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HAVBRUK2-Stort program for havbruksforskning

A unified framework for regulation of multi-technology salmon aquaculture

Alternative title: Helhetlig regulering av multi-teknologi akvakultur

Awarded: NOK 12.0 mill.

Project Number:

320612

Project Period:

2021 - 2025

Partner countries:

Salmon aquaculture is a highly innovative industry, much driven by environmental challenges such as sea lice. Both innovative closed aquaculture farms and offshore farms have emerged recently. More than twenty closed and semi-closed sea based farm concepts have emerged. The emergence of new production technologies in salmon aquaculture presents society with new challenges in developing new policies that enable sustainable growth in all dimensions ? economic, environmental and social. Society simply does not have a policy framework that allow the salmon aquaculture industry to use the right mix of technologies, and allow it to use new closed ocean and offshore ocean technologies. This project aims to provide important insights enabling the creation of an integrated and consistent government regulation framework for the emerging range of aquaculture technologies. The project has participation from salmon industry, environmental NGO and local government. We combine economics, political science and biology research which will provide new knowledge about the costs and benefits of new technologies, including environmental and social costs and benefits to society. The research will account for environmental, social and economic concerns as expressed in UN's sustainability goals. Current regulations, with focus on sea lice, have unfortunate consequences for the welfare of farmed fish. We aim to propose new regulations of aquaculture that will give salmon companies strong incentives to reduce environmental impacts and innovate.

Innovations in many areas have provided more technological opportunities for salmon aquaculture than we have ever seen before. Central innovations include open and closed production systems from land to offshore ocean which allow for several new value chain configurations. The emergence of new technologies and value chains in salmon aquaculture presents society with a new set of challenges in developing new policies that enable sustainable growth in all dimensions – economic, environmental and social. Currently society simply does not have a consistent policy framework for the new multi-technology aquaculture industry. This project aims to provide important insights enabling the creation of an integrated and consistent government regulation framework for the emerging range of salmon aquaculture production technologies. Through research with extensive stakeholder participation from salmon industry, environmental NGO and local government which combines economics, political science and biology research we will provide new knowledge about the costs and benefits of new technologies, including external environmental and social costs and benefits to society. The research and analytical framework will account for environmental, social and economic concerns as expressed in UN’s sustainability goals. The researcher and collaboration partners will provide extensive new documentation on economic, environmental and social aspects of emerging technologies, and employ this in bioeconomic models and analyses. We will propose a regulatory framework that can include quantitative mechanisms on production activities and emissions, and monetary incentives in the form of taxes and fees. The regulatory framework should aim to align aquaculture companies’ investment decisions with society’s sustainability concerns and objectives. Moreover, it should take into account uncertainties and asymmetric knowledge between government and industry regarding the performance of different technologies.

Publications from Cristin

Funding scheme:

HAVBRUK2-Stort program for havbruksforskning