Norwegian Salmon Goes to Market: the Case of the Austevoll Seafood Cluster
ARTICLE IN PRESS Journal of Rural Studies 22 (2006) 190–204 www.elsevier.com/locate/jrurstud Norwegian salmon goes to market: The case of the Austevoll seafood cluster John Phynea,Ã, Gestur Hovgaardb, Gard Hansenc aDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS, Canada bCenter for Local and Regional Development, Klaksvı´k, The Faroes cDepartment of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Trondheim, Norway Abstract This paper examines the impact of the globalisation of the farmed salmon commodity chain upon farmed salmon production in the western Norwegian municipality of Austevoll. On the basis of field research conducted in 2002 and 2003, we conclude that salmon farming in Austevoll has responded to the challenges of ‘buyer-driven’ food chains by virtue of its history as a seafood cluster. Despite the vertical relations assumed in the literature on ‘buyer-driven’ food chains, the horizontal relations in Austevoll have proven resilient in this era of ‘homogenised globalisation’. Nevertheless, recent changes in the global farmed salmon supply chain may result in the imposition of vertical relations in the Austevoll cluster. We conclude with suggestions for incorporating the literatures on global food chains and industrial clusters in the study of seafood production and global markets. r 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction move to greater levels of Norwegian investment in Chile, and import quotas for farmed salmon by the European Global food chains provide a basis for assessing the Union (EU), may undermine Austevoll’s seafood cluster. impact of globalisation upon nation-states, industrial Will the seafood cluster make a successful transition as it clusters and communities.
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