Limitations to growth: Social-ecological challenges to aquaculture development in five wealthy nations

Abstract

Aquaculture is a major contributor to global food production, but has attracted considerable controversy. Disagreements over the social and ecological impacts of aquaculture (positive and negative) have hindered further expansion of aquaculture production, particularly in wealthy democratic countries. This article presents findings from a series of workshops bringing international aquaculture scholars together from the natural and social sciences to examine and compare social-ecological challenges facing aquaculture development in five nations: Canada, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden. This multinational comparison provides unique insights into common and particular challenges in aquaculture governancea dimension that is missing in current literature about the industry. A political ecology framework from the environmental social sciences is used to examine how natural and human phenomena interact to shape these challenges and frame the conflicts that often result. The analysis reveals a wide range of social-ecological factors limiting aquaculture expansion in the five countries, including access to suitable environments, interactions with other sectors, and policy and regulatory gapsnot only with respect to aquaculture, but also on related issues such as marine spatial planning and the involvement of indigenous peoples in decision-making. The findings provide preliminary guidance for future policy development and comparative aquaculture research. IntroductionAquaculture, the farming of aquatic animals and plants for private harvest, has grown substantially in recent decades and now plays a major role in the global food system. Like landbased agriculture, aquaculture takes multiple forms, from the small-scale stocking of ponds with herbivorous fish for local consumption, to the industrial-scale production of high-value species such as salmon, shrimp, and shellfish for international markets (FAO 2016). Global aquaculture production has grown at rapid rate, from 32 million tonnes in 2000 to 77 million tonnes in 2015 (Zhou 2017). With this growth have come new social and ecological challenges. In developing regions where small-scale freshwater aquaculture is common, issues such as landscape change, water quality, deforestation, and loss of wetlands have been identified as key problems (Bush and Marschke 2014). In wealthier countries, controversy has emerged over impacts on wild stocks and species, degradation of habitat, rural futures and economic restructuring, and legal and moral rights to aquatic spaces and resources (Young and Matthews 2010). These challenges

Cost-benefit analysis of aquaculture expansion in Arctic Norway

“…Marine aquaculture is an expanding industry worldwide (FAO 2018). It provides food for humans and generate jobs and income to coastal communities (Béné et al 2016), but can have negative effects on marine habitats and wildlife (Taranger et al 2014) and human coastal and marine stakeholders (Young et al 2019). While studies find that large ocean areas are suitable for expanding marine aquaculture (Troell et al 2017), the benefits and costs or risks of establishing or expanding aquaculture should be carefully assessed and weighed up against each other.…”

“…The coast is widely used for recreational and subsistence activities (Jentoft and Buanes, 2005). The coast is also extensively used for commercial fish harvesting (Young et al, 2019).…”

Wild and Farmed Arctic Charr as a Tourism Product in an Era of Climate Change

“…Escapes from the net cages and the mixing of aquaculture fish (from breeding programs) with wild populations present certain risks. However, strict regulations about fish farming in the Nordic countries require environmental impact assessments that estimate the potential risks with regards to nutrient loading and risks to wild populations (Young et al, 2019). The environmental impact of land-based aquaculture is less than from cages in lakes and the sea.…”

“…Filtering of the effluent from the farms removes organic particles and the probability of escapes from tanks is much lower than from cages. These issues are actively debated for Atlantic salmon aquaculture (Bacher, 2015;Froehlich et al, 2017;Young et al, 2019), but much less or not at all for Arctic charr farming. Therefore, it is not clear how important these opinions are when customers make their choices from Nordic menus.…”

Shared waters—shared problems: The role of self-governance in managing common pool resources

“…This has been made possible due to a good governance regime stemming from both the government and the industry itself. In Norway and elsewhere, creating a good and predictable system for regulating aquaculture production is crucial for limiting environmental externalities and to allow future sustainable growth of the industry (Young et al, 2019), even though this is not always straightforward (Osmundsen et al, 2017. provide an overview of the development of the formal Norwegian regulatory system.…”