Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Marianne Siversten Næss has unveiled a new whitepaper covering steps the government plans to take to regulate Norway’s aquaculture industry.
The whitepaper includes a number of proposals for the nation’s aquaculture industry, including new policies regarding sea lice and adjusting how companies are allocated biomass.
“The Norwegian aquaculture industry has experienced tremendous development and growth, creating value and jobs along the coast. Aquaculture is today our second-largest export industry, and it is important that Norwegian seafood has a good reputation,” Næss said in a release. “With this growth has also come challenges, particularly related to the environment and fish welfare.”
The new policy proposal adjusts how maximum permitted biomass is managed at the company level – by tying it directly to the prevalence of sea lice on salmon farms.
“We want the release of sea lice to have a direct cost for the farmers. In this way, it will become more profitable to operate with a low environmental impact. This will provide more accurate regulation of the industry,” Næss said.
The new proposal would create “tradable quotas” for sea lice emissions, set on the basis of what Norway’s Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Finance deems acceptable to the surrounding environment. If the new proposal is taken up by the government, all salmon farms will fall under the new quota system, the ministry said.
“We see that current regulations do not provide good enough incentives for sustainable operations,” Næss said. “The government is, therefore, proposing a new management system that will make it more profitable to operate with low environmental impact and good animal welfare.”
Alongside the new sea lice regulations, Næss said the proposal will also remove quantity restrictions on salmon farming. Removing the quantity limitation would mean operators are able to choose how to comply with new sea lice regulations, the ministry said, meaning those who take positive action and have low environmental impact can farm more salmon.
“A permit will still be required to operate aquaculture. The aquaculture permit will grant the right to aquaculture production in a specific geographical area but will not contain any restrictions on quantity or species,” the ministry said.
The new permitting structure would also shift any new permits under the Aquaculture Act to an auction system.
Norway also said it is planning to introduce a fee tied to mortality rates, with increasing penalties for higher mortality.
“We have seen for a long time that fish welfare in the aquaculture industry is not good enough. In the animal welfare report, we set a specific goal of getting mortality down to five percent. We are now following up by introducing a fee for lost fish,” Næss said. “We will set the fee low at the start and possibly increase it over time. The goal is for fish welfare to be so good that most people do not have to pay the fee.”
The report has been submitted to the Norwegian government, where it will now face potential changes from elected officials.
