Looking for sustainable solutions in salmon aquaculture

• Published in: Etikk i praksis - Nordic Journal of Applied Ethics
• Main Author: Bailey, Jennifer
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: NTNU Open Access Journals 2014
• Subjects: Applied ethics; Ethics; Political Science; sustainability; sustainable development; aquaculture; salmon aquaculture; Atlantic salmon
• Online Access: http://www.ntnu.no/ojs/index.php/etikk_i_praksis/article/view/1801; https://doi.org/10.5324/eip.v8i1.1801

Sustainable development poses highly complex issues for those who attempt to implement it. Using the Brundtland Commission’s definition of sustainable development as a vantage point, this article discusses the issues posed by the production of one kind of food, farmed Atlantic salmon, as a means of illustrating the complexity, interconnectedness and high-data requirements involved in assessing whether a given industry is sustainable. These issues are explored using the three commonly accepted aspects of sustainability – its environmental, social and economic aspects – and the dilemmas posed by the need to make the trade-offs necessary among these. It concludes by arguing that decisions of this complexity require complex and multiple decision-making structures and suggests four that are essential for the task.