The State Administration Database

Osmundsen, Tonje Cecilie; Olsen, Marit Schei; Thorvaldsen, Trine (2019):

The making of a louse - constructing governmental technology for sustainable aquaculture

Elsevier Ltd.

Please note: This page may contain data in Norwegian that is not translated to English.

Type of publication:

Hovud-/magister-/masteroppgåve

Link to publication:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.12.002

Link to review:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envsci.2019.12.002

Comment:

Tidsskrift:
Environmental Science and Policy. 2020, 104 121-128.

Number of pages:

22

ISSN:

1462-9011

Language of publication:

Engelsk

Country of publication:

Norge

NSD-reference:

4746

This page was last updated:

5/10 2021

State units related to this publication:

Summary:

Salmon production, and aquaculture in general, entails certain environmental risks that must be managed and controlled. In Norway, as in other aquaculture-producing countries, governments seek means of improving the industry and encouraging sustainable conduct. In Norwegian aquaculture regulation, the salmon louse has become an important indicator and regulatory instrument – a governmental technology. The louse is a proxy for the environmental impact of the industry and as a governmental technology, it is used to regulate and incite behavior. In this paper, we draw on results from both interviews and an analysis of responses to a consultation round for a governmental White Paper proposing new means for regulating the growth of the aquaculture industry. Based on these results, we investigate the becoming of the salmon louse as a regulatory instrument, and how this is perceived among relevant stakeholders. The political significance of the salmon louse serves to illuminate how a governmental technology is created to instill control from a distance. The history of how the salmon louse has become a governable object additionally elucidates disagreements and uncertainties surrounding modern salmon farming and demonstrates that the creation of governmental technologies persists in the face of resistance.