Organic waste in farming of salmon 155
sludge are not yet in place. Our interviewees did not view the waste as a
valuable product and it was of little interest in relation to the greater costs of
running a profitable fish farm. These short- term economic priorities may also
be a reason for the low levels of investment and experimentation into new
ways of waste utilisation.
Resistance to go into new business areas
The firms are reluctant to diversify into new business areas. The major fishproducing firms’ priorities are geared more towards producing salmon,
whereas disposing waste is seen as a responsibility. Lacking expertise and
seeing the waste as a small component to their bottom line, the fish firms
were counting on existing recycling companies to introduce new alternatives.
When asked, the firms were not interested in diversifying into other markets
and did not see a financial advantage in this.
Patchwork regulation
Another barrier comes from the lack of legislation and fragmentation of policies, particularly in Norway, where the salmon farming industry is rapidly
expanding. The different counties along the coastline have different guidelines for how they process and grant applications, and there are no cohesive
national guidelines on how to handle the waste. Consequently, hatcheries
experience different regulatory requirements regarding the treatment of effluent. On the one hand, this lack of common regulation means that salmon
farms are free to use and test different solutions within the requirements. Our
interviews suggest that this situation is fostering local innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives, but there is no large- scale, industry- wide solution to
handle the waste in a cost- efficient manner. Therefore, on the other hand,
the current regulatory environment is not conducive to developing a market
for waste.
Lack of collaboration
On the local level, fish producers seem to collaborate well with external partners in order to deal with their waste. However, on the national level, there
seems to be a lack of collaboration between the agricultural sector, aquaculture, producers of technology and the recycling sector. The fact that all
firms and sectors specialise in their own niches results in a lack of crosssectoral expertise. Some of the fish- producing firms we interviewed had little
understanding of how other industries might benefit from their waste, and
the potential it has for valorisation. Better collaboration between different
industries could increase the potential of alternative uses of waste.
sludge are not yet in place. Our interviewees did not view the waste as a
valuable product and it was of little interest in relation to the greater costs of
running a profitable fish farm. These short- term economic priorities may also
be a reason for the low levels of investment and experimentation into new
ways of waste utilisation.
Resistance to go into new business areas
The firms are reluctant to diversify into new business areas. The major fishproducing firms’ priorities are geared more towards producing salmon,
whereas disposing waste is seen as a responsibility. Lacking expertise and
seeing the waste as a small component to their bottom line, the fish firms
were counting on existing recycling companies to introduce new alternatives.
When asked, the firms were not interested in diversifying into other markets
and did not see a financial advantage in this.
Patchwork regulation
Another barrier comes from the lack of legislation and fragmentation of policies, particularly in Norway, where the salmon farming industry is rapidly
expanding. The different counties along the coastline have different guidelines for how they process and grant applications, and there are no cohesive
national guidelines on how to handle the waste. Consequently, hatcheries
experience different regulatory requirements regarding the treatment of effluent. On the one hand, this lack of common regulation means that salmon
farms are free to use and test different solutions within the requirements. Our
interviews suggest that this situation is fostering local innovation and entrepreneurial initiatives, but there is no large- scale, industry- wide solution to
handle the waste in a cost- efficient manner. Therefore, on the other hand,
the current regulatory environment is not conducive to developing a market
for waste.
Lack of collaboration
On the local level, fish producers seem to collaborate well with external partners in order to deal with their waste. However, on the national level, there
seems to be a lack of collaboration between the agricultural sector, aquaculture, producers of technology and the recycling sector. The fact that all
firms and sectors specialise in their own niches results in a lack of crosssectoral expertise. Some of the fish- producing firms we interviewed had little
understanding of how other industries might benefit from their waste, and
the potential it has for valorisation. Better collaboration between different
industries could increase the potential of alternative uses of waste.