There are concepts that have come so far that they can be certified and used commercially, which are good news for society, says Tveterås.
Sustainable growth with sea-floating closed-system fish farming (norwegian only) is a new report commissioned by Stiim Aqua Cluster. The report was led by Ragnar Tveterås, professor of economics at the University of Stavanger, who among other things, explored whether fish farming in closed-system facilities at sea should be equated with land-based fish farming.
Land-based fish farming permits are granted continuously and free of charge, but this does not apply to fish farming licenses for closed-system facilities at sea. Today, sea-floating closed-system fish farms must compete for permits with ordinary commercial operators within the norwegian “traffic light system”, despite the fact that the fish farms do not contribute to the spread of fish lice, are “traffic light neutral” and can be regulated in a separate class, Tveterås explains.
The report concludes, among other things, that separate commercial permits should be introduced for certified closed-system fish farms at sea. There are concepts that have come so far that they can be certified and used commercially, which are good news for society, says Tveterås. Fishglobe is one of the players that has developed a closed-system fish farming technology with good results. As these are facilities have a higher cost than traditional pens and nets, fish farmers are less willing to invest in this type of technology, which is more sustainable than the fish farming methods we use today, says Tor Hellestøl, CEO at FishGLOBE. It is challenging to commercialize with todays regulations, but we believe that the comming aquaculture strategy will facilitate sea-floating closed-system fish farming, Hellestøl concludes.