The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has released a new report finding that cod farms continued to struggle with early maturation and spawning inside cages in the 2024-2025 season.
Norway’s cod farming regulations require farmers to prevent the spawning of farmed cod to avoid interfering with wild cod populations. Early maturation results in companies being forced to harvest cod early and cull fish.
Companies like Norcod have been forced to cull fish in multiple cages due to early maturation, which has negative impacts on the companies’ bottom lines.
According to Norway Fisheries Director Frank Bakke-Jensen, the report found the challenges continued in the 2024-2025 season.
“This shows that there are still challenges related to preventing maturation and spawning in cages, and no significant improvement compared to the previous season,” Bakke-Jensen said.
Bakke-Jensen said surveys of cod in their first winter at sea found a significant portion of the male fish were already mature for spawning – indicating there is a risk that spawning could occur earlier than expected and the challenge of keeping cod from reaching sexual maturity early is “even more demanding than previously considered.”
As a result of the demands, the directorate proposed regulatory changes that carry additional requirements, including regular evaluations of net pens, carrying out risk assessments for spawning in cages, and having a detailed plan for culling if spawning is found to be imminent.
“Based on the challenges we have seen in recent years, a proposal for regulatory changes has been out for consultation,” Bakke-Jensen said. “These have now been adopted, and mean that fish farmers will be given a clearer responsibility to prevent fish from spawning in cages, and that they must have the necessary contingency plans to ensure that this does not happen.”
The Directorate of Fisheries said the Norway Institute of Marine Research has developed a method for visual assessment of sexual maturation which is being introduced along with the regulations.
“We want a sustainable cod farming industry,” Norway Minister of Fisheries Marianne Sivertsen Næss said. “The changes that we have now put in place will reduce the risk of spawning in cages and ensure more sustainable development.”
