| dc.description.abstract | Executive Summary
Aquacultural production has received significant recognition as an alternative protein producer over the last two decades. Aquatic food is today the world's fastest-growing area within food production systems. As the global population and the Global Warming Potential increase, the need for sustainable food security is expanding. Food production is responsible for roughly one-third of the globe's total emitted Green House Gas. Food systems inflict a significant Carbon Footprint and places stressors on environmental, social, and economic sustainable developments.
Aquacultural food production has never before been stationed offshore. The upcoming Green Platform Project works to change this statement. The Green Platform Project is based on research, procedures, and outcomes from the previous production stationed by the Norwegian shore. The Green Platform Project is a pioneer in its field and targets an unexplored market – a blue ocean market. A significant challenge is that the project is based on minimal knowledge but aims for a more comprehensive production scale. This can result in a substantial risk to aquaculture production. Understanding and analyzing the risks of entering a blue ocean market and being willing to adapt in the face of change are aspects essential for the Green Platform Project to sustain.
This thesis examines the sustainable development and its limits within different food systems through revising empirical evidence in combination with qualitative primary data from interviews. Through reviewing various food systems, their production process, and level of sustainability, offshore aquacultural food production can be determined as a more sustainable food producer. By estimations, offshore salmonid production emits less Green House Gas than any other major meat producer, including production of salmonids stationed on and by the shore. The new offshore industry is simultaneously only expected to increase and expand production volumes significantly in the years to come. With an increasing global population that threatens to exceed its food reservoirs, alongside the pressing challenges climate changes provide, it is vital to develop a more sustainable source of food security to feed the world's inhabitants. Offshore produced salmonids and its potential is in this master thesis discussed to be a valuable step towards securing the nutritional needs of the global population while also taking into consideration the environmental risk such an industry and such an initiative as the Green Platform Project would generate. | |