Look at Us, Wailed the Salmon Industry. That Did Not Go as Planned.
Alger dreper oppdrettslaks langs kysten i Nord-Norge. Illustrasjonsfoto: Norsk Havbrukssenter
Comment: The aquaculture industry is announcing a new area of investment. The production of meaningless slogans will be replaced with animal welfare. That could turn out to be a very challenging shift.
The message comes after an analysis of the industry. A survey done by Kantor and presented in Dagens Næringsliv shows that the industry's reputation is sinking like a rock. On a scale from 0 to 100, where 100 is the best, the aquaculture industry receives a score of 29.
Burning numbers
Until now, financial statements have been the industry's foremost management tool, unlike animal welfare. Thus, these new numbers sting.
Problems with sick or dead fish have not necessarily increased in the past years; what is new is that the industry's shortcuts toward increased share value and profit have become more visible.
Paradoxically, the industry can blame itself for that.
The share value is sinking, while mortality is rising.
With extensive PR and lobbying muscles and an enormous wallet, the industry has pushed its arguments in an increasing number of areas in society. The industry wants decisive influence, not only in its own cages but also in the management of wild salmon, tax policies, research, and animal health, to mention a few.
"Look at us," the industry screamed. The call has now been answered.
They have screamed from the Oslo Stock Exchange, from the refugee camps in Switzerland, outside of the parliament and government, at the dinner table, and every other place they could access.
They received answers
And now they have received answers. They have been seen. But not like they wanted to.
Instead, the attention has been on illness and death, fish that should have been discarded but were exported, the wild salmon about to disappear, and profits that do not want ground rent.
Can they manage the transition from slogans to sustainability?
The pompous slogans on sustainability and the salvation of a starving world have faded and been replaced by an increasingly critical audience. And now, a mere 29 out of 100 possible points in a reputation survey. A steep drop from previous surveys.
Now, fear is closing in: the fear of share value sinking while mortality in the cages keeps rising, the fear of politicians making decisions based on insight and not just lobbyists prancing around the parliament, government, and municipal councils.
The gravity
The gravity of the situation is well-described by the industry itself. Robert Eriksson in the Norwegian industry association for seafood businesses says, "the writing is on the wall," according to Dagens Næringsliv. Together with the head of communication in the Norwegian Seafood Federation, Henrik Horjen, Eriksson concludes, "There is no use in communication one's way out of the problems."
"There must be underlying improvements," they say.
The aquaculture lit many lights in coastal communities, not least in the North. It has contributed to jobs and welfare and has been cheered on by society.
The question now remains: can the industry manage the transition from slogans to sustainability and animal welfare, or has greed put a lasting stain on its reputation?
