La pêche continentale

Fisheries and aquaculture in Georgia – Current status and planning

Governance & policy
17/07/2006

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).