Climate Change, Aquaculture and Conflicts of Interests in Northern Norway: Research Results and Comparative Methodologies

• Main Authors: Bailey, Jennifer, Eggereide, Sigrid Sandve, Ellingsgaard, Kristian
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English; unknown
• Subjects: Atlantic salmon; Northern Norway; Troms
• Online Access: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/concern/conference_proceedings_or_journals/9880vv67j

The farming of Atlantic salmon and other aquaculture ventures have been controversial in many areas. It has apparently been most accepted in Norway, today’s largest producer of Atlantic salmon. Current research on climate, however, suggests that increasing water temperatures will lead to the migration of the industry from Southern and Mid Norway to Northern Norway, an area where skepticism to the industry is currently strongest. The current government supports the expansion of aquaculture as the oil industry declines. These factors suggest that disputes over the use of marine areas in northern Norway will become a factor that could affect the future expansion of the industry. This paper will use media mining techniques to uncover the primary conflicts of interest in the Norwegian county of Troms, with a particular focus on the fishing, aquaculture and tourism industries. It will then compare the findings of this work with findings from previous studies, input to a recent round of hearings on the industry and workshops conducted as a part of the EU-funded project Ocean Certain, allowing for an evaluation of the use of media mining techniques as a data gathering technique. Do the various approaches (media mining, hearings, surveys and stakeholder workshops) provide commensurate understandings of the situation? Can the approaches complement each other by identifying/emphasizing different aspects of the conflicts?