The purpose of the TWG process, and the Area Management Agreements (AMA's) that result from it, is to facilitate co-operative working to achieve mutual objectives. Elsewhere this model of partnership has resulted in increased dialogue between the parties involved, which engenders a culture of mutual trust and understanding. Thus it is felt that the AMA's, which are delivered through dialogue and negotiation, are likely to secure a more sustainable future for both wild and farmed fish than can be achieved through a regulatory framework alone.
Area Management Agreements aim to incorporate a range of measures regarding the following:
- Synchronised production between sites within a given management area.
- Achievement of zero ovigerous salmon lice (particularly during the critical wild smolt migration periods between February and June).
- Use of smolts that are vaccinated against Furunculosis.
- Minimisation of farm escapes by following the recommendations of the Escapes Working Group.
- Consideration to relocation of some fish farm sites in particularly sensitive areas. If necessary by encouraging the development of new, more suitable sites, or by increasing the production in less sensitive sites within the general area.
- Adherence to agreed codes of practice (such as SSPO codes of practice and recommendations made by the Joint Government/Industry Working Group on Infectious Salmon Anaemia).