FACTSHEET
October 2009
A factsheet on aquaculture’s
use of marine areas,
development and
preservation of natural
resources.
Significant potential for
increased food production
Salmon farming has grown
significantly over the last 10
years. During the same period
the number of locations in use
has fallen by 40%.
The trend shows a clear reduction
in the number of locations used for
aquaculture. At the end of 2008
there were a total of 1038 locations
used in the production of salmon
and trout in Norway. There were
342 locations approved for other
farmed fish species, while the
shellfish industry had 520
96% of the country’s coastal municipalities have their own coastal zone plans
At the end of 2008, 96% of the coastal municipalities had drawn up their own coastal zone plans. Good planning through open
processes reduces possible conflicts between different user interests and creates a basis for co-existence. The fact that a municipality
has allocated approved areas for aquaculture, gives the fish farmers the possibility of long-term planning and an optimum location
structure. It is decisive for the future of the industry that steps are taken to ensure that the most suitable areas for aquaculture, and
thus for the environment, can be put into use.
Costal zone
The
Photo: NSEC
locations. The development for
shellfish and marine species is due to
a real decline in activity, while for
salmon the development is a
consequence of a restructuring of the
industry with fewer, but larger
locations as a result. This
development takes place at the same
time as we see a clear increase in the
production of salmon.
On the next page there is an overview
of the permits granted to marine
locations for salmon. Not all locations
are in use at the same time.
90,000 km 2
of marine area
within the sea
boundary
The Norwegian coastline is 21,000
km long. This is equal to a distance
longer than half way around the
equator. Within the sea boundary
is 90,000 km2 of marine area.
Norway has access to a potential
food production area that is the
same size as the agricultural area
in Norway, Sweden, Finland and
Denmark put together.
The natural conditions create an
extremely good basis for operating
effective aquaculture-based food
production. Many and varied
interests related to the coastal
zone demand good and updated
coastal zone planning. Some 276
of the country’s 430 municipalities
border on these marine areas. And
as many as 80% of the Norwegian
population live less than 10 km
from the coast.
The coast has always been
strongly influenced by human
activity, and has historically been
of major significance to the
Norwegian society as a source of
food and basis for development
and welfare. A living coast offers
huge opportunities, but also
challenges. There are many
interests related to the coastal
areas. These range from protective
interests and recreation, to
fisheries, aquaculture, oil and gas
extraction, windmill parks,
transport and tourism.
 Strict assessment
procedure before

Number of marine locations

permission is
granted
Aquaculture companies that wish
to use marine areas for fish
farming must submit an
application. The application is
assessed carefully and by several
bodies before approval is granted.
Both the regulations and plans
form the basis for these
assessments. The locations can
only be cleared if they are
considered to be environmentally
suitable. The authorities balance
the interests for an area with
special emphasis on the applicant’s
requirements, whether other
undertakings are planned for the
area or whether there are special
protective interests in the area.
Furthermore the applicant must
have the required permits related
to food production legislation,
pollution and waste management.
The regulations regarding ports
and waters and for rivers and
groundwater must also be
assessed.
Protection and use
A number of fjord and coastal
areas are subject to nature
conservation or are planned to be
protected. There are different
protective aims and any conflict
with the aquaculture industry will
thus vary. If all provisional
protection plans are implemented,
major parts of the coast will be off
limits.
It is therefore important that
protection plans are coordinated
and the consequences are
examined. The need for and effect
of the plans must be thoroughly
assessed. Protective measures
must be in proportion to the
protective aim, and the opportunity
for concurrent use and protection
must always form part of the
assessment.
Protection that has no
effect must cease. The best
protection takes place
through a sensible
use of our many and
rich resources.
Development in the number of locations for salmon and trout in Norway, 1999.2008.
Source: Norwegian Directory of Fisheries/FHL
Regarding the regulations all locations
must have a rest period or fallow time
of at least 2 months between the end
of one production and the start of a
new production. This is both to secure
the environment under the net cages
and to reduce any infection pressure
in an area before new fish are
introduced.
In some cases it is also desirable for
the fish farmer to have an alternative
area for newly released fish cleared if
the infection conditions in another
area mean that it should not be used
for a time.
The trend is also in the direction of
fish farmers bringing production
together in larger, well-studied and
more suitable locations. This is a
positive development with regard to
the use of areas. In practice fewer, but
larger locations lead to less average
area being used for each licence, and
to the area used being monitored
even more closely to prevent negative
effects on the fish and the
environment.
Negative environmental impact
generally affects the fish and thus the
fish farmer first. Being pro-active in
choosing the most suitable locations is
thus a pre-requisite when there is to
be a large amount of fish in a location.
Today the fish farmer has far better
conditions and methods to be able to
select suitable fish farming locations.
There has also been a development
in the use of larger fish farming net
cages. This has led to fewer net
cages in the locations, even if the
number of fish and thus production
has increased. Emphasis is put on
organising the facility so that all net
cages have good water flow. In
practice this has resulted in more
standardised facilities and more
uniform equipment. In total this
provides a positive and “tidy” visual
impression of the fish farming
location.
Since in many places the locations
are also moved out from land with
feed silos in compact facilities right
by the net cages, an increasingly
smaller area is used on land for land
bases and feed storage. This,
together with the restructuring and
coordination of locations will lead to
the planned continued growth in
seafood production in Norway not
being synonymous with greater area
use.
Over the last 30 years the
aquaculture industry has shown
that it is possible to produce
large amounts of healthy food
from a relatively small area.

This factsheet is published by The Norwegian Seafood

Other sources Federation (FHL). Comprehensive information about the
The Norwegian Directory of use of marine areas and other relevant topics can be
Fisheries: www.fiskeridir.no found in FHL’s Environmental Report for 2008. FHL is the
The Norwegian Coastal largest employer organisation for the seafood industry and covers the entire value
Administration: www.kystverket.no chain, from fjord to table. FHL is affiliated with NHO. See also www.fhl.no/miljo