Stimulating investment in pearl farming in ... - World Fish Center

Page 144.3. PolicyThe current government’s stated policy goal for the fisheries sector is ‘the development andsustainable utilisation of sea and marine resources to benefit and contribute to the well beingof Solomon Islanders’. The policy is accompanied by eight expected outcomes and a series ofassociated strategies, most of which relate to managing and increasing economic benefitsfrom capture fisheries, especially tunas. None of the outcomes or strategies make anyreference to aquaculture.MFMR’s Aquaculture Development Plan (hereinafter referred to as the Plan) contains anumber of statements of policy in regard to aquaculture in general and pearl farming inparticular. The Plan recognises that the Ministry lacks knowledge and experience ofaquaculture, and that institutional strengthening and human resource development arerequired. It also acknowledges the absence of appropriate policies and regulations foraquaculture, and urges the development of these. Noting that the WorldFish Center operatesthe only aquaculture hatchery in Solomon Islands, the Plan recommends against thedevelopment of further hatcheries by government, although it encourages governmentsupport to the private sector in regard to hatchery development. Section 9 of the Plan statesthat MFMR will provide information to prospective aquaculture investors in regard to landand sea tenure, licensing, infrastructure and transportation, among other things. In regard topearl farming, proposed actions by MFMR are:• Collaborate with WorldFish and EU to attract private investors in Solomon Islands;• Maintain the ban on the wild shell trade;• Implement the policies and licensing conditions developed by the EU-funded project;• Provide extension services for the participation of local communities throughProvincial Fisheries Officer, after the establishment of private farms;• Promote value added pearl oyster products particularly for rural communities inopportunities such as shell carvings or pearl mabe handicrafts.At present there is no policy or management framework specifically intended for the pearlfarming sector. The development of such a framework for an as-yet non-existent industrymay be regarded by some as somewhat premature and liable to discourage investors.However in other Pacific Island countries where the pearl industry has developed the absenceof any regulatory framework has led to major problems which have had to be addressed oncethe industry was already in a crisis. As with fisheries management, it is far better to learnfrom experience, anticipate problem areas and set the ‘rules of the game’ beforehand, ratherthan wait until the problems occur.Properly formulated management guidelines should also be a source of reassurance tolegitimate investors with a long time horizon. Bona fide investors will prefer to operatewithin a framework in which ‘the rules of the game’ are already in place and clearly spelledout, rather than in an uncertain environment where policy and regulations are ignored untilthere is a crisis, or are developed according to the whims of government ministers or publicservants.