GREEN AND TECHNICAL EFFICIENT GROWTH IN DANISH FRESH WATER AQUACULTURE

摘要

Aquaculture is the fastest growing animal food processing sector in the world. Nevertheless, growth inside the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development has been stagnating, with few exceptions. The main reason is strict environmental regulations. This study investigates if green growth can be achieved by introducing new environmentally friendly water purification systems in Danish fresh water aquaculture. Data Envelopment Analysis is used to investigate whether different water purification systems and farm size influence technical efficiency. The empirical results indicate that different water purification systems have no significant influence, although it increases with farm size. The policy implications are that green growth is possible by implementing the new water purification systems, but farmers have no incentive to adopt the new systems under the present regulation. If green growth should be achieved, the present regulation needs to be changed, providing the farmers with an incentive to adopt environmentally friendly production methods.