8 New pathways for organic
waste in land- based farming
of salmon
The case of Norway and Denmark
Hilde Ness Sandvold, Jay Sterling Gregg and
Dorothy Sutherland Olsen
8.1 Introduction
In this chapter, we explore the possibilities for sustainable pathways for the
increased valorisation of organic waste from the aquaculture salmon industry.
The chapter has a special focus on valorisation of sludge of the land- based
stage of salmon production, and is based on interviews with fish producers
and technology providers in Norway and Denmark.
The chapter is organised as follows: after the Introduction follows a section
on the background of aquaculture, summarising important trends in general
for aquaculture and explaining the developments of salmon production,
including waste streams and environmental regulations. In the Findings
section we explain the current utilisation of the sludge and describe challenges
in the current system. The analytical section addresses the main barriers for
new path development, and describes the structural elements of a development of sustainable aquaculture from the perspective of the recent literature
on socio- technical transitions.
8.2 Background
8.2.1 Aquaculture trends
Global demand for animal- based food products, particularly fish, is increasing:
the production of seafood from aquaculture has grown 15-fold since 1980
and has doubled since 2000 (FAO, 2016). Aquaculture now produces over
half of all fish for human consumption in the world and is the world’s fastestgrowing food production sector (FAO, 2016). The growth in demand for
seafood is largely driven by increasing wealth and urbanisation in developing
regions of the world (FAO, 2016). In the developed world, concerns over
sustainability issues, animal welfare, food safety and health are increasingly
driving consumer behaviour with respect to seafood consumption (FAO,
2016). Nevertheless, demand is expected to increase in all areas of the world
over the next decade (FAO, 2016).
waste in land- based farming
of salmon
The case of Norway and Denmark
Hilde Ness Sandvold, Jay Sterling Gregg and
Dorothy Sutherland Olsen
8.1 Introduction
In this chapter, we explore the possibilities for sustainable pathways for the
increased valorisation of organic waste from the aquaculture salmon industry.
The chapter has a special focus on valorisation of sludge of the land- based
stage of salmon production, and is based on interviews with fish producers
and technology providers in Norway and Denmark.
The chapter is organised as follows: after the Introduction follows a section
on the background of aquaculture, summarising important trends in general
for aquaculture and explaining the developments of salmon production,
including waste streams and environmental regulations. In the Findings
section we explain the current utilisation of the sludge and describe challenges
in the current system. The analytical section addresses the main barriers for
new path development, and describes the structural elements of a development of sustainable aquaculture from the perspective of the recent literature
on socio- technical transitions.
8.2 Background
8.2.1 Aquaculture trends
Global demand for animal- based food products, particularly fish, is increasing:
the production of seafood from aquaculture has grown 15-fold since 1980
and has doubled since 2000 (FAO, 2016). Aquaculture now produces over
half of all fish for human consumption in the world and is the world’s fastestgrowing food production sector (FAO, 2016). The growth in demand for
seafood is largely driven by increasing wealth and urbanisation in developing
regions of the world (FAO, 2016). In the developed world, concerns over
sustainability issues, animal welfare, food safety and health are increasingly
driving consumer behaviour with respect to seafood consumption (FAO,
2016). Nevertheless, demand is expected to increase in all areas of the world
over the next decade (FAO, 2016).