2. Zoning process

The Ministry of Fishing and Aquaculture (MFA) sees the planification of aquaculture in Federal Union waters as one of its top priority actions, which includes several mechanisms intended to promote a sustainable increase in fish production in the country, and also to promote the planification and management of mariculture via the implantation of Aquaculture Harvesting Parks. For the implantation of aquaculture ventures in Federal Union, specific rules shall have to be followed in order to have a permit to use Federal Union waters granted, according to Decree No. 4,895/2003 and the Interministerial Instruction No. 06 of May 31, 2004.

The process of implanting an Aquaculture Park includes several stages: studies, demarcation, legal regularization and implementation.
Studies for demarcation of aquaculture parks take various factors into account, mapping exclusion areas (such as protected areas—PA—preserved totally, areas of port activity, other impediments planned by management plans, etc.); classifying the areas according to their degree of suitableness for the practice of aquaculture; analysing physicochemical aspects, species that will be farmed and the current legislation; conducting a study of potential environmental conflict areas as well as mapping of infrastructure, logistics and community organization. These studies are intended to help choose growing areas that integrate aquaculture with other activities developed in the area as a way of mitigating conflicts related to the area’s use and also to standardize the system of cultivation so to decrease the various impacts, as well as providing social and economic benefits to the community, ensuring the rational use of natural resources, as well as protecting and preserving the functioning of the ecosystems, and reducing the production and dispersion of pollutants, among other factors.

After these studies, the next step is the demarcation of aquaculture parks. The demarcation is a planning tool for the delimitation of areas for aquaculture, promoting the planning of local production and generating subsidies for aquaculture management in the region.
After the establishment of the Aquaculture Parks by this Ministry, each park’s proposed project is submitted to the other Departments involved in the Usage Rights Concession process (Brazilian Navy, National Water Agency, SPU and Environmental State Agency) for regularization.
Once they are regularized, Public Hearings are held in order to disclose the implantation of the parks in their respective municipalities. Then the public selection process for transfer of the defined aquaculture parks areas is open, paid or non-paid. The selection of non-paid areas has a highly social aspect and these areas are therefore offered freely, via public tender.
The selection of entrepreneurs for paid areas is done through bidding, of which the winner is the one whose bid for the area’s usage rights is the highest.
The Aquaculture Parks are implanted by the Aquaculture Planning Department (SEPOA) of the MFA, with the support of federal superintendence in every State.