Tonga National Aquaculture Management & Development Plan (2014 – 2019).

The Tonga National Aquaculture Management & Development Plan (2014 – 2019) is a national plan with a sectoral approach. Its main purpose is to provide for the management and development of aquaculture in the kingdom. The scope of the plan only covers restricted areas for which aquaculture is to be conducted as well as any designated coastal community under the Fisheries Management Act 2002, for which aquaculture is required.
The plan outlines how licenses should be allocated, categorized, and managed. It also provides avenues for communities to utilize their adjacent waters for aquaculture purposes. Because the Aquaculture Management Act of 2003 is silent on the process by which aquaculture areas and buffer areas are allocated and tenured the Management Plan lays down detailed regulations about aquaculture licensing procedures and aquaculture administration. Different procedures are laid down for the creation of aquaculture areas for land-based, inter-tidal, and marine-based aquaculture. The Act requires that aquaculture development licences shall be of a term no longer than 10 years. Development of aquaculture will serve as a major component of sustainable development.
The Act requires the establishment of an Aquaculture Advisory Committee that is required to advise the Minister and Secretary for MAFFF about. Further, the Aquaculture Management and Development Plan will be reviewed annually and the progress done towards its implementation should be part of the Ministry’s annual report.