Economic analysis of land based farming of salmon

Abstract

Land-based farming of salmon is emerging for a number of reasons. The demand for salmon is increasing in many parts of the world. In recent years there has been limited growth in production due to binding government regulations and environmental challenges in sea-based salmon aquaculture. This is true both for Norway (sea lice, salmon escapes) and Chile (sea lice, disease problems), the two largest producers of salmon. Growing demand and limited expansion in production have made for a very profitable industry. At the same time, there have been technological developments when it comes to land-based farming (a technology used for smolt production and species such as sole and turbot), and cost of production has changed. Currently, land-based salmon farming is in operation or in development in several countries including the USA, Denmark, and Norway. In this paper, the economics of land-based salmon farming in a Norwegian context is presented, with an emphasis on the relative competitiveness of this vis-à-vis sea-based farming. If successful, land-based farming could potentially have an important impact on the dynamics of the salmon market.     

The solution to pollution? The value and limitations of environmental economics in guiding aquaculture development

Abstract

The notable increase of aquaculture production in recent decades has in many instances been matched by growing concern for its impacts. Environmentalists, consumers and members of the general public are increasingly demanding to account for its resource use and to balance its proposed benefits with its environmental sustainability. Although conventional financial and economic analyses have demonstrated a broadly positive impact for many forms of aquaculture, including the more intensive resource‐demanding systems, the use of economic tools embracing wider measurements of social and environmental costs and benefits might provide different and possibly more critical perspectives. However, although these techniques hold promise for such analyses, their development and application in sectors such as aquaculture are as yet limited. This paper reviews the relevant issues, considers the tools and applications of environmental economics and proposes ways in which these may be more effectively be applied in strategic and local decision‐making for aquaculture development.     

Salmon prices in France and the UK: Does origin or market place matter?

Abstract

There have been several attempts to distinguish farmed Atlantic salmon by origin using trademarks. Whether there exist different regional markets for salmon, and in particular whether the UK market is separate from the market in continental Europe, is also an issue that has received attention. To address these questions, we investigate the relationship between Norwegian and Scottish salmon both in France and the UK, and between Scottish salmon in France and the UK. The analysis is carried out by investigating how the development of prices is related using co‐integration tests.     

An overview of salmon trout aquaculture in Finland

Abstract

In this case study, we describe the evolution of Finnish salmon trout aquaculture; how salmon trout farming grew as a vital industry, how Finland became the world's leading producer of salmon trout, and how the opening of markets to international competition led to a decline of the industry. The focus is on the continuous interaction between the changing market situation and production decisions. The study reveals the impact of national environmental policy on the competitiveness of the industry. At the moment, the industry is undergoing major structural changes; production has moved to neighbouring countries, and the value chain is concentrated. In future, closer interaction and co‐operation between the actors along the entire fish value chain will be the key factors for success.     

Approaches for delaying sexual maturation in salmon and their possible ecological and ethical implications

ABSTRACT

The aquaculture industry is under pressure to satisfy global demand for marine foods. Atlantic salmon has been bred for more than 40 years, and substantial progress has been made within the culturing and breeding programs. The improved growth rate of Atlantic salmon has been accompanied by an earlier onset of maturation. Among the factors controlling maturation in salmon are photoperiod, temperature, and body composition. Early sexual maturation is detrimental to fish health and quality when viewed from an aquacultural viewpoint. There are several approaches for alleviating this problem: (1) traditional selection, (2) manipulation of external factors affecting puberty (e.g., light), (3) novel biotechnological methods for improving breeding methods, (4) induction of polyploidy, and (5) genetic modification controlling maturation. This article presents the ecological and ethical issues connected to these approaches and argues the importance of acknowledging and discussing such issues in order to ensure that all stakeholder concerns are considered.     

Price interactions between salmon and wild caught fish species on the Spanish market

Abstract

The introduction and rapid expansion of farmed salmon production in the mid 1980s has transformed the international market for salmon. Spain is one of the most important markets for fish within Europe and the world, and has seen a substantial increase in its demand for salmon. As in other European countries, this has raised concerns that the increased supply of salmon to Spain may have detrimental effects on the market prices of traditional (wild‐caught) species.

In this paper, the extent to which salmon competes with the main traditional fish species in the Spanish market is examined using market delineation methodologies. In particular, the potential interactions between species is examined in a multivariate cointegration framework. The results suggest that salmon is at best only a weak substitute for tuna, hake and whiting, but no significant interaction could be found.     

Green grow the fishes‐oh? Environmental attributes in marketing aquaculture products

Abstract

The rise of aquaculture production in the last two decades has had a notable impact on many of the world's markets, sometimes supplementing or replacing existing capture fishery products, developing new market opportunities through improved availability, novel products and/or improved market chain efficiency. Meanwhile consumers have also become increasingly aware of environmental issues and associations with the products they consume; within this broader trend, the practices and possible impacts of aquaculture have justifiably or otherwise been subject to particular scrutiny and sometimes negative comment. Future opportunities and directions for growth and development of aquaculture may become increasingly driven by market perceptions of environmental attributes and, associated with this, the ways in which aquaculture processes and products are presented. This paper reviews the relevant issues of environmental attributes, explores the ways in which these may interact with future production and market trends and suggests critical emerging factors for the aquaculture sector.     

Landscape‐level constraints on recruitment of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) in the Columbia River basin,USA

• 1. The decline of salmonid populations in the Pacific Northwest has been well‐documented. It is unclear, however, which threats to salmonid persistence are the most serious, and how best to prioritize recovery efforts intended to ameliorate these threats.
• 2. It has been argued previously that one possible cause of salmon endangerment is degradation of spawning grounds. In order to explore this hypothesis, this study examines the relationships between chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) productivity and landscape‐level characteristics of spawning grounds in the interior Columbia River Basin.
• 3. Population productivity is expressed as the mean and maximum recruitment rates for different stocks, measured from 1980 to 1990; habitat conditions are calculated using sub‐watershed scale data on land cover, land use, water quality and watershed hydrology.
• 4. Significant linear regression results were obtained for three environmental variables: percentage of land classified as urban, proportion of stream length failing to meet water quality standards, and an index of the ability of streams to recover from sediment flow events. A multiple regression with all three variables accounts for over 60% of the variation in mean salmon recruitment.
• 5. It further appears that these landscape attributes may limit the maximum recruitment rates of salmon, with a magnitude of difference in productivity large enough to be relevant to recovery planners. Additional study will be necessary to identify cause‐and‐effect linkages between habitat quality and salmon recruitment success, and to determine the ultimate impact of changes in recruitment rates on short‐ and long‐term salmon population trajectories.

Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time‐varying relationships between ocean conditions and sockeye salmon productivity

Environmental change is occurring at unprecedented rates in many marine ecosystems. Yet, environmental effects on fish populations are commonly assumed to be constant across time. In this study, I tested whether relationships between ocean conditions and productivity of North American sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) stocks have changed over the past six decades. Specifically, I evaluated the evidence for non‐stationary relationships between three widely used ocean indices and productivity of 45 sockeye salmon stocks using hierarchical Bayesian models. The ocean indices investigated were the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), North Pacific Gyre Oscillation (NPGO), and sea surface temperature (SST). I found partial support for time‐varying salmon–ocean relationships. Non‐stationary relationships were strongest for the NPGO and weaker for the SST and PDO indices. Productivity–NPGO correlations tended to shift gradually over time with opposite trends for stocks in British Columbia (B.C.) and western Alaska; for B.C. stocks, the NPGO correlations shifted from significantly negative prior to 1980 to significantly positive after 1990, whereas for western Alaska stocks, the correlations shifted from positive to negative. Productivity–SST correlations showed declining trends for B.C. and Gulf of Alaska stocks, that is, correlations became more negative (B.C.) or less positive (Gulf of Alaska) over time. For the PDO, correlations weakened during the 1980s for western Alaska and B.C. stocks. Overall, these results provide evidence for time‐varying relationships between salmon productivity and environmental conditions over six decades, highlighting the need to recognize that historical responses of salmon populations to environmental change may not be indicative of future responses.     

Experimental induction of mouthrot in Atlantic salmon smolts using Tenacibaculum maritimum from Western Canada

Mouthrot, or bacterial stomatitis, is a disease which mainly affects farmed Atlantic salmon, (Salmo salar, L.), smolts recently transferred into salt water in both British Columbia (BC), Canada, and Washington State, USA. It is a significant fish welfare issue which results in economic losses due to mortality and antibiotic treatments. The associated pathogen is Tenacibaculum maritimum, a bacterium which causes significant losses in many species of farmed fish worldwide. This bacterium has not been proven to be the causative agent of mouthrot in BC despite being isolated from affected Atlantic salmon. In this study, challenge experiments were performed to determine whether mouthrot could be induced with T. maritimum isolates collected from outbreaks in Western Canada and to attempt to develop a bath challenge model. A secondary objective was to use this model to test inactivated whole‐cell vaccines for T. maritimum in Atlantic salmon smolts. This study shows that T. maritimum is the causative agent of mouthrot and that the bacteria can readily transfer horizontally within the population. Although the whole‐cell oil‐adjuvanted vaccines produced an antibody response that was partially cross‐reactive with several of the T. maritimum isolates, the vaccines did not protect the fish under the study's conditions.     

Fillet Quality and Processing Attributes of Postsmolt Atlantic Salmon,Salmo salar,Fed a Fishmeal‐free Diet and a Fishmeal‐based Diet in Recirculation Aquaculture Systems

Many studies have evaluated the adequacy of alternate ingredient diets for Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, mainly with focus on fish performance and health; however, comprehensive analysis of fillet quality is lacking, particularly for salmon fed these diets in recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS). To this end, a study was conducted comparing fillet quality and processing attributes of postsmolt Atlantic salmon fed a fishmeal‐free diet (FMF) versus a standard fishmeal‐based diet, in replicate RAS. Mean weight of Atlantic salmon fed both diets was 1.72 kg following the 6‐mo trial and survival was >99%. Diet did not affect (P > 0.05) processing and fillet yields, whole‐body proximate composition(fat, moisture, protein), fillet proximate composition, cook yield, fillet texture, color, or omega‐3 fatty acid fillet content, including eicosapentaenoic acid and docosahexaenoic acid levels. Whole‐body ash content was greater in salmon fed the FMF diet. The FMF diet resulted in a wild fish‐in to farmed fish‐out ratio of 0:1 per Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch criteria due to its fishmeal‐free status and use of lipids from fishery byproduct. Overall, fillet quality and processing attributes were generally unaffected when feeding a diet devoid of fishmeal to postsmolt Atlantic salmon cultured in RAS. [Correction added on 7 September 2017, after first online publication: the P value in Abstract has been changed from “P < 0.05” to “P > 0.05”.].     

Aquaculture and international trade

Abstract

In contrast to the stabilization or decline of wild fishery harvests, aquaculture's contribution to the world fish supply is steadily increasing. Aquaculture has begun to have a major influence on the trade of export‐orientated species such as salmon and shrimp. This paper reviews the role of aquaculture in international trade and the research which has been conducted to examine its influence. Despite the growing significance of aquaculture on international trade, especially for shrimp and salmon, formal analysis of the shrimp trade is sparse, only moderate for salmon, and essentially nonexistent for other species. This paper also presents specific examples of how aquaculture has played an important role in international trade. These include an examination of: (1) the influence of shrimp aquaculture and trade on the development of a shrimp futures contract; and (2) the countervailing duty and antidumping case against the Norwegian farmed salmon industry.     

Aquacultural development,institution building and research and development policy: Norwegian salmon and Arctic char farming as cases

Abstract

During the past 20 years, Norwegian salmon fanning has grown to achieve export sales of 7 billion Norwegian kroner (NOK). In the same period, Arctic char has been promoted as a lucrative farmed species. Paradoxically, despite the well‐documented advantages of Arctic char farming, this commercial activity has not prospered. Here I study the interaction between research and development and fish farming, and how this interaction affects industrial development within salmon farming and Arctic char farming, respectively. Effective communication between these systems presumes organization by some superior structure that controls the flow of industrial information to the research system, and prepares research results for industrial utility. The focus here is on: the perceptions of industrial actors of tasks for the research community; how researchers interpret and respond to these tasks; how the results are imparted to the fish‐farmers; and how the research results function in practice. I contend that adequate conditions for interaction between research and industrial activity exists for salmon farming, but not for Arctic char farming.     

From Atlantic to Pacific: Price links in the US wild and farmed salmon market

Abstract

In 1990, the US International Trade Commission stated that Atlantic and Pacific salmon species did not share a substitute relationship in any of the product forms. This result is contrary to economic demand studies that show a substitute relationship for Atlantic and Pacific salmon species. Time‐series results reported in this paper are consistent with the earlier demand studies and show evidence of an equilibrium price system that includes Atlantic, chinook and coho salmon species for the US market. For these three salmon species a substitute relationship cannot be rejected. However, we observe only weak price links across the three different species in the different US regional markets.     

Levels of Renibacterium salmoninarum antigens in resident and anadromous salmonids in the River Ellidaár system in Iceland

In relation to stock enhancement programmes, wild salmon broodfish have been routinely screened for the presence of Renibacterium salmoninarum antigens (Rs‐Ag) for decades. A sudden increase in the prevalence of Rs‐Ag experienced caused extensive problems to this industry as eggs from positive fish are discarded. The prevalence and level of Rs‐Ag were examined in resident and anadromous salmonids in the River Ellidaár system and the progress of Rs‐Ag in a cohort of salmon followed. Both prevalence and Rs‐Ag levels were high in resident salmonids and emigrating salmon smolts in the river system. When the smolts re‐entered their home river as adults the following summer, they were almost free of Rs‐Ag, but the longer they stayed in the river, the more Rs‐Ag they acquired; the majority being positive at spawning. This study demonstrates a high level of Rs‐Ag in salmonids in the River Ellidaár system which significantly reduces in the salmon during its seawater phase. Accordingly, it seems ideal to sample salmon broodfish as soon as possible after ascending the river and subsequently transfer to Rs‐free environment for storage until stripping, which could result in lower Rs‐prevalence and minimize the problems that stock enhancement programmes have faced due to Rs‐positive wild broodfish.     

Evaluation of non‐traditional modelling techniques for forecasting salmon returns

Forecasting adult salmon abundance is problematic when the number of observations is small relative to the number of potential explanatory variables. Machine learning and other non‐traditional techniques employ algorithms designed to prevent model overfitting. Data from 18 coho salmon, Oncorhynchus kisutch (Walbaum), and seven Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tschawytscha (Walbaum), populations on the Oregon coast were used to evaluate the forecast performance of artificial neural networks, elastic net, least absolute shrinkage and selection operator, principal component regression (PCR) and ridge regression (RR) compared to several more traditional techniques. In general, the non‐traditional modelling techniques evaluated in this study performed similarly to the traditional techniques with the exception of sibling regression. This suggests that they have merit for improving actual predictions. Among the non‐traditional techniques, PCR resulted in the lowest prediction error for the coho salmon populations, and RR predicted Chinook salmon returns most accurately. The techniques explored are not an easy solution to a difficult problem. Spurious conclusions about the processes that generate salmon returns still may result as evidenced by the inclusion of an unrelated variable in many of the non‐traditional models.     

Use of tissue and sediment‐based threshold concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to protect juvenile salmonids listed under the US Endangered Species Act

• 1. Under the Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Fisheries Service has authority to protect listed species from any adverse actions that may jeopardize the population's ability to recover and increase to sustainable levels. Listed salmon species in the northwest United States are known to travel through urban areas in their migration from river to ocean. Species such as the chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) often spend several weeks in these urban estuaries where they can be highly exposed to urban‐related contaminants that reside in the sediments and accumulate in their prey species. The concern is that these contaminants are bioaccumulated to levels that may impact the ability of individual salmon to grow and mature normally. This paper provides a framework for determining the tissue and sediment concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that are likely protective against adverse effects in listed salmonid species.
• 2. The relevant ecotoxicological literature was examined and 15 studies were selected that met the pre‐established criteria outlined here. For each study, the lowest tissue concentration (residue) of total PCBs associated with a biological response was selected. The tissue concentration associated with the 10th percentile of these 15 studies was chosen to represent the residue effect threshold (RET) above which wild juvenile salmonids would be expected to exhibit adverse sublethal effects from accumulated PCBs. This value (2.4 μg PCBs g^?1 lipid) is expressed in terms of the lipid‐normalized concentration because of the large effect lipid can have on the expressed toxicity and the substantial variability in lipid content observed in salmonids over their life cycle.
• 3. A sediment concentration that is expected to produce the RET was then determined using the biota‐sediment accumulation factor approach. The sediment effect threshold, which varies with the total organic carbon content in sediment, is the level above which adverse effects may be expected in juvenile salmonids due to accumulation of PCBs from environmental exposure. Bioaccumulation of PCBs was examined in one river system as a model for determining an appropriate bioaccumulation factor for wild juvenile chinook salmon.
• 4. Evaluation of exposure to potentially deleterious concentrations of PCBs based on tissue residues is the preferred approach; however, the sediment effect threshold may also be used in cases where bioaccumulation has been characterized in an estuary. The threshold values presented here are intended as interim guidelines that should be modified as more data become available. Additionally, because of the uncertainty around many of the factors and assumptions that comprise the single threshold effect values, it is recommended that future studies be employed to help determine a range of acceptable values that would afford protection under various environmental and biological conditions.

Published in 2002 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental conditions and physiological state influence estuarine movements of homing sockeye salmon

The reproductive migration of anadromous salmonids through estuarine waters is one of the most challenging stages of their life cycle, yet little is known about the environmental and physiological conditions that influence migratory behaviour. We captured, sampled tissues, tagged and released 365 sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) homing through inner coastal waters towards the Fraser River, British Columbia, Canada. Biotelemetry was used to assess the behaviour of individual sockeye salmon approaching estuarine waters and at river entry, which were related to both fish physiological condition at release and to prevailing environmental conditions. Sockeye salmon tended to stay close to the shore, migrated during the day, and movements were related to tide. Sockeye salmon migration rate was linked to wind‐induced currents, salinity and an individual's physiological state, but these factors were specific to location and stock. We propose that wind‐induced currents exposed sockeye salmon entering the estuary to stronger olfactory cues associated with Fraser River water, which in turn resulted in faster migration rates presumably due to either an increased ability for olfactory navigation and/or advanced reproductive schedule through a neuroendocrine response to olfactory cues. However, once the migration had progressed further into more concentrated freshwater of the river plume, sockeye salmon presumably used wind‐induced currents to aid in movements towards the river, which may be associated with energy conservation. Results from this study improve our biological understanding of the movements of Fraser River sockeye salmon and are also broadly relevant to other anadromous salmonids homing in marine environments.     

Relative importance of chinook salmon abundance on resident killer whale population growth and viability

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