203
11 Salmon Aquaculture in Canada and Norway – Appraising Governability
‘overall quality for governance’ (Kooiman 2003, 2008 ) , the operationalization of
the concept involves asking questions about the properties of a system that are conducive to governing, the ability of the governing system to perform its tasks, and the
existence and quality of governing interactions that may foster or limit governance
(Jentoft 2007 ; Chuenpagdee et al. 2008 ; Chuenpagdee 2011 ) . Applying it to salmon
aquaculture, we ask what aspects of the industry pose limitations to governance, and
what aspects offer opportunities to the industry and policy makers in attaining their
sustainability goals.
The rest of the chapter is organized as follows. In the next section, we present
an overview of the evolution of salmon aquaculture development and its associated problems and challenges, with some emphasis on the Canadian and
Norwegian industry. This is followed by a description of current policies and
regulations governing the industry. Based on this, we discuss the salmon aquaculture industry in the context of governability. In the fi nal section, we suggest
ways to improve governability and promote sustainability in salmon aquaculture
development.
Evolution of Salmon Aquaculture
Salmon aquaculture fi rst began as part of a stock enhancement program, which
involved keeping the fi sh in rearing facilities for a certain period before releasing
them as smolt or adults into rivers or coastal areas. This means of enhancing and
restoring declining or depleted wild salmon stocks was initially conducted in
Japan, Canada and the US (Thorpe 1980 ) . In the 1960s, aquaculturists in Norway
and Scotland started to rear salmon in open fl oating cages in areas close to seashores (Willoughby 1999 ) . Breakthroughs with respect to biological and technological bottlenecks, such as smolt rearing and the formulation of dry feed, came
in the early 1970s with a fully developed technology for commercial-scale salmon
aquaculture. Although a small amount of farmed salmon still comes from landbased facilities, the majority is nowadays produced in open net-cage or net-pen
systems.
Over 95% of the total global farmed salmon production is Atlantic salmon, while
the remaining share is chum ( Oncorhynchus keta ), chinook ( O. tshawytscha ) and
coho ( O. kisutch ). Norway, Chile, the UK and Canada are the four largest producers
of farmed salmon in the world, contributing over 85% of the total production and
values. Norway has long been the leading farmed salmon producer, as well as the
pioneer in technological innovation and development of new markets (Aarset 1998 ) .
In the 1980s the Norwegian government launched a licensing system limiting farm
size and fi sh density in order to avoid over-production and domination by a few big
companies (Willoughby 1999 ; Sønvisen 2003 ) . This rigorous system, however,
drove Norwegian investments overseas to places like Chile and Canada, where there
were fewer regulations and more potential for pro fi t-making. Salmon aquaculture in
Chile, for instance, has continued to expand since its introduction in the 1980s.
11 Salmon Aquaculture in Canada and Norway – Appraising Governability
‘overall quality for governance’ (Kooiman 2003, 2008 ) , the operationalization of
the concept involves asking questions about the properties of a system that are conducive to governing, the ability of the governing system to perform its tasks, and the
existence and quality of governing interactions that may foster or limit governance
(Jentoft 2007 ; Chuenpagdee et al. 2008 ; Chuenpagdee 2011 ) . Applying it to salmon
aquaculture, we ask what aspects of the industry pose limitations to governance, and
what aspects offer opportunities to the industry and policy makers in attaining their
sustainability goals.
The rest of the chapter is organized as follows. In the next section, we present
an overview of the evolution of salmon aquaculture development and its associated problems and challenges, with some emphasis on the Canadian and
Norwegian industry. This is followed by a description of current policies and
regulations governing the industry. Based on this, we discuss the salmon aquaculture industry in the context of governability. In the fi nal section, we suggest
ways to improve governability and promote sustainability in salmon aquaculture
development.
Evolution of Salmon Aquaculture
Salmon aquaculture fi rst began as part of a stock enhancement program, which
involved keeping the fi sh in rearing facilities for a certain period before releasing
them as smolt or adults into rivers or coastal areas. This means of enhancing and
restoring declining or depleted wild salmon stocks was initially conducted in
Japan, Canada and the US (Thorpe 1980 ) . In the 1960s, aquaculturists in Norway
and Scotland started to rear salmon in open fl oating cages in areas close to seashores (Willoughby 1999 ) . Breakthroughs with respect to biological and technological bottlenecks, such as smolt rearing and the formulation of dry feed, came
in the early 1970s with a fully developed technology for commercial-scale salmon
aquaculture. Although a small amount of farmed salmon still comes from landbased facilities, the majority is nowadays produced in open net-cage or net-pen
systems.
Over 95% of the total global farmed salmon production is Atlantic salmon, while
the remaining share is chum ( Oncorhynchus keta ), chinook ( O. tshawytscha ) and
coho ( O. kisutch ). Norway, Chile, the UK and Canada are the four largest producers
of farmed salmon in the world, contributing over 85% of the total production and
values. Norway has long been the leading farmed salmon producer, as well as the
pioneer in technological innovation and development of new markets (Aarset 1998 ) .
In the 1980s the Norwegian government launched a licensing system limiting farm
size and fi sh density in order to avoid over-production and domination by a few big
companies (Willoughby 1999 ; Sønvisen 2003 ) . This rigorous system, however,
drove Norwegian investments overseas to places like Chile and Canada, where there
were fewer regulations and more potential for pro fi t-making. Salmon aquaculture in
Chile, for instance, has continued to expand since its introduction in the 1980s.