Save the Salmon: Stakeholder Insights from Norway and Alaska Regarding Aquaculture Industries

Abstract

Norway’s fish farms and Alaska’s hatcheries generate immense value for their respective regions. Though differing in purpose, size, practice, and documented impacts, both aquaculture industries claim to have a vested interest in preserving their wild salmon populations. The progress with respect to this goal is highly contested and scrutinized within each region, and the full scope of stakeholder opinions regarding this goal has not yet been comprehensively documented. Through sociological interviews of primary stakeholders within each region, this thesis identifies how various industry affiliates in Norway and Alaska interpret their respective industry’s stated dedication to wild salmon preservation. The various interviews also identify the primary areas of consensus and contention with respect to each industry’s practices and impacts. An analysis of these interviews reveals that Norwegian stakeholders are more divided than Alaskan stakeholders, especially concerning the question of industry dedication to wild salmon preservation. Another significant area of disagreement within Norway is the level of industry transparency, and overall, the interviews demonstrate a lack of collaboration among Norwegian stakeholders. In Alaska, the primary debate is around the extent of the hatcheries’ impacts, and the interviews demonstrate significant collaboration among Alaskan stakeholders. While these differences can likely be explained by the larger size and therefore impacts of the Norwegian fish farms compared to the Alaskan hatcheries, the interviews also invite speculation that societal factors may have contributed to the range of opinions documented within each region. From this interview analysis, this thesis identifies policy recommendations for each region that could appease conflicting stakeholders and simultaneously enhance the preservation of wild salmon populations. In Norway, these recommendations include increased industry transparency, improvements to the traffic light system, increased use of novel feed, and a large-scale conversion to closed farming facilities. In Alaska, these recommendations include increased carrying capacity and climate change studies, increased communication of more localized events/concerns by way of government liaisons, the continued advancement of mariculture integration into the hatcheries, and more funding towards research hatcheries.