FAO Fisheries & Aquaculture
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries and for a world without hunger Aquaculture Department National Aquaculture Legislation Overview China I. Profile V. Miscellaneous a. Basic Legislation VI. References b. Legal Definition a. Legislation c. Guidelines And Codes Of Conduct b. Related Resources d. International Arrangements II. Planning VII. Related Links a. Authorization System b. Access To Land And Water c. EIA III. Operation a. Water And Wastewater b. Fish Movement c. Disease Control d. Drugs e. Feed IV. Food Safety Profile Basic legislation The Fisheries Law (1986, as amended in 2000) seeks to enhance - inter alia - the production, increase, development and reasonable utilization of the nation’s fishery resources. It requires the state to adopt a policy that calls for simultaneous development of aquaculture, fishing and processing, with special emphasis on aquaculture. The Law is implemented by the Regulation for the Implementation of the Fisheries Law (1987). The Bureau of Fisheries, falling under the Ministry of Agriculture, is the main administrative body governing the fisheries and aquaculture sector. The major functions assigned to the Bureau are to formulate plans, strategies, policies and programmes for fisheries development, to guide fisheries economic reform, to implement and monitor fisheries laws, regulations and international/bilateral fisheries agreements, to strengthen fisheries management so as to ensure proper utilization of fisheries and aquatic resources and to protect the fisheries environment, to support fisheries education and scientific research and to administer the fisheries processing industry. The Constitution divides China administratively into provinces, autonomous regions and centrally administered municipalities. Under the province or the autonomous region are autonomous prefectures, counties and cities. The fisheries departments in the provinces, autonomous regions, municipalities and counties have more or less the same functions as the Bureau of Fisheries in their respective geographical areas. They are under direct leadership of their provincial, autonomous region, municipal and county governments, and guided by the Bureau of Fisheries. Generally, the highest legislative authority in China is the National People's Congress (NPC) and its permanent body, the Standing Committee. The laws passed by the NPC and its Standing Committee are applied nationwide and are mostly general in nature. They are usually supplemented by rules and regulations that deal with more specific matters, issued by the State Council, which is the highest executive organ, and by relevant FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department with more specific matters, issued by the State Council, which is the highest executive organ, and by relevant ministries. In addition, the people's congresses and governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities may exercise legislative power, provided that such local laws and regulations, which proceed from specific conditions in their geographical areas, do not contravene the Constitution or the laws and regulations adopted by the central government. Over the last decades, many local laws and regulations have been adopted that have relevance for aquaculture and aquaculture products. This overview, however, only addresses those laws and regulations adopted by the central government. Legal definition There is no legal definition of aquaculture Guidelines and codes of conduct Numerous guidelines have been issued, at both the national and the provincial level, on various topics, for instance the operation of hatcheries and the use of antibiotics and chemicals in aquaculture. International arrangements China is a member of: World Trade Organization (WTO). Network of Aquaculture Centres in Asia and the Pacific (NACA). China is a party to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). It has signed the Biosafety Protocol on 8 August 2000 but is not yet a party to the Protocol. China is also a party to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Planning Authorization system According to the Fisheries Law and its implementing Regulation, the people's governments at or above the county level may grant licenses to use state-owned water surfaces and tidal flats to state and collectively-owned units to develop aquaculture. Natural spawning, breeding and feeding grounds of fish, shrimp, crab, shellfish and algae in state owned water surfaces and tidal flats as well as their major migration passages must be protected and cannot be used as aquaculture grounds. Licences can be revoked if water surfaces and tidal flats are neglected for a period of 12 months without a proper reason (this includes the situation in which water surfaces and tidal flats have a stocking quantity below the local standard). Disputes over ownership and rights to the use of water surfaces and tidal flats will be solved through consultation. If no agreement is reached, disputes will be handled by the people's government at or above the county level and, ultimately, by the court. The use of state-owned and collectively owned land is regulated under the Land Administration Law (1998) (see below). In 2000, the Fisheries Law was amended. The State draws plans for the use of water surface areas and defines those areas of water surface and intertidal zone or mudflats for aquaculture purpose. Units or individuals, who wish to use those designated areas, must apply for an aquaculture permit through the competent fisheries administration at or above the county level, and the aquaculture permit will be granted by the people's government at the same level to allow using the area for aquaculture activities. Access to land and water The Land Administration Law, administered by the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, deals with land ownership, use and planning issues. It requires the state to formulate an overall plan for land utilization, classifying land into agricultural land (including aquaculture), construction land and unused land. Although the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Law reaffirms the principle of state/collective ownership of land, it incorporates significant moves towards stronger and more secure individual rights in land used for farming, forestry, livestock and fishery production, in particular where it concerns rights of individual cultivators who make up a collective. The Law provides for peasant contracts of 30 years, thus giving the individual cultivator formal rights over a specific parcel, which can only be altered by the collective management through a specified procedure. The Land Administration Law has been implemented by numerous regulations and measures. The Water Law (1988, as amended in 2002), administered by the Ministry of Water Resources, regulates the development, utilization, saving, protection, allocation and management of water resources. All water resources are owned by the state. The Law requires the state to implement a system of water withdrawal permits and paid use of water resources. In the development and utilization of water resources, domestic water for urban and rural use has first priority, and then other uses should be taken into account. Although the Law does not contain any direct reference to aquaculture, the establishment of water conservation facilities, particularly the establishment, utilization and management of water reservoirs, will play an important part in fishery production, in particular in freshwater aquaculture development. Reportedly, China currently plans to introduce a water rights system to replace the water use permit system. In addition, in view of the increased multiple use conflicts in sea areas the Sea Area Use Management Law (2002) has recently been adopted. The Law, which is administered by the State Oceanic Administration (SOA) falling under the Ministry of Land and Natural Resources, requires sea area users to obtain use rights by applying for sea area use permits, and to pay user fees. The Law also provides for the establishment of Marine Functional Zonation Schemes, which define the uses of a given sea area in the order of priority. Sectoral development planning (including aquaculture) as well as coastal land use, urban and port planning should be consistent with the Marine Functional Zonation Schemes. EIA Provisions on EIA requirements can be found in various environmental laws, none of which, however, specifically refer to aquaculture. The main body of China’s environmental legislative framework is the Environmental Protection Law (1989). The State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), having ministerial status and falling directly under the State Council, plays the lead role in overall environmental management. According to the Law, the competent departments of environmental protection administration of the people’s governments at or above the county level should make an investigation and assessment of the environmental situation within the areas under their jurisdiction. Environmental impact statements of construction projects – including large-scale aquaculture projects – must assess the pollution that the projects are likely to produce, their impact on the environment and describe preventive and curative measures. The Law on the Prevention and Control of Water Pollution (1984, as amended) aims to prevent and control pollution of rivers, lakes, canals irrigation channels, reservoirs and other surface water bodies and groundwater. According to the