Iceland worried about its future salmonand for nothing less. On August 20, thousands of fish of Norwegian ancestry raised at a fish farm in the country escaped into the open sea and have since been They occupy numerous riversIn fact, it is quite far from where they escaped. This endangers the wild salmon population because there is hybridization between them. It harms the survival of wild species.
So far, specimens of salmon that escaped from the fish farm have been found (easily identified by their broken fins and rounded tails). at least in 32 rivers in northwest IcelandAccording to The Guardian newspaper, one of the information on social networks shows fish covered with sea lice, a parasite that can be lethal to wild fish. The Icelandic Marine and Freshwater Research Institute (MRI) confirmed the presence of farmed fish in many rivers.
The great salmon escape took place at the Patreksfjörður fish farm owned by Arctic Fish. Owned by Norwegian salmon giant Mowi, it is one of the largest salmon farming companies in the country.
They want fish farming to be banned
This fact has revived criticism from environmentalists, sport fishermen and some politicians who want fish farming to be restricted or banned in the country. And this isn’t the first major leak: Last year, another salmon farming company, Arnarlax, was fined 807,000 euros for failing to report the escape of 81,000 fish into the open sea. In 2021.
This August, a neighbor living tens of kilometers away from the facility where the leak occurred caught 44 farmed salmon in the last fifteen days. “This is an environmental disaster”says this neighbor. “If they proliferate, salmon will lose their ability to survive.”
In fact, studies have shown that Hybridization between farmed and wild fish reduces the species’ ability to reproduce by producing offspring that mature faster and younger. In nature.
Scientists say there are three reasons why this escape is so disastrous: The fish are entering the river in large numbers, their numbers are unprecedented, and a large percentage are mature and ready to reproduce.
Last week, Icelandic police have launched an investigation into whether Arctic Fish violated laws regulating fish farming. While expert divers paid by Arctic Fish tried to save as many of the escaped fish as possible, the company’s CEO, Stein Ove Tveiten, together with members of the board of directors, If found guilty of negligence, he could be sentenced to up to two years in prisonThe Guardian adds that he apologized for the incident.
Atlantic salmon problem
Globally, the number of wild Atlantic salmon, a species important to the survival of many mammals and birds, is dropped from 8 or 10 million in the 1970s to 3 or 4 million today. Only 500,000 remain in Norway; This number is half of the number 20 years ago. Illegal farmed fish and sea lice (a persistent problem in these industries) are the biggest threats. Scotland has seen a 40% decline in the number of salmon returning to rivers in four decades.
Environmentalists also say these farms cause pollution from organic waste and pesticides used to treat sea lice. A medium-sized fish farm of approximately 3,000 tons can produce as much wastewater as a city of 50,000 peopleAccording to the Norwegian Pollution Control Agency, eutrophication problems (adding too many unnecessary nutrients to water bodies, causing harmful algal blooms) may increase.
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