Rents and profits in Norwegian Aquaculture

In recent years, the Norwegian salmon aquaculture industry has generated substantial extraordinary profits, and market values of farming licences have soared, suggesting substantial economic rents. Yet, very little is known about the nature of economic rents in salmon aquaculture. The rents may be a manifestation of scarce resources, such as limited access to suitable production sites or farming licences. Alternatively, there could be regulation rents due to strict environmental regulation, or possibly even persistent inframarginal rents due to heterogeneity in skills and efficiencies amongst producers.