Review of applying material flow analysis-based studies for a sustainable Norwegian Salmon aquaculture industry

Abstract

Since its beginning in the early 70thies, the fast growing Atlantic salmon aquaculture industry in Norway has been and still is an object for research across numerous disciplines and research fields. This article presents an overview of the research studies applying Material Flow Analysis (MFA) based methods on Norwegian Aquaculture of Atlantic Salmon starting from 2004 until 2018. The studies were reviewed in relation to their applied method, involved institutions, flows, data acquisition, and suggestions for improvement. All of the reviewed studies applied different MFA methods suitable to the objective of each study, were done with involvement of multiple institutions and stakeholders, modeled credible data and provided specific suggestions for reducing the environmental impacts and optimizing nutrients utilization efficiency. The review concludes that MFA-based methods have the potential for having a functional role within the framework of the Norwegian Salmon Aquaculture industry’s sustainable development. A key factor in fulfilling that potential would be diversifying the objectives of MFA research to be more inclusive of the three pillars of sustainability: environment, economy, and society.