Cod investment could be a mistake, says Norwegian professor

NORWAY - Investing in cod farming could prove to be the wrong choice for Norway, according to a leading academic.

For large-scale production of farmed cod could push the price of wild cod down, which could be a national economical catastrophe for Norway, professor Terje Vassdal from the Norwegian College of Fisheries Science has claimed in an article in Norwegian news source Fiskeribladet.

Vassdal pointed out that cod is already a highly priced whitefish. He thought it was almost unbelievable how well the cod price had kept up, taking into consideration, he said, that the market has had more than enough of far cheaper white fish products.

He said that if too much farmed cod is on the market and all cod is understood as relatively similar products, the price of wild cod could be influenced negatively.

Such a development could push the price of cod down towards the price of haddock, so that the long-lasting work towards the present cod price level could be ruined. “Salmon farming was developed to large volumes, because salmon has a known history and tradition as a costly and unique products. When farmed salmon reached the market, the product was easily recognised, and people were surprised that they could get salmon much cheaper than what they were used to.

While the production costs were still far higher than today, fish farmers could take a price that stood in relation to this, as the product was relatively unique,“ Vassdal said.

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Source: FishUpdate

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