World Aquaculture December 2018

WWW.WA S.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • DECEMBER 2018 67 ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 6 8 ) establish marine protected areas near areas with existing cage farms are underway. For example, the Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Karaburun-Sazani is located near sea cage farms in Vlora Bay, while in Porto Palermo Bay (Himara) there are efforts by the Ministry of Environment to proclaim it as a MPA. Similar to other Mediterranean countries, the available space for new mariculture development in coastal zones is now becoming increasingly limited. This trend can be expected to continue because, along with aquaculture, other human activities in coastal and oceanic waters will increase significantly over the next 20 years, including tourism (Hall 2001) and offshore renewable energy generation (Douvere and Ehler 2009). Traditional activities such as capture fisheries are deeply embedded in many coastal communities and they will continue to play an important role in the use of nearshore coastal seascapes. The government of Albania is planning to build new ports and markets in coastal areas. This competition for space has resulted in negative interactions between traditional and new coastal users (Dempster and Sanchez-Jerez 2008) and negative effects of other activities on aquaculture, such as from agriculture and sewage discharges (Díaz et al . 2012). The complex interactions among users of coastal areas often leaves little space for aquaculture, particularly because marine aquaculture requires coastal waters with specific, high-quality environmental and water characteristics. The result is that suitable coastal areas for aquaculture are severely limited in many areas and this has become a major barrier to expansion. Therefore, to ensure a balance between conserving ecosystem services and other legitimate uses of marine resources, spatial planning of aquaculture activities through optimal site selection is necessary. Effectively, the Ministry of Agriculture is performing the preliminary site selection processes, which should define the geographical location and extent of aquaculture in a determined region (Ross et al . 2013). As part of this process, physical, ecological and socio-economic criteria should be taken into account. Next, a location that minimizes conflict with the other users of coastal waters such as shipping, fishing, recreational activities and the energy industry (Dempster and Sanchez-Jerez 2008) should be identified to site the farm. As this scenario of multiple pre-existing uses of coastal spatial resources is widespread, Sanches-Jerez et al . (2016) suggested that the AZA concept should be considered to provide space for marine aquaculture and avoid environmental degradation and negative interactions with other traditional users. AZAs are marine areas where the development of aquaculture has priority over other uses (Sanches-Jerez et al . 2016). Identification of an AZA will result from zoning through participatory spatial planning, whereby administrative bodies legally establish specific spatial areas for aquaculture development. The Ecosystem Approach to Aquaculture (EAA) is a strategy for the integration of aquaculture production within a wider ecosystem context that promotes sustainable development, equity and resilience of interlinked socio-ecological systems (FAO 2010). A key principle of this approach is that aquaculture development and management should take account of the full range of ecosystem functions and services, and should not threaten the sustained delivery of these to society (Sanchez-Jerez et al . 2016). Aquaculture should be developed in the context of ecosystem functions, which entails estimating assimilative and production carrying capacities and adapting farming practices that consider ecological and social components (Sanchez-Jerez et al. 2016). In the case of Albania, this sector can be sustainable if the EAA is applied by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture Services, taking into account all the weakness characterizing the neighboring countries where AZAs have been established and the socio-economic characteristics of Albania. For example, there continues to be a problem with standardization of monitoring practices in EU countries. Most European countries have environmental quality standards (EQS) for marine aquaculture, mainly in relation to water quality and nutrient output (Maroni 2000). In Greece and Iceland, there are EQS for the location of marine aquaculture cages (Papoutsoglou 2000, Jonsson 2000). As yet, there is no EQS for the carrying capacity of marine aquaculture in European countries; however, many countries have established limits to achieve sustainable fish farms. Some countries have set a maximum volume of production in sites (Henderson and Davies 2000), whereas other countries have established a maximum stocking density (Maroni 2000). In Greece, due to bureaucratic complexities and Marine fish farming in Greece is characterized by a diversity of cases such as site, species, feeding system, management, number of employees, production system. The country has significant bureaucratic complexity and, in relation to the continuous appearance of new official orders, it has been difficult to fully meet the demands of the regulatory system (Papoutsoglou 2000). Albania can learn from the errors of Greece and properly enforce laws that are based on best management practices in the region. Notes Rigers Bakiu, Aquaculture Research Group, Department of Aquaculture and Fisheries, Faculty of Agriculture and Environment; Edmond Hala, Agricultural University of Tirana, Sr. Pajsi Vodica, 1029 Tirana, Albania; Arjan Demiri, Directorate of Aquaculture and Fisheries Services, Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Water Administration, Sheshi Skënderbej 2, 1000 Tirana, Albania. Corresponding author email: rigers.bakiu@ubt.edu.al References APROMAR (Asociación Empresarial de Acuicultura de España). 2017. La aquicultura en España. Asociación Empresarial de Acuicultura de España, Julio 2017. Apartado postal 266. Camino de Leche Santa, n 2 11130 Chiclana (Cádiz) – España. Andrews, A.H., L.J. Natanson, L.A. Kerr, G.H. Burgess and G.M. Cailliet. 2011. Bomb radiocarbon and tag-recapture dating of sandbar shark ( Carcharhinus plumbeus ). Fishery Bulletin 109:454-465. Bakiu, R., K. Korro and V. Kolaneci. 2015. 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