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Fisheries Legislation
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India is a federal republic, subdivided into 31 states and 6 union territories. According to the Constitution, the state legislatures have the power to make laws and regulations with respect to a number of subject-matters, including water (i.e. water supplies, irrigation and canals, drainage and embankments, water storage and water power), land (i.e. rights in or over land, land tenure, transfer and alienation of agricultural land), fisheries, as well as the preservation, protection and improvement of stock and the prevention of animal disease. Although there are many laws and regulations that may be relevant to aquaculture adopted at state level, this overview only addresses those laws and regulations adopted by the central government.
At the central level, several key laws and regulations may be relevant to aquaculture. They include the century-old Indian Fisheries Act (1897) , which penalizes the killing of fish by poisoning water and by using explosives, and the Environment (Protection) Act (1986) , being an umbrella act containing provisions for all environment related issues. They also include the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act (1974) and the Wild Life Protection Act (1972) . Essentially, as will be further discussed below, all this legislation must be read in conjunction with one another to gain a full picture of the rules that are applicable to aquaculture.
On 11 December 1996, the Indian Supreme Court handed out an historic decision with major implications for the aquaculture sector in a case regarding the setting up of shrimp farms in coastal areas. The Supreme Court - among other things - prohibited the construction/set up of shrimp culture ponds within the Coastal Regulation Zone and within 1000 meters of Chilka Lake and Pulika Lake, except traditional and improved traditional types of ponds. It also ruled that an authority should be constituted to protect the ecologically fragile coastal areas, sea shore, water front and other coastal areas and specially to deal with the situation created by the shrimp culture industry in the coastal states/union territories.
To perform the functions indicated by the Supreme Court, Notification SO 88 (E) (1997) established the Aquaculture Authority, in accordance with the Environment (Protection) Act. The Authority, to which specific responsibilities for aquaculture have been allocated, falls under the administrative control of the Ministry of Agriculture. |
Legal definition
There is no legal definition of aquaculture.
Guidelines and codes of conduct
As mentioned above, the Ministry of Agriculture issued Guidelines for Sustainable Development and Management of Brackish Water Aquaculture (1995). The overall purpose of the Guidelines is to assist in formulating appropriate shrimp farming management practices and adopting measures for mitigating the environmental impact for management of shrimp pond wastes and utilisation of land/water resources in a judicious manner. They recommend States to identify lands that are fit for aquaculture and to discourage the conversion of agriculture land for aquaculture. The Guidelines also recognize the importance of wastewater treatment and prescribe standards for the treatment of wastewater discharged from aquaculture systems, hatcheries, feed mills and processing plants. The introduction of imported shrimp seed should be prohibited since it may bring with it a number of problems including diseases, disease producing pathogens etc. In addition, the Guidelines provide recommendations on the use of chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, chemotherapeutants and antibiotics/drugs, and recognize the importance of feed quality and its management. The Guidelines can be obtained from http://www.mpeda.com/ . Reportedly, the Guidelines are under revision and will be available soon as Good Management Practices.
Recently, the Aquaculture Authority formulated Guidelines for Adopting Improved Technology for Increasing Production and Productivity in Traditional and Improved Traditional Systems of Shrimp Farming with the objective of optimising yield levels in such systems on sustainable basis. The Guidelines also aim at improving the management of shrimp aquaculture in traditional systems to ensure long-term sustainability of the farming practices and environmental security. The Guidelines can be obtained from http://aquaculture.tn.nic.in/ .
In addition, as mentioned above, the Aquaculture Authority recently drafted Guidelines for Effluent Treatment System in Shrimp Farms, the objectives of which are to ensure that the discharge of shrimp farm waste water does not result in long-term increase in nutrients or suspended solids in the open waters. The integration of effluent treatment system as a part of the shrimp farm should assist the farmers to improve waste water quality and provide long-term strategies for sustainable shrimp farming in the country. The Guidelines can be obtained from http://aquaculture.tn.nic.in/ .
Finally, Guidelines for the Application of the Precautionary Principle and Polluter Pays Principle in Shrimp Farming are currently under preparation.
International arrangements
India is a member of:
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia and the Pacific (NACA).
India is a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and has signed the Biosafety Protocol. India is also a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
References
Legislation
| Export of Fresh, Frozen and Processed Fish and Fishery Products (Quality Control and Inspection and Monitoring) Rules (1995). (Copy available at: http://www.eicindia.org) |
| Export of Live Fish (Quality Control, Inspection and Monitoring) Rules (2002). (Copy available at: http://www.eicindia.org/ ) |
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