George Herald | Environmental Management and Monitoring Framework (EMMF) for Marine Aquaculture

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Environmental Management and Monitoring Framework (EMMF) for Marine Aquaculture
15:11 (GMT+2), Thu, 10 May 2012

In South Africa the main species that are being farmed include Abalone, Oysters, Mussels (pictured here), Seaweeds and Dusky Kob.

AGRI NEWS - Globally, marine aquaculture is one of the fastest growing industries.

Many countries are now engaged in the farming of various species of finfish, shellfish, crustaceans and aquatic plants to the extent that almost half of the world supply of seafood is now farmed.

In South Africa the main species that are being farmed include Abalone, Oysters, Mussels, Seaweeds and Dusky Kob.

The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) commissioned the compilation of an Environmental Management and Monitoring Framework (EMMF) for marine aquaculture.

The reasoning behind the document is to provide a decision support and planning tool for marine aquaculture initiatives; to assist in the EIA process by providing specific environmental guidelines for marine aquaculture projects and to provide a basis for achieving environmental sustainability and the standardisation of monitoring practices.

All current legislation, conventions and policies that affect environmental management in the marine aquaculture sector are captured in the document. This is supported by the inclusion of the environmental management procedures used in the sector, including risk assessment methodologies. Each marine aquaculture subsector is analyzed in terms of key environmental risks, which leads an indication of mitigatory mechanisms and an allotment of responsibility in terms of monitoring.

The organisational arrangement and contact details of all governments stakeholders in the sector is contained in the document, while the contact details of various key stakeholders has been captured.

The draft EMMF document is available for scrutiny and further inputs and comments until the end of May 2012. The draft document can be obtained by contacting the review consultants:

AquaEco
Tel: 012 8075190
Fax: 012 8074946

Courtesy of Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.