Site selection and carrying capacity in Mediterranean ... - FAO Sipam

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Whenever zoning has been developed as a study or technical scheme, in general it is not included in
any official procedure or regulation; therefore, it is not mandatory and aquaculture farms could be
located either in the proposed area as per plan or in other areas. Albeit not compulsory, this type of
zoning provides useful information for potential aquaculture operators and public administrative
bodies. On the other hand, zoning or allocation of zones for aquaculture (AZA) regulated by
procedures prescribes that aquaculture can be developed only in specific areas. It seems clear that
zoning areas for aquaculture simplifies the siting and allocation processes, reducing administrative
procedures and enabling aquaculture development. Nevertheless, several aspects are noteworthy:
- the criteria applied for the selection of zones;
- the decision-making process, including the participation of stakeholders;
- the period of time required for the approval of the zoning.
The data from the surveys (almost half of the surveyed countries have some specific planning for
aquaculture) confirm the tendency noted since the beginning of the twentieth century, i.e. an increase
in the number of countries which allocate specific areas for aquaculture. The example of Montenegro
is representative, since the new law includes as a tool a ‘mariculture development plan’ to be
approved by the Government on the recommendation of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Water Management, which in turn will be based on analysis of sustainable development of
mariculture, especially taking into account, biological, typological, hydro-morphological and physicochemical
characteristics of zones for mariculture defined by the spatial plan.
In Egypt, planning includes specific zoning for aquaculture, regulated by specific criteria; therefore
aquaculture can be developed only in those areas determined by the regulations.
Noteworthy is that in some countries such as Spain and Italy, the responsibility for aquaculture falls
under the regional governments. Therefore, although there is no national planning or zoning for
aquaculture, several localities have developed their own planning at the regional level. For instance, in
Italy the regions of Veneto (regional law n°10/1999 and the specific regional decree on EIA), Friuli
V.G. (regional law n°10/1977 and legional law n°52/1991), Emilia R. (regional law 31/05/2002 n°9
before the last FIFG, regional law 16/11/2000, n°35: procedures for EIA), Tuscany (regional law
2005 n°66), Sicily (guideline for mariculture – Nov. 2008), Liguria (regional decree 30/11/2007
n°1415). In Spain, the regions of Andalusia, Galicia, Murcia and the Canary Islands have developed
or are in the process of developing some type of aquaculture planning.
Undoubtedly, aquaculture planning is the basic tool to overcome the conflicts resulting from use of
space and pressures on the coast. In the Mediterranean, problems and conflicts arise mainly with
tourism (93% of the countries studied), and to a lesser extend with fisheries (60%), urban
development (40%) and environmental issues and protected areas (40% respectively).
From the survey, it results that conflicts with the industry or navigation (14%) are a minority, and
there seems to be no problem at all with ports except in Israel (although in the other countries
conflicts with yachting facilities are probably under the category ‘tourism’).
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