Designing Effective Management Systems for Aquaculture: Innovation and Sustainable Development

The Norwegian government aspires to make Norway the world's leading seafood nation through sustainable growth in aquaculture. To reach the goals of sustainability, growth and competitiveness, the aquaculture industry needs to solve a range of environmental challenges through continuous innovation. This project aims to analyze how regulations and management systems affect environmental innovation in the Norwegian aquaculture industry. First, we analyze core public regulations pertaining to aquaculture production in Norway. How does the mix of policy instruments stimulate environmental innovation? Our second step is to examine corporate environmental strategies, as these respond to legislation, market-based instruments, and voluntary instruments (certification). The third step is to examine potential trade-offs and synergies between different policy goals, policy instruments and strategies in the Norwegian aquaculture sector. On this basis we draw lessons for how management systems can be made more effective in stimulating sustainable innovation and aquaculture production. Results from a case study of Marine Harvest ASA (Mowi), the largest salmon producer internationally, indicate how linking profit-maximization and risk calculations to long-term normative sustainability can explain why corporations become entrepreneurs for sustainability. The study concludes with some reflections on implications of the findings for understanding business in environmental governance more broadly. Another study concludes that there is a significant room for employing Article 112 of the Norwegian Constitution as an independent legal basis for claims in cases dealing with aquaculture's effects on wild salmon, especially when in relation to new or expanded farming activities, or when authorities fail to take action against existing farming activity that threatens wild salmon stocks. Studying Norwegian policy mix we find that the development licenses are mainly oriented towards mechanical and large-scale technological innovation rather than genetic innovation. Breeding strategies represent the basis of the successful salmon sector. If genetic innovation would result in a near to fully lice-resistant roe, the sea lice problem could have been resolved without technological disruption, increasing consolidation and international competition. Lice-resistance is a cumulative trait and hence increasing with each generation, which is a main benefit of genetic innovation, adding to the environmental and public good character of this type of innovation. This has, however, been neglected in the current policy-mix with development licenses. Finally, ASC-labelled salmon is still largely unavailable to the Norwegian consumer. Our research on ASC adoption in Norway reveals that farmers have largely certified farms that represent ?low hanging fruits?, situated in areas less prone to sea lice and biological problems, while struggling to implement the standard in other areas where problems are more severe, such as the Norwegian west coast.

The Norwegian development licenses are oriented towards mechanical and large-scale technological innovation rather than genetic innovation, i.e. breeding strategies that represent the basis of the successful salmon sector. If genetic innovation would result in a near to fully lice-resistant roe, the sea lice problem could have been resolved without increased consolidation and international competition. Lice-resistance is a cumulative trait, which is a main benefit of genetic innovation, adding to the environmental and public good character of this type of innovation. This has been neglected in the current policy-mix with development licenses. The research indicates that there is an unemployed scope in the government policy mix for utilising the genetic route in enhancing sustainable innovation. As evident from this final report, these findings have been presented to and discussed With broad audiences of user groups through seminars and media coverage, spurring much attention.

The Norwegian government aspires to make Norway the world's leading seafood nation through predictable and environmentally sustainable growth in the aquaculture industry. Safeguarding future sustainability, growth and competitiveness depends on the industry?s ability to solve a range of environmental challenges through continuous innovation. This project aims to analyze how regulations and management systems affect innovation and sustainability in the Norwegian aquaculture industry. We will first analyze core public regulations pertaining to Norwegian aquaculture production. Key issues involve how laws and regulations applying to aquaculture activities are coordinated through institutions and government agencies, the interaction and conformity of domestic regulations with Norway's obligations under international law, and the extent to which the current mix of policy instruments stimulates environmental innovation. Second, we will examine corporate environmental strategies and responses to command-and-control legislation, market-based instruments, information-based approaches, and voluntary instruments such as certification. This enables an analysis of how different corporate strategies can be explained through a demand-side ?market pull? and/or a supply-side ?technological push? for innovation. Drawing on these results, we will build an economic model of innovation in the aquaculture industry and compare the effects of existing regulatory systems with the likely effects of other regulatory systems. Third, we will examine potential trade-offs and synergies between different policy goals and criteria, policy instruments and strategies in the Norwegian aquaculture sector. This provides a basis for drawing lessons for how management systems can be made more effective in stimulating sustainable innovation and aquaculture production.