Growing pains in upscaling: A constructive technology assessment of sea lice treatment innovations in the stagnating Norwegian aquaculture regime

Abstract

Innovations that scale up, often have unintended, adverse effects. Dealing with adverse effects is especially challenging in bioeconomy transitions, in which the large-scale deployment of innovations may generate severe environmental damages. This study looks at the case of Norwegian aquaculture which has been embraced as a model to revitalize rural livelihoods and foster regional development in coastal areas, but currently faces stagnation. The main cause for the industry’s stagnating development is a parasitic sea lice, which treatments have adverse effects on ecology and fish welfare. We perform a Constructive Technology Assessment (CTA) involving diverse stakeholders in a Multi-Criteria Mapping (MCM) exercise on the viability, opportunities, and risks of different treatment options to cope with sea lice in Norwegian aquaculture. We find that this method is well-suited to identify diverse anticipatory views on possible solutions to the sea lice problem, allowing decision-makers to identify more democratic, holistic, and sustainable pathways to upscale the bioeconomy.