Aquaculture, the farming in water of aquatic animals and aquatic plants, has seen extraordinary growth over recent years in terms of production levels and as regards its share of production of aquatic animals and algae. Although the most recent figures show a slight slowdown in the rate of growth of the sector (FAO, 2022), aquaculture is still seen to have tremendous potential. Many developing countries have high aspirations for rapid aquaculture development in order to feed their fast-growing populations and to increase export earnings.

The aim of this study is to identify the essential elements of a legal framework for sustainable aquaculture. For the fact is that in many countries the growth of aquaculture appears to have outpaced the development of the legislation and legal frameworks to govern aquaculture. This study is intended both to act as a guide to the complexity of legal frameworks for aquaculture and also to serve as the background or resource document for the Aquaculture Legal Assessment and Revision Tool (ALART).