Salmon Aquaculture Industry Research Articles

Environment, sustainability and regulation in commercial aquaculture: The case of Chilean salmonid production

Chilean salmon aquaculture has exhibited dynamic growth since its introduction on a commercial scale in the early 1980s (IFOP, 1994). The indicators of growth show no immediate signs of abating, despite lower prices, and Chilean production now ranks second only to Norway in international production. The industry's efficiency and profitability depends primarily on two factors: optimal food utilisation to achieve a maximal rate of growth at a minimum cost and the control of mortality in the farmed fish population. The management of these factors has direct and indirect effects on the fresh water and marine environments of production sites. Many of these effects can be linked to the contamination of aquatic environments. The regulation of the industry to control these effects will determine its sustainability. This paper argues two points. The first point is that responsibility for the monitoring and regulation of the salmon aquaculture industry should lie with the state, especially in terms of environmental quality. The second point is the need to establish the degree to which intensive salmon aquaculture in Chile is sustainable at its current rate of expansion. In both cases, it is stressed that state regulation should be broader and more efficient than at present if the industry is to have a more sustainable future.

Trade Disputes and Productivity Gains: The Curse of Farmed Salmon Production?

Trade Disputes and Productivity Gains: The Curse of Farmed Salmon Production?

Balancing social equity and environmental integrity in Ireland's salmon farming industry

Drawing upon insights from research on agriculture and fisheries, interview data, and information from industry and government sources, this article provides evidence to account for the resilience of small producers in the Irish salmon farming industry. Although group marketing, unpaid family labor, and a local infrastructure have supported small firms, such production may be undermined by conflicts with the more powerful tourism industry. These conflicts point to the place of small firms in the sustainable development of the salmon aquaculture industry. The article concludes with public policy recommendations that may enable salmon farming to coexist with other user groups in the marine environment, and in the process provide for a balance between social equity and environmental integrity in the management of fisheries resources.

Regional economic impact of oil spills

This article demonstrates an approach of coupling an environmental model to I-O analysis which aims to quantify the regional economic impact of an environmental accident. The model is implemented with the data of a potential oil spill interacting with the salmon aquaculture industry in Northern Norway. The production loss in salmon aquaculture and the regional income impact is computed and discussed. The approach used in this article could be a model for estimating the regional socio-economic impact of environmental factors like water and air pollution.

International management of Atlantic salmon — the role of NASCO

This paper describes the Convention for the Conservation of Salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Convention established a new international organisation, the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organisation (NASCO), with the objective of contributing to the conservation, restoration, enhancement and rational management of salmon stocks. Every North Atlantic nation with Atlantic salmon interests is a member of the organisation and international cooperation on management of the resource now exists. Progress in the first six years of NASCO's existence is summarised. Fishing of Salmon beyond areas of fisheries' jurisdiction of coastal states is prohibited by the Convention. Within areas of fisheries' jurisdiction, fishing of salmon is prohibited beyond 12 nautical miles, except in the West Greenland Commission (up to 40 nautical miles) and in the North-East Atlantic Commission (within the area of fisheries jurisdiction of the Faroe Islands). Following detailed negotiations, regulatory measures have been adopted in all three regional Commissions and these measures are described. Recent agreements on regulatory measures have adopted a more long-term approach than had previously been possible. In addition, the NASCO Convention has stimulated scientific research, exchange of information on laws, regulations and programmes, analysis of catch statistics, and reviews of salmon tagging programmes and the possible threat to wild stocks from the rapidly developing salmon aquaculture industry. Recognising the serious nature of some of the threats to wild stocks from the salmon aquaculture industry, the Council has agreed on a number of courses of action, including the consideration of an internationally agreed code of practice or recommendations to minimise the impacts of aquaculture on wild stocks. The Atlantic salmon is now one of the few species having its own international treaty. International cooperation in the first few years of the new organisation augurs well for the future conservation and rational management of this prized and valuable resource.