Towards a situated engagement with coastal futures: Aquaculture, limits to growth, and anticipatory ruinations in Divtasvuodna/Tysfjord

In contrast to its modest beginning in the 1970s, the Norwegian aquaculture industry is increasingly advocated by state officials and industry actors as vital to Norway's future, both in terms of economic growth and mainstay of coastal settlements. However, these views assume unity in terms of interests and values, often disregarding the lived realities on the ground. Based on fieldwork in Divtasvuodna/Tysfjord, Sápmi/northern Norway, this paper argues for a situated engagement with the way coastal futures are imagined, and how dominant discourses on emerging technologies in the industry may influence these visions. Drawing on Kasia Paprocki's concept of anticipatory ruination, I explore how the aquaculture industry anticipates future threats which are then used to legitimise its operations and emerging technologies as an instrument for more sustainable futures. This paper observes how this process unfolds in Divtasvuodna/Tysfjord and the way it is represented, manifested, and simultaneously contested by local people. The article shows ambivalent responses regarding the aquaculture industry's future role, contrasting with state and industry-led growth goals. While aquaculture is seen as important for maintaining a certain way of life, the reliance on a capital- and technology-intensive industry also brings uncertainties and insecurities. The research further argues for the need to recentre local agency and highlight the values, worldviews, and relationships that underpin everyday engagements with place.