In a major incident at a Norwegian salmon farm, Mowi ASA estimates that 27.000 salmon have escaped following a breach at its facility in Dyrøy, Troms. The event unfolded when a mooring on one of the net pens failed, causing part of the pen to submerge overnight on Sunday.
What happened?
According to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries (Fiskeridirektoratet), the facility housed approximately 105.000 salmon prior to the incident. This means that roughly 25% of the stock managed to escape. The fish, described as slaughter-ready and weighing around 5.5 kg each, were carefully counted by the company after the breach.
Mowi ASA’s communications director, Ola Helge Hjetland, addressed the situation in an email to VG. He stated:
“There is no doubt that this is a serious and very unfortunate situation.”
The company has been actively pumping fish from the net pen to estimate the number remaining—and, by extension, the number that escaped. To aid in recapturing the strays, Mowi ASA is now offering a reward of NOK 500 per salmon (around 43 euros) They have announced that fish caught by registered fishermen can be delivered at fish reception centers in the municipalities of Senja, Dyrøy, Sørreisa, Salangen, Lavangen, Gratangen, Ibestad, Harstad, and Andenes.
Assistance also came from the Coast Guard (Kystvakten). The vessel KV Svalbard served as a breakwater for the facility, a role that Marine Traffic monitoring confirms remains in effect as of Monday afternoon.
Technical aspects of the Breach
The breach occurred at the Storvika V facility when one of the moorings broke on Saturday evening. This failure allowed part of the net pen’s ring to submerge, a problem that was addressed promptly. Hjetland noted:
“The ring was lifted again during the night.”
Authorities at Fiskeridirektoratet are now conducting inspections and have mandated recapture fishing. Senior Communications Advisor Vegard Oen Hatten explained:
“We are in the process of following up on the incident and are now working to map out its scope, as well as assess the need for extended recapture fishing.”
Political reactions and broader Context
The salmon escape has ignited strong reactions among Norwegian politicians, especially given that in 2024 more than 93.000 salmon escaped from various facilities nationwide. Notably, a Mowi facility in Nordland saw an escape of 65.000 small salmon.
Politician Kari Elisbeth Kaski, spokesperson for SV, criticized the handling of the situation:
“This is an unacceptable handling of Mowi, and a crisis for the fishing industry. When situations like this arise, we see completely obviously the need for the industry to be more strictly regulated.”
Similarly, Rasmus Hansson, member of parliament and spokesperson for MDG, declared:
“This escape must be the last nail in the coffin for traditional open salmon pens. The industry apologizes and apologizes, while the salmon escape and escape. Now it must come to an end.”
