Aquaculture and sustainability –

An industry perspective
Dr. Jon Arne Grøttum
Director of Aquaculture
Sjømat Norge / Norwegian Seafood Federation
 Agenda

PRESENTATION OF THE THE INDUSTRY VISION FOR HOW TO REACH THE

AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY VISION
 Agenda

PRESENTATION OF THE THE INDUSTRY VISION FOR HOW TO REACH THE

AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY VISION
Sjømat Norge
(Norwegian Seafood
federation)

• Organizes the majority of

companies within the
Norwegian seafood sectors

• More than 800 member

companies – 18 000
employees
• Fishmeal and fishfeed
industry
• Aquaculture industry
• Processing industry
• Marine ingredients
industry

• Main office in Oslo

 What we do
✓Promoting legislation and industrial policies that
are in our members best interest
✓Promoting the interests of our members as
regards to exports and internationalisation
✓Advising member companies on a wide range of
issues, including
✓health and environment
✓food safety
✓trade regulations
✓legal advice in employees matters
✓Representing the industry in collective bargaining
 The history
Volume salmon and trout
1971 - 2020
1 600 000
Rainbow trout
1 400 000 Atlantic salmon

1 200 000
(1000 kg round weight)

1 000 000
Volume

800 000

600 000

400 000

200 000

0
 The global aquaculture production
Aquatic plants
25 %

Freshwater fish
43 %
Fish

Molluscs
17 %

Marine fish
Brackishwater fish 5%
2%
Invertabrata Amphibia, reptilia
0% Crustacea 1%
7%

FAO, FHL; 2011

 Traditional cage farming –
an effective way to produce food
The modern Aquaculture is a young industry –
what will be the future?
 Agenda

PRESENTATION OF THE THE INDUSTRY VISION FOR HOW TO REACH THE

AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY VISION
Question?

WHY ARE THE SEAFOOD SECTOR FOCUSING

ON SUSTAINABILITY?

ARE THE ANY DIFFERENCE ON A COMPANY

FOCUS ON SUSTAINABILITY THAN THE SECTOR
AS A WHOLE?
The global challenges

Illustration: The Sahara Project

 Will Aquaculture be
- a part of the problem
or
- a part of the solution
??
Question?

ARE THE SEAFOOD SECTOR SUSTAINABLE?

 Aquaculture – the main challenges today

Foto: ilaks.no Foto: Botngaard AS

Impact on the wild salmon population Discharges

- Effect of sea lice - Nutrients /organically / heavy metals
- Escapees - Medicines after sealice treatments
 UN: More aquaculture
EXPECTED GLOBAL SEAFOOD CONSUMPTION 2030

45% 62%

67,9 2009 55,0 58,2 2030 93,6

MILLION MT
FISHERIES
AQUACULTURE

FAOSTAT (2014) / FISH TO 2030 (WORLD BANK 2013)

Aquaculture
produce
14 million
meals salmon
each
day at a
area equivalent to
Andøya
Aquaculture as a part of the soultion
of the major global challanges
 Our vision
The Norwegian seafood industry will be a globally leading producer
of healthy food. We will deliver seafood, marine ingredients, world-
class production expertise and technology.

Through sustainable sustainable production methods and

innovation, the Norwegian seafood industry constitutes Norway's
most important contribution to achieving the U.N. Sustainable
Development Goals.
Environmental
sustainability

• The aquaculture industry shall not adversely affect species diversity

• The aquaculture industry shall be part of the solution to the climate challenge

• The aquaculture industry will use the ocean in a way that promotes
environmentally sustainable development
Social and economic
sustainability

• The aquaculture industry shall contribute to an increased production of food

• The aquaculture industry shall contribute to a positive Norwegian social

development

• The aquaculture industry shall contribute to improving the standard of living in

the world
 Agenda

PRESENTATION OF THE THE INDUSTRY VISION FOR HOW TO REACH THE

AQUACULTURE INDUSTRY SUSTAINABILITY VISION
 Strict regulations

✓ Assessment procedures before

permission is granted
✓ Monitoring the environment during
production
✓ Fallowing(min 2 months) before
new production
Is the aquaculture industry sustainable?
Do this car drive to fast?
 The acceptable foot print has to be defined

✓ More and better research by more

and better researchers

✓ Relevant parameters
✓ Relevant and good indicator to
estimate the environmental impact.
✓ Establish tools for decision makers
to define the acceptable foot print
If you don’t know the speed limit or the speed
- it can become messy
 Each company has the
responsibility to ensure a
sustainable production
- but many of the
measures are collective
Strategy: Avoid escapees

✓ Improve the technical standard of the

production units
✓ Improve the knowledge of the farmers

✓ Tracing the escapees

✓ Monitoring the rivers the take out the
escapees
✓ Use of sterile fish
 Reduction by use
of medication Sealice – the strategy of the industry
MEKANISK
OCEA SKAMIK FLATSETSUND
(Temp. vann) (Mekanisk) (Spyler)

Mechanical and
VANN

biological removal RENSEFISK

STINGRAY
OPTISK

(Laser)
RENSEFISK

SKJERMING

FÔR

Mechanical obstacles
AVL
BOTNGAARD CALANUS PLANY EGERSUND G.
(Skjørt) (Skjørt) (Skjørt) (Snorkel)

BIOMAR EWOS EWOS SRETTING

(Focus lice Q) (Synergy) (Boost) (Protec)

BIOMAR EWOS EWOS EWOS SKRETTING

(Focus lice) (Alpha) (Adapt) (Robust) (Target)

Biological robustness AQUAGEN SALMOBREED

Seafood is best for the climate

Source: Greenhouse gas emissions of Norwegian

seafood products in 2017, Sintef report no. 901524
Source: Greenhouse gas emissions of Norwegian
seafood products in 2017, Sintef report no. 901524
 How much
feeds
needed to
grow one
kilogram?

1,2 kg 3 kg 8 kg
Source: Professor
Yngvar Olsen
 Discover alternative feed resources –
and make it comercial avilable

Foto: HI Foto: SINTEF Foto: Forskning.no

Foto: Forskning.no
EVERYONE WANT TO BE GREEN –
BUT WHO IS REALLY GREEN?
 EU taxonomy Some criteria proposed for
fisheries
✓ Operating in a fishery which complies with established catch limits that are set:
• At Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY) with at least 50% of spawning biomass present
relative to the unfished stock status
• Report data through the EU catch registration system (or equivalent outside the EU)
• Minimizing and eliminating bycatch
• Only truly selective methods are used
• Operating in a fishery that is fully documented with 100% observers' coverage (and
onboard human observer OR electronic device
• No harm to marine or freshwater habitats
• Minimise litter
o All gear must have a tagging (ID), reporting, recovery and recycling, use of
biodegradable materials
• No record of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity in the last 5 years
• No Discards or high-grading
 WHAT IS A PEFCR?

• A Product Environmntal Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) specify how

the environmental footprint of a specific product group should be
calculated, documented and communicated.
• The overall rules are given by the PEF method. PEFCR only provides
product-specific specifications of the general rules.
• A PEFCR shall ensure credible and transparent knowledge, but also a
basis for developing tools and services that make it easier and cheaper
to obtain a PEF of a product.
• Common rules also make it possible to start building a system where one
supplier reports to the next – and a future where big data automatically
creates holistic and precise environmental footprints.
Impacts calculated using PEFCR
1. Climate change
2. Ozone depletion
3. Human toxicity, cancer
4. Human toxicity, non-cancer
5. Particulate matter and respiratory inorganics
6. Ionizing radiation
7. Photochemical ozone formation
8. Acidification
9. Terrestrial eutrophication
10. Freshwater eutrophication
11. Marine eutrophication
12. Land use / Land use change
13. Ecotoxicity freshwater
14. Resource use: water
15. Resource use: mineral and metals
16. Resource use: fossils
+
17. Biodiversity
Data sources

• Primary data: Data from own production

• Secondary data: "Average data" for deliveries to own
production
• Background data: Environmental information regarding
energy and services used (electricity, transport)
• POOR QUALITY/PRECISION OF DATA ALWAYS RESULTS
IN A POORER CALCULATED FOOTPRINT
 Example of the data flow

dead salmon and by-

Feed Ship transport products to ensilage

Chemicals
Water
Fuel Transport of head on
Packaging of fresh
Aquaculture grow out fish in EPS boxes and gutted fresh
Preparation: From live salmon on truck
Well boat Well boat fish to head on and with ice
Juvenile

Emissions
Waste
transport of

Waste
production transport of gutted

Emissions
Electricity
Electricity

juveniles

Materials
Chemicals

Chemicals
live fish
Materials

Waste
Water
Waste

Electricity
Electricity

Chemicals
Materials
Fuel
Materials
Chemicals

Fuel
Materials

Water
Water

Fuel

Fuel
Fuel

Fuel
 Summary

The seafood sector has a vision to sustainability

“The Norwegian seafood industry will be a globally leading producer of healthy food. We will deliver seafood,
marine ingredients, world-class production expertise and technology.

Through sustainable sustainable production methods and innovation, the Norwegian seafood industry constitutes
Norway's most important contribution to achieving the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals. “

Sustainability is important for the industry, because

- it is a moral obligation
- it is dependent of an environment that secure the food security
- It is prerequisite for the society and authority to facility a development of the sector

The industry is strict regulated nationally and internationally to ensure a responsible development

To provide an appropriate regulation, and to avoid green washing, a documentation and understanding of the
environmental impact is important.
NORWEGIAN SEAFOOD FEDERATION

Director of Aquaculture, Dr. Jon Arne Grøttum