This Aquaculture Development Plan is a 5-year sectoral document aiming to the development of Aquaculture and Fisheries Industries in CNMI (Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands) that is supported by a series of factors, as follows (i) High local demand for fresh fish by the resident population; (ii) High demand for fresh fish from the tourist industry; (iii) Limitless supply of clean seawater; (iv) Access to technology; (v) Limited and declining inshore fish stocks; and (vi) Strong political will to diversify the economy. o achieve the goal, a list of commodities was selected, chosen on two main criteria (feasibility and impact), according to a priority scale: High priority commodities (tilapia and marine shrimp); Medium priority commodities (marine fin fish, freshwater crustaceans, giant clams, and milk fish); Low priority commodities (sea cucumbers, corals, marine ornamental fish, freshwater ornamental fish, mangrove crabs); and Emerging commodities (coconut crabs, trochus, sponges, turban shells). The necessary actions are divided according to a timeline in immediate, two years, and five years actions. To make this aquaculture industry sustainable, main actions are directed to (i) reduce production costs by evaluating suitable alternative energy systems; (ii) run the farms, wholly or partially, using alternative energy systems; (iii) decrease dependency on fossil fuels; (iv) carry out an import risk assessment to verify what ecological (invasive) and pathogenic (disease) risks there may be to introducing a new species; (v) identify and favor commodities that can be grown using less energy; (vi) develop alternative energy systems for aquaculture; (vii) reduce the cost of feeds for aquaculture by choosing species that either feed low in the food chain or with low protein feed requirements; (viii) minimize risk of disease import and of harmful invasive species In order to enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food systems, the plan provides for (i) working to produce feeds locally; (ii) making available funding sources to farmers; (iii) making match domestic demand for fresh shrimps and local production; (iv) establishing a domestic breeding program to avoid importing live shrimp; (v) banning importation of frozen shrimp to promote the local food industry; (vi) exploring the possibility of an aquaculture industrial park to streamline the entry of farmers into the industry; (vii) increasing grant funding opportunities for farmers; (viii) forming cooperatives to share and mitigate financial costs; (ix) producing a quality product that the local market is willing to pay more for; (x) improving community involvement and coordination in aquaculture, also increasing women and youth involvement.
جزر ماريانا الشمالية (المملكة المتحدة) · 2011-01-01