Abstract
Norwegian salmon industry has a rich historical tradition, which today represents a successful global export market. Starting in 1990, farmers and producers began the production of organic salmon. It was implemented with a heavy focus on environmental sustainability. There are currently two organically certified salmon producers in Norway who are subject to regulations which are intended to limit – or ideally to entirely avoid – environmental harm. In particular, organic certification requires that salmon have larger cages and are fed with organic fish trimmings. Additionally, organic farms must comply with different regulations for vaccination and water oxygen to conventional farms. The resulting organic product is natural in color and has a different structure of omega 3-fat compared to the conventional reference product. The value chain of organic salmon in Norway is highly regulated and is characterized by strong governance at farm level. Furthermore, the farming, processing, and retailing of this supply chain is well integrated as these three levels often overlap. Comparing organic and conventional salmon production across several indicators of economic, social, and environmental sustainability, this chapter offers some insight into both supply chains. Organic salmon performs slightly better in terms of economic sustainability (mostly driven by consumer prices and profitability) and environmental sustainability as a whole. Results for social sustainability are mixed although in absolute terms, both supply chains are fairly sustainable in terms of equal gender opportunities.
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Notes
- 1.
Loki is a god in Old Norse mythology. He often provokes the other gods, and he turns into a salmon when he wants to escape danger. He is also known for having made a fishing net.
- 2.
- 3.
Gylfaginning saga tells the story of Gylfy, a Nordic king, in the first part of the Heimskringla, known as the younger Edda written by Snorri Sturluson (1179–1241)
- 4.
Borch is not the only author who claims that farm workers would not eat salmon more than two times a week until the Enlightenment; but this was obviously limited to a few places near lakes or rivers where anglers could get salmon. The authors could not find any official historical source confirming this view. Therefore, it should be treated with caution, especially considering the huge amount of seafood potentially in competition with the more seasonal salmon.
- 5.
Ibid.
- 6.
- 7.
Governmental report nr, 13 1992–93 “Om FN-konferansen om miljø og utvikling i Rio de Janeiro”, Governmental report nr. 40 1996–97 “Om matkvalitet og forbrukertrygghet”, Governmental report nr. 58 1996–97 “Miljøvernpolitikk for en bærekraftig utvikling”.
- 8.
The increased concentration of marine material in organic salmon is believed to be a key reason behind the demonstrated stronger fish taste of organic salmon compared to conventional salmon (Åsli and Mørkøre 2011).
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank all key stakeholders who provided essential information about organically farmed salmon in Norway. The authors would particularly like to thank Jan-Widar Finden, Bernt Aarset, Martin Øvrebø, Roy Alapnes, and Tor Egil Skaar – for providing helpful insight into the historical background of salmon farming, organic certification, and details about the entire value chain of organically farmed salmon in Norway.
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Steinnes, K.K., Amilien, V., Vittersø, G. (2019). Organic Salmon in Norway. In: Arfini, F., Bellassen, V. (eds) Sustainability of European Food Quality Schemes. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27508-2_27
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