They have escaped from the farm and are a risk to biodiversity.
The world’s leading producer of breeding salmon asks for help in searching for salmon, which escaped him from one of the farms in the north of Norway. Through a fencing damaged by a storm, approximately 27,000 of 105,000 bred fish sailed into the sea. In an effort to find them as quickly as possible, Mowi offers EUR 43 for each returned salmon. Informed about the daily Guardian.
Salmon escaped on February 9. On Monday, Mowi issued a press statement in which it admitted that it was an event “that wasn’t supposed to happen” and added that it was a “very regrettable” situation.
Normally, fish breeders can only be re-captured in the 500-meter zone around the breeding facility. Given the potential extent of this incident, however, Mowi was ordered to expand the capture outside this area, said VEGARD OEN HATTEN Directorate spokesman.
AFP explained that the consequences of this leak may be disastrous for marine biodiversity, and especially for wild salmon. Breeded salmon helps spread parasites and weaken the genetic diversity of their wild relatives.
Approximately 1.2 million tonnes of bred salmon are exported from Norway. The number of wild salmon in the summer of 2024 fell to a historical minimum, so the hunting of these fish was banned in 33 rivers. The authorities have proposed that, in order to protect the population of wild salmon in Norway, 42 rivers and three fjords are removed from the list of fishing districts.
