National Maritime Policy and Action Plan.

This National Maritime Policy, implemented by the Government in collaboration with local communities, marine industries in the fishing, shipping and oil and gas sectors, provides for managing the marine space and regulating the utilisation of the marine resources, in order to contribute to sustainable development of the country, with an integrated approach that coordinates environmental management and economic development. The Policy includes a Strategic Action Plan which sets out the following Government’s priority areas of focus: preserving and protecting the marine environment; protecting underwater cultural heritage; promoting sustainable economic development; increasing public awareness, participation knowledge and capacity building; reforming the ocean governance. The overall goal of this Policy is the effective and sustainable management of the marine environment and marine resources of the country. In order to achieve this goal, the Policy is based on the following guiding principles: ecosystem based management; integrated management; sustainable development; precautionary approach; access and benefit sharing; public participation.
The actions and measures of the Policy involve the following sectors: fisheries management, tourism, aquaculture, offshore oil and gas production and offshore renewable energy; coastal development and protection of marine ecosystems such as coral reefs and mangroves; reduction of marine pollution. The Policy focuses on the following thematic areas: increasing the potential of marine living resources; prevention and control of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing; facilitating and enhancing international trade; increasing international competitiveness of maritime transport sector; management and protection of biodiversity in the marine protected areas.