Lerøy facing police probe over latest escape

The Lerøy Seafood Company is facing an official investigation following the escape of 14,000 salmon earlier this week.

It was later learned that some of the fish were infected with bacterial kidney disease (BKD) and pancreatic disease (PD). BKD can also cause problems for fry.

The escaped fish had reached slaughter weight, averaging 7.3 kilos.

Now the Norwegian Environmental Protection Association (NMF) has reported the incident to the police in Trondheim, according to the Norwegian financial website Finansavisen.

The incident is being viewed in Norway as being particularly serious. The big fear is that the escaped fish will infect wild salmon which are fairly common in that part of the country.

Finansavisen says if wild fish are infected it could effectively mean the end of a number of wild salmon strains.

The NMF said it takes a very serious view of all salmon escapes, but is particularly concerned as the escaped salmon were also seriously ill.

If this salmon infects wild salmon in the rivers Trondheimsfjorden, it could quickly mean the end of the door for a number of local wild salmon strains in the fjord, says regional manager Arne Roger Hansen for NMF in Central Norway in an email to the Norwegian news portal NTB.

The company said it deeply regrets the incident, adding that it should not have happened.

Lerøy Midt spokesman Harald Larssen said that the priority now was to limit the extent of the damage and to learn from the incident so future escapes can be avoided.