Around 27,000 farmed salmon escaped from a sea farm near Tromsø in northern Norway, after damage to the outer net, which represented roughly a quarter of all the fish at the facility. Only about 700 of the fish were recaptured, leaving the majority still at large.
The escape occurred in early February, and the search for the fish continued through the end of the month. However, efforts to catch them didn’t start immediately, as a strong storm delayed the response, allowing many of the escaped fish to drift far into the open sea by the time the search began.
A reward of 43 euros was offered for each fish caught, leading external helpers to successfully capture over a hundred of the escaped salmon.
The company responsible, Mowi, one of the largest salmon farming producers, concluded the search by the last weekend of February.
Farmed salmon are known to pose a serious threat to wild salmon populations. A report from the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, released earlier this week, warned that farmed salmon could introduce diseases and parasites to wild populations and even interbreed with wild salmon, potentially impacting their genetic makeup. The escape of thousands of salmon is being described as a “disaster” for wild salmon.
Salmon farming remains a contentious issue, with ongoing debates about government policies surrounding the industry.
