Regulations of Aquaculture Project License Issuance.

These Rules of Aquaculture Project License Issuance and Monitoring Activities aim at enhancing the responsible aquaculture practices in the context of the sustainable development of the aquaculture industry through a strong administrative and technical system. This system is able to meet the needs of the local market and compete in global markets, in addition to protecting this industry from threats such as pathogens, chemical pollution sources, and environmental damages. The Regulations (i) specify the powers and duties of the governmental authorities (the competent authority and other related authorities) and the main obligations of aquaculture projects and (ii) provide the mechanism of obtaining aquaculture project licenses through sequential stages that investors should follow. For the licenses are required (i) initial approval for the site- testing (for marine projects); (ii) environmental feasibility study; (iii) technical and economic feasibility study. Aquaculture facilities shall be established and operated in compliance with imposed biosecurity standards and monitoring. As for the monitoring process, all investors shall provide the competent authority with a regular progress report in the aquaculture project performance stages. Furthermore, an aquaculture inspector is a person in the competent authority entitled to conduct monitoring and inspection works on aquaculture projects.
The aquaculture projects can be (i) projects in inland waters; (ii) coastal aquaculture projects; (iii) projects in floating cages in the sea