prevention and management plan to minimize disease incidence. Such a plan could include regular monitoring and control of major pathogens in farmed and wild stocks, reporting procedures and actions to be taken in the event of a potential or actual disease outbreak, as well as testing and certification of hatchery seed and location requirements.
States should adopt appropriate legislation to implement the disease and health prevention and management plan and report notifiable diseases to the Office of International Epizooties.
Genetically Modified Organisms
The possibility of practical use being made of genetically modified organisms in shrimp culture, outside secure laboratory conditions, is a matter which raises a range of environmental, ecological and commercial concerns which require a strongly precautionary legislative approach.
Whilst legislation governing the use of genetically modified organisms in shrimp culture is rapidly becoming a necessity, given the potential implications of genetic modification across all aspects of agriculture and fisheries, it may be preferable for this issue to be addressed under more broadly-based legislative instruments which regulate the use of genetically modified organisms generally.
Chemical use restrictions
The potentially harmful effects of various chemicals used in shrimp culture, in relation to both the environment, the farmers and the consumers of shrimp products, may be effectively regulated by the formulation of product standards and controls on the use and distribution of chemicals.
A list of chemicals the use of which is duly approved for the purposes of shrimp culture should be made available to the farmers.
Farmers should have the duty to record and report to the appropriate authority the use of chemicals in shrimp culture which are hazardous to human health and the environment.
A legal mechanism should exist to prohibit or restrict the use of chemicals that are seriously harmful to the environment or human health in shrimp culture. Where necessary, further similar controls should be applied to prohibit or restrict the import, manufacture, marketing, distribution and sale of relevant substances where these are done for shrimp farming purposes.
Where pesticides, veterinary medicines, food additives or other chemicals are lawfully used in shrimp culture, further measures should be established to monitor the presence of these chemicals in the broader aquatic environment and to ensure that they are not present in excessive concentrations in shrimp products.
Feed sources and utilization
Sources of feed used in shrimp culture should be selected to minimize adverse impacts upon the environment and the use of feeds should be conducted so as to secure minimum feed wastage and nutrient loss to, and contamination of, the environment.
It may be appropriate for legal powers to be provided to national authorities to certify commercial shrimp feed to confirm that undesirable constituents are absent or only present in allowable quantities.
Although the misuse of shrimp feed at the farm level may be effectively regulated by waste water discharge controls, the need for appropriate use of feed may be best considered within non-mandatory codes of practice addressed to shrimp farmers. Where possible, shrimp farmer organizations and government should collaborate in the development of such codes.
Product quality controls
Shrimp, as a food product, must be subject to a system of public health certification whereby processing, distribution and sale is regulated to ensure the safety of consumers.
Public health and food safety are clearly matters which extend beyond shrimp products, and it is sensible, therefore, that this area should apply consistent regulatory principles to all food products, and be enforced by a food inspectorate equipped with the specialized expertise to ensure that no contaminated product is allowed to enter any part of the food chain.
Initially, public health and food safety should be provided for, as a matter of national law, but insofar as shrimp products are intended for export they will also have to satisfy the public health and consumer safety requirements of those countries to which shrimp products are exported.
Internationalization of standards
In respect of food safety, it will be necessary for those countries that produce shrimp for export to meet agreed international standards.
Progressively, the FAO Code of Conduct on Responsible Fisheries should become influential in determining the scope and content of national legislation and countries should endeavor to amend national legislation to give effect to the Code.
