Responsibility measures

Create surveillance plans which include checking the state of the aquaculture facilities regularly, with the objective to prevent potential gear losses and damages.

Farmer/user responsibility Farmer/user responsibility

Relevant type of aquaculture:

Fish Shellfish Seaweed

Relevant sea basin:

Mediterranean

Relevant stage:

Prevention and reduction

Related Barriers:

  • The environmental criteria related to the approval of aquaculture facilities do not include specifications on the non-organic litter management in some Spanish autonomous communities.

  • In Greece, there is no specific environmental legislation concerning mussel culture and its waste management

  • In Italy, only finfish farms have to pass through an environmental assessment before starting the activity. Shellfish farms are not obliged to make this assessment.

  • Specific criteria related to non-organic marine litter are lacking in the Environmental Surveillance Plans (PVA in Spanish).

  • The aquaculture governance structure in Spain is complicated with a lack of homogenization at a national level in relation to the requirements, guidelines and authorization requests in the different autonomous communities

Related Good Practice:

P&R GP3.1

Scheduled maintenance surveillance plans of the good status of the shellfish farms

Spanish shellfish facilities are regularly (although not following a schedule) checked by their own farmers, to ensure that there has not been any loss or there is nothing broken). Besides, Port Authorities perform scheduled checks of the farming installations in Spain.