Due to declining wild salmon stocks in Norway, the government is closing the fishing season two weeks early. Regions that would have ended fishing on 15 August were recently ordered to close on 1 August. The regions that would have closed on 31 August must now end on 15 August.
“The number of medium and large salmon that have come to the coast (drifts) has declined sharply in July. Catches of salmon in the rivers this year have generally been lower this year than last year, although there are regional differences,” according to the Norwegian Environmental Agency (NEA).
The pre-fishery abundance, or the number of wild salmon ascending to the Norwegian coast, has dropped significantly since the beginning of the 1980s, Kjell-Magne Johnsen, advisor to the NEA, told SeafoodSource. “There has been significant increase in mortality of wild salmon at sea in the past 20 to 25 years,” Johnsen said.
The NEA made the decision to close fishing early after preliminary assessments made by the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research suggested “disturbing low catches” in some rivers in North More, Trondheim Fjord, Northern Troms and West Finnmark.
“In particular, we are concerned about the situation in the Trondheim Fjord, where drifts of the rivers Gaula and Orkla was low in 2012,” said Heidi Hansen, NEA acting section head.
“Because of the low drifts, there will probably not be sufficient spawning fish in many rivers in these areas this fall. Therefore, it is important to ensure that most of the female salmon survive to spawn,” said NEA.
The reduced salmon run in recent years has led to stricter regulatory measures in the fishery. The NEA is also introducing mandatory mid-season assessment of the wild salmon fishery and pre-agreed measures in more rivers, according to Johnsen.
“We are considering the introduction of similar requirements for sea-fisheries,” Johnsen said.
