Ecology and Environment

Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023

Context:
  • The Coastal Aquaculture Authority (Amendment) Bill, 2023 has been passed by both the Houses of the Parliament.
About the Bill:
  • The Bill aims to specify that the regulation of coastal aquaculture and related activities will solely fall under the jurisdiction of the Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, excluding any other legislations.
    • Coastal aquaculture includes the farming of marine life such as shrimp, prawn or fish in controlled conditions.
Key Provisions of the bill:
Broadbasing coastal aquaculture definition:
  • Coastal aquaculture will cover all activities of coastal aquaculture under the purview of this Act.
  • In 2005, coastal aquaculture activity was essentially shrimp farming.
  • Now newer forms of environment friendly coastal aquaculture such as cage culture, seaweed culture, bi-value culture, marine ornamental fish culture, pearl oyster culture etc. have come up which can be done in coastal areas and mostly within CRZ.
Promoting newer forms of environment friendly aquaculture:
  • Promotes newer forms of environment-friendly coastal aquaculture such as “cage culture, seaweed culture, bi-valve culture, marine ornamental fish culture and pearl oyster culture.
Biosecurity:
  • Includes new provisions for preventing the risk of introducing or spreading harmful organisms within the coastal aquaculture unit which could lead to infectious diseases.
Exemptions:
  • Specific exemption granted under the CAA Act for the establishment of aquaculture units like hatcheries, Broodstock multiplication centers (BMC) and Nucleus Breeding Centres (NBC) within the No Development Zone (NDZ) [200m from the HTL] of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ).
 
Coastal Regulation Zone:
  • The coastal areas extending up to 500 m from the high tide line (HTL) and the land between the low tide line (LTL) and high tide line, were designated as coastal regulation zones (CRZ).
  • These zones were established by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change under the Environment Protection Act of 1986.
  • The Union environment ministry creates the CRZ Rules whereas the state governments ensure implementation through their respective Coastal Zone Management Authorities.
Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act (CAA)2005:
  • The Act was introduced for the establishment of a “Coastal Aquaculture Authority” for regulating activities connected with coastal aquaculture in the coastal areas.
 News Source: PIB
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