Thousands of salmon have escaped from open fish farms, endangering Iceland’s wild salmon populations. If escaped fish breed with native species, they may cause irreparable damage to future generations of native species.
What happened?
On August 20, about 3,500 farm-raised salmon escaped from an open fish farm in Icelandic waters, The Guardian reported. The farm is located near the village of Patreksfjörður on the northwest coast of Iceland. The facility is operated by Arctic Fish, an Icelandic fish farming company owned by Norwegian seafood giant Mowi.
Unconfirmed social media posts reported that the farm-raised salmon, identified by their rounded tails and torn fins, had been found in at least 32 rivers in northwest Iceland, The Guardian reported.
Why are salmon escapes a concern?
According to scientists, many of the escapees had reached sexual maturity. This is bad news for Iceland’s wild salmon populations, because the offspring produced by crossing them with farm-raised salmon reach sexual maturity faster than wild salmon.
The increased rate of maturation makes the species more challenging to reproduce while increasing their boldness and aggressiveness, making them more likely to die when young.
Escaped fish have reached many of Iceland’s waterways, endangering much of Iceland’s wild salmon populations.
“This is an environmental disaster,” Guðmundur Hauker Jakobsson, vice-president of the Brenda and Swata fishing club, told the Guardian. “If they reproduce, the salmon will lose their ability to survive.”
In addition to the threat posed by escaped fish, waste from open fish farms pollutes surrounding waters, according to Living Oceans. Additionally, diseases spread from fish farms could threaten wild fish populations, according to Wild First.
One post among unconfirmed social media reports even showed several fish carrying sea lice, which can be fatal to wild salmon.
What is being done about the escaped salmon?
Environmentalists, amateur fishermen and politicians have once again begun calling for an end to open fish farming in response to another fish escape in Iceland.
Last year, Icelandic fish farming company Arnarlax was fined approximately $800,000 for failing to report the escape of more than 81,000 fish in 2021, Fish Farmer reported.
While Arctic Fish has enlisted the help of professional divers to track farm-raised salmon, the company‘According to The Guardian, CEO Stein Ove Tveiten and other board members face up to two years in prison if found guilty of negligence.
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