Norway has announced new restrictions on wild salmon fishing, at least at the start of the season. The population of these migratory fish has fallen to its lowest level in recent years. The number of returns to rivers to spawn and lay eggs is particularly low in 2024 and worries the authorities. Scientists point the finger at aquaculture.
Norway farms a lot of salmon. Around one and a half million tonnes of these fish leave the farms to supply the stalls each year. Before that, these salmon – in their millions – grow up in cages submerged in the fjords.
Due to the high concentration of these fish in the cages, diseases and sea lice thrive, and they also infect young wild salmon that pass by.
Climate change and genetic heritage
This risk of contamination is not the only danger. It also happens that farmed salmon escape. You might think that this means more salmon in the wild, but in fact, by mixing with wild salmon, farmed salmon weaken the genetic heritage of their cousins.
In addition, other factors threaten this fish. Climate change is also said to be responsible. Young salmon no longer necessarily arrive at the same time as the organisms they feed on, and that’s without taking into account the risk of drought. So many obstacles that mean that many salmon no longer feel like “fish in water” in the Norwegian seas.
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