Unravelling sustainable salmon aquaculture: an historical political ecology of a business responsibility discourse, 1970–2020

How sustainable is salmon aquaculture? The criteria for responding to this question are set by different organisations, since the concept of sustainable aquaculture is a social construction and there are no agreed criteria for establishing this sustainability condition and its evolution. Using an hi...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Maritime studies 2023-06, Vol.22 (2), Article 10
Main Authors: Barton, Jonathan R., Baeza-González, Sebastián, Román, Álvaro
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquaculture
Biosecurity
Capture fisheries
Construction
Criteria
Documents
Ecology
Evolution
Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management
Fisheries
Marine & Freshwater Sciences
Political ecology
Polyculture (aquaculture)
Salmon
Security
Social construction
Social Sciences
Sustainability
Sustainable aquaculture
Sustainable development
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:How sustainable is salmon aquaculture? The criteria for responding to this question are set by different organisations, since the concept of sustainable aquaculture is a social construction and there are no agreed criteria for establishing this sustainability condition and its evolution. Using an historical political ecology perspective, this paper unravels the evolution of this social construction over the past 50 years in order to establish how sustainability, responsibility, and sustainable development have been (re)constructed over time in response to changing demands. These constructions are traced through scientific publications, business reports, international organisation literature, and in terms of regulatory and consumer pressures. The documents provide evidence of the ways in which the sector evolved a particular conception of sustainability alongside the emerging global agenda set in motion by the Stockholm Conference of 1972, precisely at a time when the collapse of many capture fisheries became evident and aquaculture was presented as a more sustainable alternative. The conclusions point to the importance, for the sector, of restricting the sustainability concept to a narrow definition of business responsibility based on eco-efficiency, bio-security, and innovation, and separating this responsibility from the broader-based concept of sustainable development promoted by most UN agencies, governments, and NGOs.
ISSN:1872-7859
2212-9790
DOI:10.1007/s40152-023-00297-2