Fisheries and aquaculture in Georgia: current status and planning

171 Pages·2006·0.69 MB·English

FAO Fisheries Circular No. 1007 FIPP/C1007 (En)
ISSN 0429-9329
FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN GEORGIA –
CURRENT STATUS AND PLANNING
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FAO Fisheries Circular No. 1007 FIPP/C1007 (En)
FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE IN GEORGIA –
CURRENT STATUS AND PLANNING

Edited by
Raymon van Anrooy
FAO Fisheries Department

Andrés Mena Millar
FAO Consultant

Melvin Spreij
FAO Consultant

FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 2006
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© FAO 2006
iii
Preparation of this document

This document contains the Review of the Current Status of Fisheries Resources and
Utilization in Georgia, the Master Plan for Fishery Sector Development in Georgia (2005–
2020), the Action Plan for Fishery Sector Management and Development in Georgia (2005–
2008), the final draft version of the Law of Georgia for Fisheries and Aquaculture and the
summary report of the three national workshops organized under FAO project
TCP/GEO/2904(A) – “Strengthening the Capacity of the Department of Fisheries to Support
Fisheries Sector Rehabilitation”.

The Review of the Current Status of Fisheries Resources and Utilization in Georgia was
prepared by Dr Raymon van Anrooy and Dr Andrés Mena Millar of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with support from Mr Irakli Kacharava and
Ms Maia Metreveli (national consultants) and Dr Akaki Komakhidze and Ms Maia
Shavlakadze of the Marine Ecology and Fisheries Research Institute (MEFRI). Logistical and
operational support in the collection of information was received from Mr Zviad Tsertsvadze,
National Project Coordinator for TCP/GEO/2904(A) and staff member of the Department of
Fisheries of Georgia.

The Master Plan for Fishery Sector Development in Georgia (2005 - 2020) and the Action
Plan for Fishery Sector Management and Development in Georgia (2005–2008) were prepared
by staff of the Department of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia with
technical support from Dr Raymon van Anrooy and Dr Andrés Mena Millar (FAO). The two
plans were the subject of an intensive process of consultation with all relevant fishery sector
stakeholders and were submitted by the Minister of Agriculture to Parliament for approval.
Consequently, the plans should be considered a framework of policy guidance, prepared with
inputs from national workshops held in Batumi on 19 August 2004 and in Tbilisi on 11 and
18 February 2005. Finalization of the Master Plan took place in Tbilisi from 15 to16 June
2005 at a large stakeholder conference. Additional observations on the drafts were received
from relevant officials and experts involved in fisheries management and development in
Georgia and from ministries and institutions with a stake in fisheries and/or aquaculture in the
country.

The technical work on the Law of Georgia for Fisheries and Aquaculture was led by
Mr Melvin Spreij (FAO legal consultant), with support from Ms Maia Bitadze (national legal
consultant) and Mr Blaise Kuemlangan and Ms Anniken Skonhoft (FAO legal officers). The
law formulation process included consultations with high government officials, focusing
mainly on the issue of the institutional structure for fisheries management, and consultations
with technical government staff and officials, fishers’ associations, non-governmental
organizations (NGOs) and the private sector, focusing on the legal issues related to fisheries
management. The legislative proposals were also discussed in the various workshops
organized by the FAO TCP/GEO/2904(A) project.

The final section of this Fisheries Circular, presenting the summary report of the workshops
organized under TCP/GEO/2904(A) was prepared by Dr Andrés Mena Millar (FAO) with
technical inputs from Ms Anniken Skonhoft and Dr Raymon van Anrooy.
iv
Acknowledgements

The authors hereby express their gratitude to Mr Mamuka Meskhi, FAO Assistant
Representative in Georgia, Ms Hazme Akyol and Mr Raimund Jehle of the FAO Regional
Office for Europe, Mr Tomi Petr (FAO consultant), Mr Constantine Stamatopolous, Mr Ulf
Wijkström, Mr Jean-François Pulvenis de Séligny and Ms Helen Nakouzi (FAO Fisheries
Department) for their technical and operational support in the formulation and implementation
of project TCP/GEO/2904(A) – “Strengthening the Capacity of the Department of Fisheries to
Support Fisheries Sector Rehabilitation”.

The authors particularly acknowledge the contributions to the success of the project by
Dr David Iakobidze (Director of the Department of Fisheries of Georgia), Ms Maia
Metrevelli, Mr Irakli Kacharava, Mr Zviad Tsertsvadze, Ms Maia Bitadze, Mr Irakli Todria
and Ms Sofia Lejava (TCP/GEO/2904(A) project staff), Dr Akaki Komakhidze and Ms Maia
Shavlakadze (MEFRI), Mr Blaise Kuemlangan and Ms Anniken Skonhoft (FAO legal
officers). Editorial work on this document by Ms Roberta Mitchell (FAO consultant) is also
much appreciated.

Last, but not least, we would like to thank the workshop and conference participants for their
important contributions to the drafting process of the Master Plan, Action Plan and Law and
their active participation in various working groups.
v
Van Anrooy, R.; Mena Millar, A.; Spreij, M. (eds)
Fisheries and aquaculture in Georgia – Current status and planning.
FAO Fisheries Circular. No. 1007. Rome, FAO. 2006. 160p.
Abstract
In 2003 the Government of Georgia requested the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) to provide technical assistance for the sustainable development and
management of the fishery sector in the country. FAO, through its Technical Cooperation
Programme (TCP), approved project TCP/GEO/2904(A), entitled: “Strengthening the
Capacity of the Department of Fisheries to Support Fisheries Sector Rehabilitation”.

The aim of this Fisheries Circular is first to inform those interested in fisheries and
aquaculture in Georgia about the current situation with regard to fishery resources and their
utilization in the country. Second, it attempts to provide an example of a consultative and
participative policy and legal framework development process. The approach used in the
preparation of the Master Plan for Fishery Sector Development in Georgia (2005–2020), the
Action Plan for Fishery Sector Management and Development in Georgia (2005–2008), and
the Law of Georgia for Fisheries and Aquaculture could also be applicable in other countries
in transition that have a relatively small fishery sector.

The documents presented here are considered as final versions and cleared as such by the
Department of Fisheries (DoF) of the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia. All the documents
are also available in the Georgian language from the DoF in Tbilisi. At the time of
publication, the DoF is steering the approval process of the Master Plan, Action Plan and Law
within the Government of Georgia and has already started to implement the Action Plan.

The Review of the Current Status of Fisheries Resources and Utilization in Georgia is
presented in the first part of this Fisheries Circular. The second part contains the final version
of the Master Plan for Fishery Sector Development in Georgia, 2005–2020, while the third
part provides the Action Plan for Fishery Sector Management and Development in Georgia,
2005–2008. The final draft version of the Law of Georgia for Fisheries and Aquaculture is
presented in the fourth part. The last part contains a summary report of the proceedings and
recommendations of the Workshop on Fisheries Management and Development (Batumi,
19 August 2004), the Workshop on Fisheries Legislation and Management, (Tbilisi, 11 and
18 February 2005), and the National Conference on Fisheries Management and Development
in Georgia (Tbilisi, 15–16 June 2005).

Keywords
Fishery sector review, Fisheries Master Plan, Fisheries Action Plan, Fisheries Law,
Aquaculture, Institutional strengthening, Georgia, Caucasus.

vii
Contents

Page

Preparation of this document iii
Acknowledgements iv
Abstract v

REVIEW OF THE CURRENT STATUS OF FISHERIES RESOURCES AND
UTILIZATION IN GEORGIA 1

MASTER PLAN FOR FISHERY SECTOR DEVELOPMENT IN GEORGIA –
2005–2020 57

ACTION PLAN FOR FISHERY SECTOR MANAGEMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT IN GEORGIA – 2005–2008 85

LAW OF GEORGIA ON FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE 103

SUMMARY REPORT OF THE
WORKSHOP ON FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT,
BATUMI, 19 AUGUST 2004
WORKSHOP ON FISHERIES LEGISLATION AND MANAGEMENT, TBILISI,
11 and 18 FEBRUARY 2005
NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON FISHERIES MANAGEMENT AND
DEVELOPMENT IN GEORGIA, TBILISI, 15–16 JUNE 2005 137