The Coastal Aquaculture Authority Act, 2005

(1) This Act may be called the Coastal Aquaculture AuthorityAct, 2005. (2) Provisions of section 27 shall come into force at once and the remaining provisions of this Actshall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification in the OfficialGazette, appoint.

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "Authority" means the Coastal Aquaculture Authority established under sub-section (1) ofsection 4; (b) "Chairperson" means the Chairperson of the Authority; (c) "coastal aquaculture" means culturing, under controlled conditions in ponds, pens, enclosuresor otherwise, in coastal areas, of shrimp, prawn, fish or any other aquatic life in saline or brackishwater; but does not include fresh water aquaculture; (d) "coastal area" means the area declared as the Coastal Regulation Zone, for the time being, inthe notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Environment and Forests (Departmentof Environment, Forests and Wildlife) No. S.O. 114(E), dated the 19th February, 1991 and includessuch other area as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify; (e) "member" means the member of the Authority appointed under sub-section (3) of section 4and includes the Chairperson and the member-secretary; (f) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act; (g) "regulations" means the regulations made by the Authority under this Act. (2) Words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in the Environment (Protection)Act, 1986 (29 of 1986) shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act.

The CentralGovernment shall take all such measures as it deems necessary or expedient for regulation of coastalaquaculture by prescribing guidelines, to ensure that coastal aquaculture does not cause any detriment tothe coastal environment and the concept of responsible coastal aquaculture contained in such guidelinesshall be followed in regulating the coastal aquaculture activities to protect the livelihood of varioussections of the people living in the coastal areas.

(1) With effectfrom such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint in thisbehalf, there shall be established for the purposes of this Act an Authority to be called the CoastalAquaculture Authority. (2) The head office of the Authority shall be at such place as the Central Government may decide. (3) The Authority shall consist of the following members who shall be appointed by the CentralGovernment, namely:-- (a) the Chairperson who is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court; (b) one member who is an expert in the field of coastal aquaculture; (c) one member who is an expert in the field of coastal ecology nominated by the Department ofOcean Development of the Central Government; (d) one member who is an expert in the field of environment protection or pollution controlnominated by the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Central Government; (e) one member to represent the Ministry of Agriculture of the Central Government; (f) one member to represent the Ministry of Commerce of the Central Government; (g) four members to represent the coastal States on rotation basis; (h) one member-secretary. (4) The term of office of the Chairperson and every other member shall be three years. (5) The salaries and allowances payable to, and the other terms and conditions of service of, themembers shall be such as may be prescribed.

A person shall be disqualified for beingappointed as a member if he-- (a) has been convicted and sentenced to imprisonment for an offence which, in the opinion of theCentral Government, involves moral turpitude; or (b) is an undischarged insolvent; or (c) is of unsound mind and stands so declared by a competent court; or (d) has been removed or dismissed from the service of the Government or a Corporation ownedor controlled by the Government; or (e) has, in the opinion of the Central Government, such financial or other interest in the Authorityas is likely to affect prejudicially the discharge by him of his functions as a member.