Theme C: Governance and the socio-economics of releases
23. REGULATION OF SEA RANCHING AND ENHANCEMENT
Bernard Walrut
Torrens Chambers, 78 Angas Street, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia.
bwalrut@bpwc.biz
Sea ranching and enhancement have the potential to have a profound effect on the environment. Recognising that impact, it can be expected that sea ranching for private profit will be appropriately regulated. Most enhancement activities are however undertaken by government and commonly by the agency responsible for protecting and preserving the natural populations. They are usually adopted after an extensive investigation and debate about their impact but then with limited regulation or monitoring by an agency other than the agency that promoted the activity. This presentation suggests that in both cases adequate regulatory requirements should be implemented and a common set of regulatory requirements should be adopted. Sea ranching and enhancement have the potential to have a profound effect on the natural resource not only by significantly increasing the population available for fishing but in various negative ways. These impacts can include: the possible spread of disease; effect on the natural gene pool; carrying capacity of the seas; predator-prey relationship; the trophic interactions; management and co-management issues; and the effects of translocations and introductions.
In considering whether to permit sea ranching and enhancement, many facets require consideration beyond the social and economic benefits. These include:
the adoption of the precautionary approach and how it should be applied;
the preservation of the wild species of fish as a priority;
the fisheries management plan of the jurisdiction or region;
the aquaculture management plan of the jurisdiction or region;
the species to be released;
the possible spread of disease by the released fish;
the impact on existing wild populations and the fisheries;
the impact that the release of fish may have on the sea and on other users of the sea;
the impact on the gene pool of an existing species by the release of fish;
the carrying capacity of the sea or the region to be utilised for sea ranching;
the likely predation impact of the number of released fish in the sea or an area thereof;
the overall trophic effect of the released fish in the release area and adjacent waters;
the likely competition between the released fish and the wild populations;
the impact on the ability to manage the wild populations of fish;
the ability to readily identify and distinguish the released fish from other released fish and the wild fish to facilitate the management of the various populations;
ensuring an appropriate balance is maintained between the wild species and the released fish having regard to the priority to be afforded to the wild species;
any economic benefits or dislocations that will be suffered by the communities in the area where the fish are to be released and/or recaptured; and any likely impact that the proposed sea ranching activity will have on neighbouring jurisdictions or any other jurisdiction likely to be affected.
Even more complex considerations will arise if the species to be released is an alien animal in the place of its release. Once it has been decided that sea ranching or enhancement may be undertaken the following matters should be considered:
the number of each species to be released in each year;
the region in which the releases are to be made;
the time or times when the releases are to made;
the likely migratory patterns of the species to be released;
where sea ranching is involved, the methods to be used by the sea rancher to recover the fish released by the sea rancher;
the method of marking or branding the fish to be released;
the source of the fish to be released;
the methods to be used to ensure the disease-free status of the fish to be released;
the methods to be used to ensure a suitable genetic mix of the population to be released;
the methods to be used to ensure minimum reproductive capacity of the fish to be released, where that is necessary;
a basic management plan for the proposed sea ranching operations and its conduct;
the manner of preservation of property rights in the released fish;
resource rent payments for utilising the common resource in sea ranching;
managing resistance to such activities;
where acoustic or other like devices are intended to be used as part of the sea ranching activities the impact of the use of those devices must be considered and regulated;
appropriate monitoring programs; and appropriate cost benefit analysis reviews and reviews of achievements against target objectives, both as part of a regular review of the enhancement program.
Summary
Sea ranching and enhancement offer opportunities but have the potential to have a profound impact on the environment. The adoption of either should only occur after adequate investigation and thereafter within an adequate regulatory framework.
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