Shaping aquaculture management—an interest tug o’ war

Abstract

(1) Background: Although Norwegian aquaculture has experienced tremendous development, environmental challenges limit opportunities for growth. To promote environmentally sustainable industry growth, a new spatial management regime was introduced: the Traffic Light System (TLS). However, with a focus on environmental sustainability and economic growth, the new regime largely ignores important factors for industry development: legitimacy and acceptance. (2) Methods: This study used qualitative methods such as interviews and document analysis. (3) Results: The results showed how aquaculture stakeholders perceive and weigh the dimensions of sustainability. Low social sustainability, owing to low content legitimacy and acceptance, places stakeholders in an interest tug o’ war. (4) Conclusions: Legitimacy and acceptance are prerequisites for industry growth, which may ultimately affect the objective of sustainable growth. In particular, a lack of legitimacy and acceptance may affect procedural legitimacy and thus the long-standing institutional setup in Norway.