A long time ago, the Norwegian government wisely adopted a so-called ‘withdrawal policy’ to husband the vast revenues flowing in from the country’s petroleum sector for the benefit of future generations.
Business
Ripples in the water
There is no ‘withdrawal policy’ for the wealth that the Norwegian aquaculture industry pumps into society. The sector generates unprecedented economic value and growing levels of investment, and has a wide-ranging social impact nationwide. Including all its economic ripple effects, the seafood sector contributed NOK 129 billion to local communities from south to north in 2023. That is approaching the amount that Norway's national budget allocates to transport, research and higher education combined. And it employs around 100,000 people – equivalent to 10 times the number of police officers – to put things in perspective.
Because seafood is not simply fish sold in the global market, it is technology, innovation, local value creation and, not least, income for the central government and local councils. To pay for teachers’ salaries, healthcare services and infrastructure. To all this, SalMar alone contributes a whopping 17 per cent. The contribution that Norwegian seafood makes to value creation in Norway is regularly analysed by bodies both inside and outside the sector itself. Among the most comprehensive are Nofima’s regular analyses, which we have used as our source here. Nofima is one of Europe’s biggest food research institutes, employing around 30 full-time researchers to study the seafood sector’s markets and financial performance.
Since 1978, the institute has surveyed the fishing industry’sprofitability and has extensive experience of analysing the ripple effects created in all parts of the seafood sector. 53 per cent of the seafood sector’s value creation derives from its core business activities, while the rest consists of the ripple effects these have on associated industries and services. The ocean-based value chain therefore contributes far more to society than the production of food. It is the engine driving a modern, export-oriented regional business sector.
Local power – national significance
The bulk of the value creation takes place in the counties of Vestland, Nordland, Møre og Romsdal, and Trøndelag. Together, they account for 85 per cent. But the sector's ripple effects do not stop at the coast. Through the purchase of technology, transport and financial services, feed, smolt and buildings, it disperses funds to every county in Norway. These ripple effects are most pronounced in Innlandet and Eastern Norway.
Municipalities such as Ålesund, Frøya, Bergen and Senja stand out for their high level of value creation – both directly and through the supply chain – and show that seafood provides a foundation for both innovation and population nationwide. Because behind the figures, there are people and communities and great places to live.
Sustainability twice over
The way the aquaculture sector is organised means that it has a particularly large impact on employment. Due to the substantial need for specialist services and high per capita level of value creation, one full-time employee in the aquaculture sector generates more jobs than traditional fisheries do. In fact, over half of all those employed in the sector are linked to the supply industry, engaged in everything from feed production and technology development to transport and service provision. Sustainability is a term applied to a great many things, but in this context, every employee in the core business sustains more than one employee outside of it.
Sustainability as it is more normally understood is also a cornerstone for the sector’s future development. An important challenge going forward will be to meet the demand for seafood without putting additional pressure on ecosystems. Here, the circular economy, digitalisation and the efficient use of space will play a key role.
Tax contributions and investments for the future
The seafood sector is also a major contributor to society. In 2023, the sector paid a total of NOK 40.7 billion in tax. As much as 9.4 percent of the government’s corporate tax revenues (excluding oil) came from the aquaculture sector – far in excess of its share of GDP. This gives a significant financial boost to central and local government’s ability to develop and deliver welfare services to the country’s inhabitants, and to invest in the success and welfare of the next generation.
9.4%
of the state’s corporate tax revenue (excluding oil) came from the aquaculture industry – far above the industry’s share of GDP.
In 2023 alone, the sector’s investments in its own future totalled NOK 21 billion. This generates ripple effects for the building and construction industry, the mechanical engineering industry and those companies developing high-tech equipment. In the face of challenges such as the weakened value of the NOK, high costs and diminishing catch quotas for important species like cod, it is more important than ever to ensure that the sector's growth also benefits local communities. The Aquaculture Fund, which disbursed over NOK 3 billion to municipal and county councils in 2023, is a crucial instrument for this.
