Zone Management
Patrick White Senior Consultant Akvaplan-niva Patrick White is a specialist in marine fish hatchery production and an expert on the environmental impacts of aquaculture. He has over 35 years of experience in the private sector, as well as governmental research and work for international agencies. Currently, White is a senior consultant at Akvaplan-niva, which integrates research, decision support and technical innovation to secure economic value and safe environmental operations for businesses, authorities and other clients worldwide.
Aquaculture Zoning, Site Selec2on And Area Management Under The Ecosystem Approach To Aquaculture Patrick White Presenta.on on behalf of the FAO and World Bank Group
FAO and World Bank Ini.a.ve
Ra.onale The selec.on of the spa.al area designated for aquaculture development and careful selec.on of farm sites are essen.al first steps to ensure the success and sustainability of aquaculture. They should be carried out in accordance with the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, (CCRF) and the Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA)
Ini.a.ve development process Analysis of 10 case studies 1. Brazilian Aquaculture Parks 2. Aquaculture site selec.on and zoning in Oman 3. Mariculture Parks in the Philippines 4. Aquaculture parks in Uganda 5. Mariculture Zones in Turkey 6. The spa.al planning of marine sea cage farming in Chile 7. Zonal aquaculture in China and Indonesia 8. Site selec.on for coastal aquaculture in Indonesia 9. Aquaculture zoning, site selec.on and area management in ScoFsh marine finfish produc.on 10. Spa.al planning of shrimp farming in Mexico Workshop on Aquaculture Zoning, Site Selec.on and Area management, 24 27 May 2015 in Izmir, Turkey
Problems and opportuni.es Problems Fish disease and lack of effec.ve biosecurity e.g. when farms are too close to each other. Environmental issues such as eutrophica.on; biodiversity and ecosystem service loses, e.g. when there are too many farms in a given area/water body. Produc2on issues such as lower growth and biomass of filter feeders (e.g. oysters, mussels) due excessive farming density and overharves.ng of common pool microalgae. Social conflicts, equity issues and lack of public confidence in the sustainability of aquaculture; e.g. when aquaculture is compe.ng with other users for access to water and space use. Opportuni2es Minimizing fish disease risks and bezer response to outbreaks. BeZer coordinated and integrated approaches to the use and management of natural resources. BeZer understanding of cumula.ve and combined environmental effects and of interac.ons between users and the environment. Improved filter- feeders produc.vity and yield. Improved accountability and transparency through relevant stakeholder involvement at all levels.
Problems and opportuni.es Problems Post- harvest and marke.ng issues; e.g. when individual neighbor farmers do not have access to postharvest services. Risk financing. Na.onal governments and financing ins.tu.ons do not have a good knowledge of where the prospects for aquaculture development are most promising before commiang resources to development. Lack of resilience to clima.c variability, climate change and other external threats and disasters e.g. hurricanes, tsunamis, drought, and industrial pollu.on of water sources. Opportuni2es Clusters of farmers having bezer access to common postharvest processes and other services. Area- based management and cer.fica.on as a governance and risk- sharing model for sustainable aquaculture. Na.onal- level informa.on on areas available to invest on aquaculture. Implemen.ng area- based management strategies (e.g. clusters of farmers) to facilitate access to finance. A more resilient sector, bezer adapted to shocks. More effec.ve mechanisms for governments and other ins.tu.ons including civil society organiza.ons to deliver services and fulfill their commitments to sustainable aquaculture development.
Approach Spa.al planning for aquaculture zoning, site selec.on and the design of aquaculture management areas should consider the social, economic, environmental and governance objec.ves of sustainable development. This is especially relevant when aquaculture takes place in common proper.es such as shared water resources or resources owned by the State. The Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries encourages the concept of sustainability in aquaculture planning and management. The Ecosystem Approach for Aquaculture develops the CCRF concepts into a strategy that integrates aquaculture into the wider ecosystem
The planning and management process The process of spa.al planning usually consists of three steps: 1. aquaculture zoning 2. site selec.on 3. aquaculture management areas or AMAs. The EAA offers an appropriate framework to develop management plans for AMAs that go beyond the individual farms.
Designated aquaculture zone (hatched area in blue color) represen.ng an estuary and the adjacent coastal marine area. Individual farms/sites (F) owned by different farmers, are presented in different colors. Clusters of farms illustrate examples of aquaculture management areas (AMAs), grouped according to a set of criteria that include risks and opportuni.es. Zones, Sites and AMAs
Aquaculture zoning An aquaculture zone consists of a hydrological system which is suitable for aquaculture that encompasses part of or an en.re catchment area from the source of a waterway to the estuary, water body (lake or dam), coastal area, or off the coast area, that has been allocated to develop aquaculture. The crea.on of zones facilitates the integra.on of aquaculture ac.vi.es into broader areas designated to other uses. It contributes to bezer coordina.on among the public agencies involved in aquaculture licensing and monitoring processes and facilitates collec.ve ac.on and joint management by nearby producers.
Aquaculture zoning Zones require prudent observa.on so as to avoid disease and environmental pollu.on through over concentrated development. The zoning process is normally led by na.onal or local governments with important stakeholder par.cipa.on, fed by relevant informa.on and supported by relevant regula.ons. Aquaculture zoning in Turkey with the loca.on of individual farms
Individual site selec.on Site selec.on is based on the suitability for development of a given aquaculture ac.vity, taking into account the physical factors of the environment and the farming system. Site selec.on depends on the species to be cultured, technology to be used, type of culture system to be adopted, the loca.on and interac.ons between the systems, and the surrounding environment. Decisions on site selec.on are usually made on an individual basis in response to applica.ons for tenure. Site selec.on study. University of S.rling
Individual site selec.on This process is normally led by the private sector. The Government assists with clear regula.ons for the process and requirements for site licensing. Site selec.on process and formal site alloca.on are generally well regulated and, in most aquaculture producer countries, follow a well established process. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is usually needed, especially for larger scale industrial aquaculture. The process, however, may ignore poten.al accumula.ve effects from nearby farms or other sources.
Aquaculture Management Areas An exis.ng aquaculture zone with individual land- based farms (F), e.g. cafish ponds, that may be owned by different farmers The zone is divided into four aquaculture management areas (AMAs). The common water sources and water flow (arrows) could be the priority criteria (e.g. addressing fish health and environmental risks) to set boundaries of the AMAs. The design of AMAs in areas where aquaculture already exists such as pond culture in Asia could be essen.al to sustainable intensifica.on of produc.on there.
Aquaculture Management Areas Numerous small scale aquaculture units can have a significant collec.ve impact on the recipient water body so that strategic environmental management is needed, poten.ally in the form of a joint EIA or Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment (SEIA) for all concerned farms. The need to develop biosecurity management plans is especially relevant to AMAs where farms are close together and/or connected by water flow or currents.
Aquaculture Management Areas Aquaculture management areas (AMAs), can be aquaculture parks, aquaculture clusters or any aquaculture area within a zone where farms share a common waterbody or water source and that may benefit from a common management system aimed at minimizing environmental, social and fish health risks AMAs can also be quite beneficial for groups of small farmers seeking joint access to feed, seed, technical support services, markets and postharvest services.
Aquaculture Management Areas AMAs require an administra.ve structure and a management system that includes seang limits to the maximum produc.on per area according to carrying capacity, distance among the farms, and density of fish within farms. Such a system should include integrated monitoring (for the area as a whole) and remedial ac.on plans for environmental quality, fish health, and other relevant parameters. The defini.on/crea.on of AMAs could be a significant step forward to the sustainable intensifica.on of aquaculture especially in regions where the farms are already opera.ng and having difficulty with diseases and/or nega.ve environmental impacts.
Example Scoash Zoning & Management Areas
Zoning, Si.ng and AMAs Zoning for Long term dedicated area for aquaculture Disease zoning Cumula.ve carrying capacity limits Si.ng for Individual farm limits (spa.al and produc.on) AMAs for Cluster management (disease, environment, social) collec.ve cer.fica.on of products under an ecosystem perspec.ve.
FAO and WB are developing several products such as manuals and guides to support countries to uptake this approach. Pilot implementa.on and upscaling will be essen.al. For Further details Contact Doris Soto doris.soto@fao.org José Aguilar Manjarrez jose.aguilarmanjarrez@fao.org Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Food and Agriculture Organiza2on of the United Na2ons (FAO) Rome, Italy Randall BrummeX rbrummez@worldbank.org Environment and Natural Resources World Bank Washington, DC. United States of America