ARTICLES Sustainable Aquaculture: Are We Getting There? Ethical Perspectives on Salmon Farming Ingrid Olesen • Anne Ingeborg Myhr • G. Kristin Rosendal Accepted: 10 May 2010 / Published online: 12 June 2010 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2010 Abstract Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal producing sector in the world and is expected to play an important role in global food supply. Along with this growth, concerns have been raised about the environmental effects of escapees and pollution, fish welfare, and consumer health as well as the use of marine resources for producing fish feed. In this paper we present some of the major challenges salmon farming is facing today. We discuss issues of relevance to how to ensure sustainability, by focusing on animal production systems, breeding approaches, sources for feed ingredients, and genetic engineering strategies. Other crucial issues such as animal welfare, environmental quality, and ethics are elaborated with regard to relevance for the sustainability of aquaculture. Additionally, we comment on socio-economic distributive implications by intellectual property rights (IPR) strategies on access to genetic material and traceability. To improve sustainability of salmon farming we suggest that there is a need for new approaches to guide research, for identification of ethical issues, and for engaging stakeholders in resolving these challenges. Keywords Salmon farming Á Animal welfare Á Global food supply Á Genetic resources Á Intellectual property rights (IPR) Á Sustainability I. Olesen (&) Nofima Marin, P.O.Box 5010, 1432 A ˚ s, Norway e-mail: ingrid.olesen@nofima.no A. I. Myhr Genøk–Centre of Biosafety, The Research Park, 9294 Tromsø, Norway e-mail: anne.myhr@genok.org G. K. Rosendal Fridtjof Nansen Institute, P.O.Box 326, 1325 Lysaker, Norway e-mail: kristin.rosendal@fni.no 123 J Agric Environ Ethics (2011) 24:381–408 DOI 10.1007/s10806-010-9269-z