"Offshore aquaculture is a major boost, and we must choose the most competent actors," said Norwegian Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Marianne Sivertsen Næss.
Photo: NFD / David Berg.
Norway is taking a new approach to its allocation of permits for offshore aquaculture development, the country's Ministry of Fisheries has announced, prioritising the most "competent" actors and opening up larger areas for farmers to operate within.
The Ministry notes that, since 2022, Norway's Salmon Allocation Regulations have regulated the allocation of permits for offshore aquaculture. Now, Norwegian Minister of Fisheries Marianne Sivertsen Næss has confirmed the regulations are changing to an area-based approach, instead of allocating individual locations.
"Offshore operations require larger areas and infection-proof zones from the start. Whoever is allocated an area is given responsibility for developing it, preparing an area plan and carrying out an impact assessment that covers the entire area. The plan is intended to ensure biosecurity and prevent infection between release zones," the Ministry said.
The Norwegian government argues the changes provide better predictability for operators to plan and build the necessary infrastructure for offshore aquaculture, such as transport, services and smolt production.
Announcing the new scheme, the authorities acknowledged that this type of development "requires major investments", and argue the regulations will help to develop offshore aquaculture into a profitable industry in Norway.
"Offshore aquaculture is a major boost, and we must choose the most competent actors. Therefore, we are introducing competence requirements, which will be specified in a separate regulation together with call areas and competition requirements. We are also developing requirements for the content of the area plan," said Minister of Fisheries and the Oceans, Marianne Sivertsen Næss.
The Ministry noted that the changes draw on a stakeholder consultation on the government's proposed offshore aquaculture rules, which received proposals to harmonise the salmon allocation regulations with the regulations for impact assessments.
Instead of the original proposal for two levels of impact assessments, one at the area level and one for each location, the new regulation will require only one mandatory project-specific impact assessment, which the government acknolwedged was suggested by "several key stakeholders".
"This means that detailed information is mapped and collected at an earlier stage," the Ministry said.
In September 2025, the Norwegian government confirmed it was moving ahead with the development of offshore aquaculture, with the news it had decided to open three designated sea areas for development of the sector, following several years of preparation and consultation.
The move was described at the time by Sivertsen Næss as “a new important milestone”, with the decision billed as "a clear signal to the industry that we intend to invest in offshore aquaculture in the years to come." This came with the proviso that "development will take place in a controlled and gradual manner with consideration for both the environment and other industries.”
The three areas - Norskerenna South, Frøyabanken North; and Trænabanken - were chosen following extensive mapping, consultation and impact assessments, authorities said.
Norway's decision followed several years of preparatory work. In 2019, the Directorate of Fisheries and the Institute of Marine Research first identified 27 potential sites for offshore aquaculture. After several rounds of consultation, three of these were recommended for further study in 2023. Independent assessments by DNV in 2024 then informed the government’s conclusion.
The assessment received backing in January 2024 from the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, which confirmed it would be in favour of offshore aquaculture development in all three zones, but stressed that adequate technical measures would be needed to prevent fish escapes and thus possible impacts on wild salmon populations.
The Directorate's backing came despite warnings from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research that it was "too early" for the development of large-scale offshore aquaculture, due to the lack of knowledge about potential environmental impacts.
Following the September announcement, Norwegian seafood and aquaculture industry organisations broadly welcomed the government's decision. Norwegian seafood federation Sjømat Norge described it as a “significant step forward” but called for predictable timelines to support investment decisions - a point of view echoed by seafood industry group Sjømatbedriftene, which also called for predictability and large development areas to be allocated to ensure flexibility.