Lerøy Midt told to take new action after fish escapes

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has ordered the company Lerøy Midt Sjø AS to monitor and remove farmed salmon from waterways, following escape incidents at Hitra and in the Tingvollfjord earlier this year.

A total of 21 watercourses in Trøndelag and eight in Møre og Romsdal are covered by the orders.

Lerøy Midt Sjø has told the authorities that it has hired professional expertise to carry out mapping, and has itself included other relevant watercourses in the region.

The Directorate has instructed that farmed salmon must also be removed where it is practically possible.

The purpose of the orders is to help ensure there are no fish from the escapes in the rivers in question during the spawning season, as well as to prevent the spread of disease.

A plan has been drawn up for the work, and initial investigations are already underway. The methods used must be adapted to the individual watercourse, and so far drift counting, harpooning, video surveillance and data from sport fishing and wedge nets have been used.

The escape incident at the Reitholmen site in Hitra took place in early May.

Lerøy Midt Sjø has reported an escape figure of approximately 8,400 salmon with an average weight of around 7 kg.

The company has caught about 1,800 farmed fish through its own efforts. In addition, around 350 farmed salmon have been caught in a monitoring station at Agdenes.

The escape incident at the Naustneset site in Tingvollfjorden happened at the end of February when Lerøy Midt Sjø reported an escape figure of about 5,000 salmon with an average weight of around 5 kg. They have reported a recapture of some 3,700 farmed fish. Recapture fishing in the sea has been extended after the escapes in Hitra.

The Directorate said: “We have today imposed on Lerøy Midt Sjø AS a new week of recapture fishing at sea after the escape incident at their location Reitholmen on Hitra earlier in May. The company has so far recaptured approximately 1,200 farmed salmon.”