When Vegaøyan was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2004, the World Heritage Committee requested that the boundary between conservation and sustainable development with regard to aquaculture be clarified.

When Vega municipality adopted the Helgeland coastal plan in 2014 with two new aquaculture sites in the world heritage area, the National Heritage Board and the State Governor of Nordland objected to the plan. The objecting authorities felt that the consequences of aquaculture in the world heritage area had not been sufficiently investigated. Vega Municipality therefore commissioned a study from Instead Heritage, which has been used by UNESCO in its work on guidelines for following up the World Heritage Convention. The impact assessment was published in the fall of 2022 and did not recommend aquaculture in the World Heritage Area. Vega Municipality nevertheless adopted the Helgeland Coastal Plan with the two sites when it was out for its fourth consultation, and the National Heritage Board and the State Administrator thus maintained their objections.

A final decision will now be made by the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development as to whether the plan should be approved with the two sites. Before the decision is made, representatives from the Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development, the Ministry of Climate and Environment and the Ministry of Fisheries, as well as Nordland County Council, the State Governor of Nordland, the National Heritage Board, the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Directorate of Fisheries and Vega Municipality gathered for a meeting on March 21 where the parties were to present their views on the relationship between aquaculture and world heritage. The meeting was followed by an inspection of the World Heritage Site, which most of the participants in the meeting were able to attend. Along the way, the participants received information from Mayor André Møller, Technical Manager Anders Karlsson and World Heritage Coordinator Rita Johansen.

The Ministry of Local Government and Regional Development will have a decision ready within the next few weeks. It cannot be appealed.