Establishing new mariculture activities is difficuIt in many European countries. This is partly
caused by lack of understanding of the actual environmental impact of the industry and lack
of appropriate regulatory frameworks.
Regulations that can overcome these obstacles must be efficient, coherent and transparent.
This will safeguard the environment and also provide stable long-term conditions for the
industry, which will also get the necessary legitimacy and credibility.
The regulations must form a coherent and unbroken chain of logical and adequate elements;
political support, EQO and EQS, management systems that can and keep the environmental
impact of the farms in accordance with the EQO.
The scientists must provide the information required to develop the regulations, but are also
responsible for binging the information to the debate forum and the decision makers

Ervik, Arne

Establishing new mariculture activities is difficuIt in many European countries. This is partly
caused by lack of understanding of the actual environmental impact of the industry and lack
of appropriate regulatory frameworks.
Regulations that can overcome these obstacles must be efficient, coherent and transparent.
This will safeguard the environment and also provide stable long-term conditions for the
industry, which will also get the necessary legitimacy and credibility.
The regulations must form a coherent and unbroken chain of logical and adequate elements;
political support, EQO and EQS, management systems that can and keep the environmental
impact of the farms in accordance with the EQO.
The scientists must provide the information required to develop the regulations, but are also
responsible for binging the information to the debate forum and the decision makers

Brage IMR

This oauer  is not to be cited without nrior  reference to the authorsInternational Council for C.M.2000/0:04the Exploration of the Sea Mariculture CommitteeRegulatory frameworks can support the development of aquacultureAme ErvikInstitute of Marine ResearchPO Box 1870 NordnesN 5817 BergenNorwayAbstractEstablishing new mariculture  activities is d@cuIt  in many European countries. This  is partlycaused by lack of understanding of the actual environmental impact of the industry and lackof appropriate regulatory~ameworkxRegulations that can overcome these obstacles must be efficient, coherent and transparent.This  will safeguard the environment and also provide stable long-term conditions for theindusv,  which will  also get the necessary legitimacy and credibility.The regulations must form a coherent and unbroken chain of logical and adequate elements;political support, EQO and EQS,  management systems that can and keep the environmentalimpact of the famts  in accordance with the EQO.The scientists must provide the information required to develop the regulations, but are alsoresponsible for binging the information to the debate forum and the decision makers.2IntroductionEuropean countries enjoy good conditions for the development of a viable aquacultureindustry. High-quality water resources are normally plentiful; high educational and technicalstandards provide a solid basis for sophisticated development, and there is a large market withadequate purchasing power for healthy and trendy seafood. Furthermore, aquaculture is ahighly efficient means of intensive animal food production, which offers a higher yield andlower emissions of nutrients and organic waste than other methods of production (Asg$d  &Austreng 1995). However, with a few exceptions; the development of the aquacultureindustry in most European countries is slow or stagnant. One reason for this may beexaggerated belief about the actual or potential environmental impact of aquaculture, beliefthat is often shared by the public and the authorities. Another barrier to aquaculturedevelopment may be the lack of appropriate legislation and regulations; those that do existhave often been designed for other purposes and are often fragmentary where the regulationof aquaculture is concerned.The establishment of coherent regulatory frameworks capable of ensuring that the aquacultureindustry is operating in an environmentally acceptable way is one way of overcoming theseobstacles. Such regulations would also enable the aquaculture sector to participate as a tillpartner in Coastal Zone Management, which is of growing importance as a means of ensuringthe widest access to coastal resources.Adequate scientific information is a prerequisite for the development of a regulatoryframework for aquacuhure, but scientists also need participate in the process of developingthe framework itself This often represents a challenge, as the process lies beyond mostscientists’ particular fields of expertise.This paper offers some points of view on regulatory frameworks for controlling theenvironmental impact of aquaculture and on the process of establishing them. Certain aspectsof the current Norwegian regulatory framework are used for purposes of illustration.The process of developing adequate regulatory systemsWell-designed regulations provide long-term, predictable regulatory frameworks for industry.Such regulations safeguard a range of economic and practical parameters, and by controllingindustrial activity protects both the environment and public interests. In our pluralisticEuropean societies it is crucial that the very process of establishing the regulatory framework,as well as the framework  itself, should be open and transparent, so that all interested parties3can participate in the process and check its progress, This is essential if the framework, aswell as the activity which it regulates, is to acquire the necessary credibility and public trust.The process of establishing regulations for aquaculture involves a wide range of interests andstakeholders, all with different knowledge and backgrounds. The debate may therefore betense. The very debate, however, is a crucial part of the process of developing and gainingrecognition of and consensus for the regulations. In this context the scientists must provide theinformation and answer the questions that are needed to develop the regulatory systems. Ifsuch information is lacking, the precautionary principle must be applied, and the aquacultureactivity will be turned down. As well as obtaining the appropriate information, scientists areresponsible for ensuring that it is brought into the debating forum. It is not sufficient topublish the results in scientific journals; the scientist must see that the results are actuallyutilised by the end users.The coherence of the regulatory frameworkTo acquire and maintain legitimacy a functional regulatory framework must form a coherentand unbroken sequence of logical and adequate elements (GESAMP 1996). These elementsideally consist of political support for aquaculture, environmental quality objectives andstandards, a methodology for environmental impact assessment, adequate monitoringprogrammes and administrative measures in case the farming activity leads to unacceptableeffects.For the scientist the coherence of the framework is most important as this provides thenecessary guidelines for developing both environmental quality standards and monitoringprogrammes. Without such support and participation in a team, the work of the scientists maywell be left isolated, with little authority or influence.The elements of the regulatory frameworkPolitical supportAny aquaculture activity is dependent on the existence of various socio-economic elements aswell as access to natural resources such as water and suitable sites, where participation incoastal zone planning is usually a prerequisite. Aquaculture is thus dependent on activepolitical support, and in cases where the authorities are indifferent or antagonistic, aquaculturehas poor chances for development (Ackefors 1996).The overriding objective of Norwegian aquaculture policy is that aquaculture shall be abalanced and sustainable, profitable and viable regional industry (Anon., 1995). As far as the4environment is concerned, management of the aquaculture industry attempts to obtain abalance between the utilisation and protection of water and biological resources, both out ofconcern for the environment and as a basis for the production of high-quality seafood. Thestated objective of aquaculture research is to generate information that can help to open upnew opportunities for industrial development, to help the industry and the public sector toreach decisions and to help produce efficient solutions to existing and future problems.Environmental aualitv obiectives  (EOO)  and environmental quality standards (EOS)Long- and short-term environmental quality objectives for the Norwegian aquacultureindustry have been drawn up and are revised at regular intervals (Anon. 1993, Ervik et al.1995, Anon 1999). The EQOs  are largely based on scientific information, and represent thejoint viewpoints of the various sectors of the environmental authorities. Five areas of concernare given priority as follows: escapes of farmed salmon, diseases, medicines, chemical andorganic effluents. The objectives emphasise the values of the national pollution controlagency, and less attention is paid to the ecological impact of aquaculture.While the environmental objectives may be rather general, the environmental qualitystandards (EQS) which are derived from them should preferably be quite precise and belinked to measurable parameters (GESAMP 1996) The EQS can thus be used to define anacceptable level of environmental impact. The setting of objective limits for allowable impactis crucial.The management svstemThe management system must ensure that the environmental impact of aquaculture activitiesdoes not breach the EQO or EQS. For this reason it must be able to simulate as well asmonitor the impact. For Norwegian conditions a system has been developed that can be usedto adapt the local environmental impact to the holding capacity of the site (Ervik and Hansen,1994, Ervik et al., 1997) The system is called MOM (Modelling-Ongrowing fish farms-Monitoring). It is based on the concept of integrating the elements of environmental qualityassessment and the monitoring of environmental impact with its associated EQS into a singlesystem. The amount of monitoring depends on the level of environmental impact.Action if unacceotable  imnactA well-designed monitoring programme should be able to reveal environmental deteriorationat early stage so that unacceptable impact can be avoided. It is the responsibility of the5authorities to continuously check the results of the monitoring process and to reactappropriately if the EQS is breached.ConclusionsAn adequate regulatory framework can support the development of mariculture. Such afiamework  will provide the industry with predictable and stable long-term conditions, preventunacceptable environmental impacts, ensure a good environment for production and raise thecredibility of the industry. Good regulatory systems will also enable the aquaculture sector toparticipate in coastal zone planning.The regulatory framework must be coherent and form an unbroken sequence of logical andadequate elements. It is also important that the process of developing the framework, as wellas the framework itself, is open and transparent.Environmental scientists are responsible for providing the necessary information, and forensuring that the information is available in the process of developing the regulations.ReferencesAckefors, H., 1996. Swedish Aquaculture Policy a nightmare for the industry? AquacultureEurope. 21(2): 6-13Anonymous, 1993. Environmental objectives for Norwegian aquaculture. Report. NorwegianState Pollution Control Authorities. Oslo, Norway. 17 pp.Anonymous, 1995. Report no. 48 to the Storting. Aquaculture - a Motive Force in theNorwegian Coastal industry. Royal Norwegian Ministry of Fisheries. Summary 22 ppAnonymous, 1999. Environmental objectives for Norwegian aquaculture. New objectives for1998-2000. DN-report- lb. Directorate for Nature Management. 36 pp.Ervik, A., P.K. Hansen. 1994. Case histories and new approaches to planning and modellingfor Norwegian aquaculture. ICES. Maricult.  Corn.  F:46:  8 ppErvik, A., P.K. Hansen & H. Kryvi.  1995. Regulation of environmental effects ofmariculture in Norway. ICES, CM/R:7.  6pp.Ervik, A., P.K. Hansen, J. Aure, A. Stigebrandt, P. Johannessen & T. Jahnsen. 1997Regulating the local environmental impact of intensive marine fish farming. I. Theconcept of the MOM system. Aquaculture 158:  85-94.GESAMP 1996. Monitoring the ecological effects of costal aquaculture wastes. Reports andstudies. No. 57. FAO, Rome. 38 pp.6 T.  E. Austreng. 1995. Optimal utilization of marine proteins and lipids for humaninterests. In: Sustainable Fish Farming. Proceedings of the first internationalsymposium on sustainable fish  Oslo, Norway Reinertsen   (Eds). pp79-87.Åsgard, & farming, & Håland 

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Regulatory frameworks can support the development of aquaculture

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Regulatory frameworks can support the development of aquaculture

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