Salmon aquaculture in the Faroe Islands – historical developments and future prospects

Abstract

Today, the combined direct contribution of fishing and fish farming is about one-third of the Faroe Islands’ GDP. In the last three decades, aquaculture has become an important industry, and the Faroe Islands is now the fifth largest salmon producer in the world. In this article, we provide an analysis of the development of Faroese aquaculture from the early 1960s to the present. As in other countries, there have been periods of growth as well as setbacks, and we analyze the reasons behind these developments. In addition, we will analyze the future prospects for the industry. In recent years, production has leveled off in the Faroe Islands. An important question is whether the industry will be able to respond to the business opportunities presented by the high price of salmon.