Fugitive salmon wanted
After thousands of salmon escaped from a fish farm in northern Norway, a bounty is being offered for their capture, and environmentalists file a police report.
An estimated 27,000 salmon escaped from a fish farm on the night of 9 February in Dyrøy municipality, northern Norway, NRK reports. The escape happened after one of the cages was damaged in a strong storm at sea.
The fish company Mowi, which owns the facility, is now offering a bounty of 500 Norwegian kroner (€43) for each salmon caught.
"...fish caught by registered fishermen can be delivered to the fish reception centres in the municipalities... The fish to be rewarded are farmed salmon weighing between 4.5 and 6.5 kg...," says the announcement on Dyrøy municipality's website.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian Environmental Association has filed a police report against Mowi, NRK reports.
This fish is big enough to get into the spawning grounds and mix with the wild salmon. This is serious genetic pollution," the association's leader, Ruben Oddekalv, is quoted as saying by the local newspaper Folkebladet.
NRK points out that the environmental group also criticises Mowi for initially under-reporting the escape and believes that there are large hidden costs associated with such incidents. According to the Norwegian Environmental Association, the escape has now become a regional problem, as several rivers in the area are already under pressure from escaped farmed salmon.
