Potential for added value on the coast of Norway

Norway in the future…

Some day in the future, in not too long, the oil adventure of Norway will be history. The platforms will stop pumping up money to the welfare state, and Norway will need new industries. New industries that creates jobs and that sends money to the pocket…

It takes time to make new main sources of income up and running, and that is why Norway should start looking around for alternative activities already. A possible new source of income is sea farming, in many ways both a new and an old industry for the Norwegians. Old in the sense of it being an activity that kept big parts of the population alive through history. New in the sense that it for many years has for many years been considered a low status profession to do sea farming. It is not until the latest years, with the great export of salmon, that sea farming is again associated with money and status.

The politicians decided in the white paper St.meld.39 (1998-1999), Forskning ved et tidsskille, that the national focus of research should be on areas where Norway has distinct qualifications for success. There was appointed four such areas, whereas marine research was one of these areas. Within sea farming Norway has several obvious and natural advantages, and it is pointed out that this is one of the possibilities for the future [Norges muligheter for verdiskapning innen havbruk].

Norway has several natural advantages regarding sea farming. The coastal line of Norway is very long, and by the very fact of the economical zone being sat to 2000 km, this represents an enormous area in which one could do sea farming. The coast is suitably protected with many islands and fjords, and there is a large entry of nutrient-rich sea water. Large parts of the coast are not polluted, and there are especially favourable conditions northwards from Møre og Romsdal. The cold water keeps poisonous algae away, and it contributes to raise the quality of the sea food [Norges muligheter for verdiskapning innen havbruk].

There is such a high amount of money in sea farming that the salmon breeding in the areas around Hitra and Frøya now stands for almost 40 % of the added value of all of Trøndelag [Knut Sundet]. However, sea farming in Trøndelag also invites to many other possibilities besides salmon breeding. It has been said that a well worked out Norwegian aquaculture has an equally big potential in added value as the oil industry [Norges muligheter for verdiskapning innen havbruk].

It all comes down to seeing the potential that sea farming in Norway represents. Lee Chul-ho, better known as the noodle king Mr. Lee, has just announced that he wishes to start a king snail factory on the island of Frøya. According to him there is swarming with king snails along the coast of Trøndelag, and he wants to sell these to Japan, where the snails are a highly sought after delicacy [NRK, 31.03.05]. In Norway, the king snails have a low status, and as a consequence, its potential as an income has not been seen. The sea urchin has suffered under the same conditions, but there are now several enthusiasts that believes in the sea urchin as a sellable sea food product, and that has tried to make an industry out of it.

Åfjord municipality has tried to become the mussel municipality number one in Norway, the mainly blue mussels. In the early 90s they were really big in this kind of breeding, but due to tragic circumstances and a collapse in the mussel market, they had a major set back. They are now on the way back, heading for new altitudes. The breeding conditions in the area are optimal and this is an advantage the municipality should take advantage of.

It is important for the distinctive characteristics of Norway that the scattered population is kept, also along the coast.

For the outskirts such as Åfjord, it is of great significance that there are a sufficient amount of jobs, both to prevent people moving out, and to stand out as an attractive place to live that invites for people to move to. Jobs require a form of added value and for municipalities along the coast, different forms of sea farming is such a valuable possibilities.

Outskirts can experience success by creating a strong environment for added value. This will to a certain amount, lead the focus from urban areas to the relevant area. According to the white paper St.meld. nr.34 (2000-2001), Om distrikts- og regionalpolitikken, a successful environment for added value is characterized by three main factors;

• There are relatively many companies within certain industries inside limited geographical areas. This leads to a strong local competence.
• The companies are forming local networks and are collaborating on innovation, both horizontally and vertically in the value chain.
• There are contact and dialog with regional knowledge organisations.
  

If the three factors of success are used as a point of departure, we can see what Åfjord did wrong in the 90s and what they should do now. Early in the nineties there was given 23 licences to do mussel breeding, and all of these were divided on many small companies. As the interest spread out in the municipality, one started to demand that the companies delivered their mussels to the already established wrapping factory. This led to tendencies of collaboration and networks. There was however no contact with regional knowledge organisations [Knut Sundet].

There are great expectations of the niche production of rather luxurious sea food will be the future of the Norwegian aquaculture. There will always be variations in the market and it is important with a flexible production as for instance to be able to use the same factory for several kinds of sea food [Norges muligheter for verdiskapning innen havbruk]. In Åfjords case, it will be strategically smart to go for production and eventually refinement of multiple types of sea food. They have already tried the breeding of mussels, and there have earlier been attempts of diving for sea urchins for exporting to Japan. The local environments are already big in salmon breeding, and Åfjord should rather try to complement them than to compete against them. This they can do my producing several types of mussels, sea urchins, different snails and other types of sea food. To accomplish even more added value, they should further on try to refine some of these products [Strategi for blåskjellnæringen for sjømatklynge nord]. This will contribute to create interesting job possibilities.

It is said of the future that quality will be a key word. There will be more and more demands of documentation of high quality, and as a follow up on this there will probably come some rules of certification for sea food. An eco-label is such a certificate. The eco-labeled sea food means that the food is given a life-cycle assessment that says something about the environmental friendliness of the product from raw material to waste management. Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is an independent eco-label that guaranties that the sea food is from a viable sea farm [WWF ”sjømat med god samvittighet”]. Eco-labelled sea food is as of today not to find in Norway, but there is a growing demand of this in Europe. Ac eco-label on the sea food would function as a quality stamp.

Translated article

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Sources:

Arbeidsgruppen for havbruk, Det Kongelige Norske Videnskabers Selskab og Norges Tekniske Vitenskapsakademi, Norges muligheter for verdiskapning innen havbruk, 1999

Dagbladet, http://www.dagbladet.no/pds/1999/03/30/161797.html

Knut Sundet, leder av Åfjord Næringsforening

NRK P3, nyhetssending 31.03.05

Stiftelsen Norsk Skjellforum, Strategi for blåskjellnæringen for sjømatklynge nord

St.meld. nr. 34 (2000-2001), Om distrikts- og regionalpolitikken

St.meld.39 (1998-1999), Forskning ved et tidsskille

WWF-Norge, Sjømat med god samvittighet En oppsummering av miljømerker og miljø-styringssystemer for fiskerier og havbruksprodukter, 2002

[http://www.dagbladet.no/pds/1999/03/30/161797.html