April 19, 2007

Norway gives fish farms the rap for 1.2 million escapes

Norway censured about 50 fish farming companies on Wednesday (Apr 18) for the escapes of 1.2 million salmon, cod and trout last year and released the list of farms involved in the breakouts.

Environmentalists, who say that escaped farmed fish threaten the genetic pools of wild stocks, hailed the move.

The list revealed the extent of the escapes from major companies such as Marine Harvest, the world's largest salmon farmer, Cermaq and dozens of smaller operators.

This is the first time Norway has released the names of the companies whose fish had escaped.

These escapes, although not illegal, can be a sign of irresponsible management, Jens Christian Holm, of the Directorate of Fisheries, said in a statement.

Last year's breakout of 1.2 million was the highest.

In 2005, 935,000 fish escaped. Despite the high numbers, it is only a tiny percentage of the total produced. Fish escapes can take place because nets may be damaged by mismanagement, sabotage or accidents.

Marine Harvest's Norwegian unit accounted for 10 of 60 breakouts in Norway in 2006, although the number that escaped was just 80,000.