Balancing Competing Claims to Coastal and Inland Water Resources: Comparing California on the US West Coast with the Norwegian experience

It is estimated that by 2025, the U.S. alone will need more than 1.5 million metric tons of additional seafood at the current rate of consumption. Worldwide consumption likewise is projected to arrive at close to 170 million tons of seafood per year by 20 50. Present day marine input in the system is only around 100 million tons, however. Like in Norway, U.S. marine capture fisheries have had relatively flat growth rates, however, and only an increased aquaculture production can likely contribute to a fis h volume contribution in the projected magnitude. In both geographical areas, however, there is also a growing attention and vocal concerns regarding the societal aspects of the fast growing aquaculture industry, including concerns over animal welfare and illnesses, and particularly environmental impacts marine aquaculture has on coastal ecosystems. Competing claims to the coastal zones of maritime nations with extensive coast lines such as Norway's and the US West Coast has thus been a simmering conflict over the past decades, and is likely to escalate greatly with this increased demand for marine resources by not only aquaculture's need for localities and marine capture fisheries claims to the same areas, but also oil and gas exploration companies, tour ism and environmentalists. Balancing the competing claims to the coast will thus continue to be an intensifying challenge for policy makers in the future. Given the background of similar conflict areas with regards to competing claims to the marine coast al zones, the current study will produce a intrinsically valuable conceptual tool that will meet not only the researchers', but also decision makers' needs for information on how to best meet the challenges of current and future competing claims and the a ssociated conflicts thereto by considering lessons learned from comparing two geographically distant areas with similar issues but different problem solving methods; California on the US West Coast and Norway.