Seafood industry in Norway’s economic system

Abstract

Over the half of a century, the oil and gas industry remained a key sector of Norway’s economy, which had been receiving the highest governmental support. However, the situation has changed dramatically, since Oslo decided to reduce the volume of government investments in the petroleum industry, redirecting them to the assets of “green” com-panies. That decision initiated modernization of Norway’s seafood industry, which starts occupying a more prominent place in the country’s economy. In this paper, the author intends to study the current state of the Norwegian seafood industry and prospects for its development. Seafood makes up the country’s third export commodity by the value, sales volume of which increases annually. The government seeks to ensure further development of the industry avoiding the growth of negative environmental impacts. In order to achieve this goal Norway established a rigid system of state regulation, in both fishing and aquaculture, which bases on the principles of the ecosystem approach. Moreover, Oslo initiated several programs to find new technological solutions for seafood production. In fishing sector, it was decided to replace the old coastal vessels with high-tech ocean-going ones that ensure residue-free processing of extracted biological resources. Norway also started a new technological trend in the world aquaculture – ​construction of offshore fish farms – ​that will increase production volumes while reducing environmental risks related to the traditional net-pen aq-uaculture. The overall purpose of the Norwegian government is to increase profitability of its seafood industry, so in the future it could compensate for the shortfall in income of its oil and gas industry. Apart from that, particular attention in this paper paid to considering the Norwegian approach to fisheries regulation in maritime areas around Svalbard, where national interests of the parties to the Treaty of Paris collide. The author also analyses the role of a competition and cooperation in further development of Norway’s seafood industry.