Planning for Aquaculture Development

Abstract

The idea of an Action Plan to coordinate aquaculture development was conceived at the Fisheries Development Donor Consultation in Paris in 1986, following a special session on aquaculture potentials and constraints to development presented by the Aquaculture Development and Coordination Programme (ADCP), which is a field project funded by the United Nations Development Programme, executed by FAO from its Headquarters. The following report 'Planning for Aquaculture Development' is intended to assist in the preparation of such a Plan. It has been formulated by twenty four individuals who have a broad range of international and sectoral experience in the subject, acting in their personal capacities, at an expert consultation organized by ADCP. The meeting was hosted by Ittica Valdagri in Policoro, Southern Italy, in the facilities which were used for the annual training course for the Mediterranean Regional Aquaculture Project, 1984-87. The meeting was held from 26 July-2 August 1988. The participants recognize the constraints of this collective approach to planning development, knowing full well that the majority of identifiable needs for action are national, and in some cases even local, in origin. This is because aquaculture is not only a very diverse activity, which involves many systems and practices, and innumerable biological species, but also because it is a combination of technology and the equally important milieu of social, cultural, economic, and environmental factors which influence its acceptability and successful development.