Weather in north of Norway hits salmon trade

Salmon businesses in northern Norway are facing serious disruption this week as storms sweep through the region.

Nordland is facing several days of severe weather with salmon companies battening down the hatches. In some areas the weather has been at hurricane level.

Transport is at a standstill, so even if production were possible, there would be few ways of getting the fish out.

Most roads have been closed and air and ferry services suspended while the wind speeds remain high.

Such weather is not unusual at this time of year, but it is the severity of the winds this time which has caused concern.

The Norwegian weather service has issued hurricane warnings for a number of areas.

With supplies seriously disrupted one outcome is likely to be a temporary spike in prices this week.

The storms are among the worst for several years. Salmon companies are carrying out special measures to limit the impact of the weather on staff, their facilities and the fish. Those companies include Nordlaks and Cermaq among others.

All have postponed slaughtering until the weather eases which means salmon supplies are likely to be restricted. It is too early to say what the impact on prices will be as figures from Statistics Norway are generally a week behind, but the trend will almost certainly be upwards.

According to the regional broadcaster NRK Nordland the areas most affected include Lofoten, Vesteralen and Troms, adding that a full storm along that part of the coast was likely.