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

Provisions for further aquaculture control come in the form of ‘regulation makingpowers’ under Section 59, Minister’s Powers to Make Regulations, under which theMinister may regulate, in general, any fishery activity in need of or requiring control formanagement and development purposes. Section 59(1)(xiv) specifically empowers theMinister to regulate the cultivation of seaweed and other aquatic organisms, and Section59(1)(xv) empowers the licensing of fish farms and regulation of the importation of livefish.Draft Aquaculture Regulations were developed by the MFMR Aquaculture Division andsubsequently included as Part 2 of the Fisheries Regulations (2002). The Regulationsapply to the farming of a range of species, including Pinctada margaritifera, P. maximaand Pteria penguin. The Regulations describe aquaculture licensing procedure andimpose penalties upon violation of the licensing requirement. No licence is required for‘any traditional practice of breeding, farming, culturing, taking or holding of live fish oraquatic organism the purpose of which is for subsistence, personal or traditional use only’and ‘farming which is done by a local or a local community on a small scale and forsubsistence purposes only’.Under the provisions of the Regulations, any application for a licence should contain thefollowing information:details of the species, stage of the life cycle and quantity of the aquatic organism to bebred, farmed, cultured or held;plans relating to the construction, development or modification of an aquaculture facilityto which the application relates;details of the location of the aquaculture facility and of all places, if applicable, at whichthe applicant intends to breed, hold, rear, process or sell fish or aquatic life;details of the gear, tools or equipment that the applicant intends to use to take fish oraquatic life;approvals required under any other law, and;such other information as may be required by the Director.The Regulations also specify the conditions of the licence that may relate, but are notlimited, to:the species of fish or aquatic life to be bred, farmed, cultured or held;the stages of the lifecycle of fish or aquatic organism at which the same may be kept;limitation of the quantity of fish or aquatic life that may be kept or sold;the method of water discharge or waste disposal;the location of the aquaculture facilities;limitation of the use of chemicals or drugs, if any;a requirement for the lodgement of a guarantee or security to cover the cost of damagethat may be caused by the operation of the aquaculture facility.The licence is not transferable. The Director may review, vary or alter the conditions ofthe licence, or temporarily suspend a particular condition. Under specific circumstances,the Director may cancel, revoke or suspend the licence. Any person aggrieved by such adecision of the Director, or the decision not to issue or renew the licence, may appeal tothe Minister within 30 days following receipt of the notification of such decision.24