The reward of 500 kroner ($45) per salmon caught after the world's largest supplier of farm-raised salmon said a quarter of their 105,000 salmon population escaped from their enclosure in Troms, north-west Norway.
The Norwegian directorate of fisheries said the escape was reported on Sunday by Mowi, which said they discovered damage to the outer ring of a pen during stormy weather at the Storvika V facility in Dyrøy municipality, Troms. The average weight of the escaped fish was 5.5kg (12.1lbs), they said.
Norwegian authorities were on site on Monday inspecting the facility and issued an order to expand the company’s efforts to recapture the fish. Vegard Oen Hatten, a spokesperson for the fisheries directorate, said: “Normally, fish farmers are only allowed to conduct recapture operations within a 500-metre zone around the facility in the event of an escape. However, based on the potential scale of this incident, Mowi was instructed to extend recapture efforts beyond this zone”.
Mowi said it was “a serious and very regrettable situation” and that fish caught by registered fishers could be delivered to fish “reception centres” around the area in return for the bounty.
In Norway, which exports 1.2m tonnes of farmed salmon a year, the problem is such that last summer wild salmon numbers dropped to a historic low, resulting in the closure of 33 rivers to salmon fishing. This summer 42 rivers and three fjords have been proposed for closure.
“27,000 farmed salmon on the run is a disaster for wild salmon”, said Pål Mugaas, a spokesperson for Norske Lakseelver (Norwegian Salmon Rivers).
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