Economics of Salmon Aquaculture

Frank Asche is Professor at the Department of Industrial Economics, University of Stavanger, Norway. Trond Bjørndal is Professor and Director of the Centre for the Economics and Management of Aquatic Resources (CEMARE), University of Portsmouth, UK, and Professor II, Aalesund University College, Norway.

• Preface ix1 Introduction 12 The Production Process in Aquaculture 72.1 Salmon production 92.1.1 Biological system 92.1.2 The grow-out phase 122.1.3 The physical system 15Bibliography 163 The Supply of Salmon 173.1 Farmed salmon production 173.1.1 Norway 183.1.2 Chile 233.1.3 United Kingdom 263.1.4 Canada 293.1.5 Other farmed salmon producers 303.2 Wild salmon production 313.3 Regulation of salmon aquaculture 343.3.1 Norway 343.3.2 Scotland 363.3.3 Chile 383.4 The growth of large multinational companies 39Bibliography 414 Productivity Growth and Technological Change 434.1 Declining costs 434.2 Scale 454.3 Structure of production costs 484.4 Smolt production 514.5 Improved feed quality 524.6 Diseases and increased survival rates 534.7 Breeding 554.8 Cycles in profitability 564.9 Catching up: regional differences 584.10 Productivity development in Norway relative to other producers 594.11 Cost reductions in the supply chain 62Bibliography 635 Environmental Issues 655.1 The fish meal trap 655.1.1 Fisheries management 665.1.2 The markets for oil meals 695.1.3 Concluding remarks on the fish meal trap 725.2 Local issues 735.2.1 Organic waste 745.2.2 Antibiotics and chemicals 765.2.3 Salmon escapees and sea lice 785.2.4 Concluding remarks 80Bibliography 806 Markets for Salmon 836.1 The European Union markets 846.1.1 France 856.1.2 Germany 886.1.3 United Kingdom 896.1.4 Spain 906.1.5 Italy 916.1.6 Denmark 926.1.7 Poland 936.2 The Japanese salmon market 946.2.1 Japanese salmon supply 976.2.2 Outlook for the Japanese salmon market 996.3 The United States salmon market 1006.3.1 US seafood consumption 1006.3.2 Imported fresh and frozen salmon 1036.3.3 Market trends 1056.4 The Russian market 1056.5 Price development 1076.5.1 Real versus nominal price 1086.5.2 Exchange rates 1096.5.3 Prices in different markets 1106.5.4 Prices in different weight classes and for different product forms 113Bibliography 1167 Competitiveness and Market Structure 1197.1 What is a market? 1197.1.1 Market size 1217.1.2 Market power 1227.2 The salmon market 1237.2.1 Pacific salmon 1247.2.2 The early development of the Atlantic salmon market 1257.2.3 Early development of the farmed Pacific salmon and salmon trout market 1267.2.4 Fresh versus frozen 1267.2.5 Declining prices, new sales outlets and product forms 1277.2.6 Salmon and supermarket chains: a marriage made in heaven 1297.3 The size of the market 1317.4 Salmon marketing 1337.4.1 Health benefits, food scares and environmental concerns 1347.5 Trade restrictions 1367.5.1 Trade restrictions in the salmon market 139Appendix: a market model 142Testing for market interactions 147Bibliography 1488 Lessons for Other Farmed Species 1518.1 Other farmed species 1518.1.1 Shrimp 1518.1.2 Sea bass and sea bream 1538.1.3 Turbot 1568.1.4 Tilapia 1578.1.5 Other species 1608.2 Lessons from other farmed species 160Bibliography 1629 Optimal Harvesting of Farmed Fish 1639.1 A biological model 1649.2 Bioeconomic analysis 1659.2.1 Zero costs 1669.2.2 Harvesting costs 1689.2.3 Feed costs 1689.3 The rotation problem 169Appendix: optimal harvesting of farmed fish 171A biological model 171Bioeconomic analysis 172Harvesting costs 175Feed costs 177Feed and harvesting costs 179The rotation problem 179Optimal harvesting: examples 182Bibliography 18410 Production Planning in a Salmon Farm 18710.1 Cash flow analysis 18810.2 Smolt release and biomass growth 19010.3 Sales revenue 19310.4 Feeding costs 19510.5 Net present value 19710.6 Selective harvesting 19911 Investment in a Salmon Farm 20111.1 A production plan 20111.2 A liquidity budget 20511.3 Cost of production 20911.4 Investing in a new aquaculture company 21111.5 Licence value 21511.6 Buying a fish farming company 217References 221Index 231

"Nonetheless, the book could be useful as supplementary reading for senior undergraduate- and M.Sc.-level students taking economics and business management electives as part of a degree program in aquaculture or fisheries science. The book should also be of interest to aquaculture consultants and researchers in search of a compact overview of the position of farmed Atlantic salmon in the international seafood market." (Aquacult International, 7 June 2011)