The growth of the aquaculture sector has been remarkably slow in Sweden. Part of the slow growth has been contributed to a complicated regulatory system that aim to correct for negative externalities such as nitrogen emissions, overfishing of fish for reduction, spreading of chemicals and escaped fish causing genetic pollution. When correcting for externalities, economic efficiency should be taken into consideration as efficient regulations will result in an output level of aquaculture production that is competitive and sustainable in the long run.

The purpose of the project is to provide knowledge on how current and potential future regulations affect competitiveness and sustainability of aquaculture production in Sweden. We perform a literature review were economic literature on the effects of aquaculture regulations in developed countries is the main theme. We also investigate economic studies of regulations of agriculture and discuss if similar regulations could be applied to aquaculture. Finally, we investigate the possibilities for producers to gain from eco-certification and labelling of products from aquaculture.

The project is financed by Formas and will be finalised in the beginning of 2023.