About the project
The aquaculture industry is a key element in the government's marine strategy, meanwhile some of the regulations in the aquaculture industry appear to be unclear and fragmented. So far, research in the field has been sporadic and there is no strong research environment despite the importance of the industry. There is a need for an independent review and analysis of the regulations both to determine what is considered as current law and to provide input and suggestions on how regulations can be made in a better and more appropriate manner.
Research will link to two main issues in the industry. One concerns startup and growth and analyzes the licensing and licensing system we have today. The other concerns the operation of the business and analyzes the operational regulations we find for food fish production in the sea.
In addition are also some cross-cutting issues such as enforcement of the regulations and the organization on the authority side. For certain parts of the research it will be crucial to compare regulation and practice in other important aquaculture countries.
Objectives
The main objective of the project is to investigate the legal regulation of the aquaculture industry in order to provide some profound analysis and a number of minor studies of various aspects of the regulations. There is also a goal to establish a permanent Norwegian research community in this area, in close collaboration with the industry.
The main deliveries from the project will be two legal doctoral theses (possibly a doctoral dissertation and a post-doctoral dissertation), a number of (at least ten) published master's theses, a textbook in aquaculture law and several journal articles.
The project duration has been extended to cover the period 2018–2024.
Financing
The project is awarded NOK 15 million and is funded by the Norwegian Fisheries and Aquaculture Industry Research Fund (FHF).
Cooperation
The project is a collaboration between the universities in Tromsø and Bergen.
A reference group will be established with participants from industry, government and other relevant professionals.
Other
The main website is in Norwegian.