Pink salmon to be served on a cruise in Norway
While some are waging a war against the invasive species, others see it as a valuable resource.
Norwegian coastal shipping company Hurtigruten has announced that it will serve pink salmon (or Pacific salmon) on board its cruise ships, NRK reported.
The ships, which sail several times a week between Bergen in the south and Kirkenes in the north, can accommodate up to 800 people and have professional chefs on board.
"In this way we can help to combat an environmental problem, - Hurtigruten's culinary director, Øistein Nilsen said in a press release, - "Even though Pacific salmon is not something we want in Norwegian waters, it is here. And it is an absolutely fantastic food. We want to help catch as much of it as possible, while at the same time making the catch useful.”
The pink salmon returns to Norwegian rivers every two years to spawn. While the Atlantic salmon is native to the Norwegian coast, the Pacific salmon is considered invasive since it was introduced into rivers on the neighbouring Russian Kola Peninsula in the 1950s.
As the fish return in huge numbers and die after spawning in the northen rivers of Norway, rotting and polluting it, local fishermen and the government come up with various measures to fight against the fish. For example, by building traps or installing AI systems in the rivers.
But in addition to the Hurtigruten, some local fishermen see the pink salmon as a valuable resource:
"The fight against pink salmon is already lost, - Kenth Petersen, a fisherman from Kirkenes told the Barents Observer, - "Pink salmon are good if you can handle them properly. There is no system we can use to stop the invasion of Pacific salmon. But what is needed is for the government to make more efforts so that we can produce this product for consumption in the world. Food that comes from nature is usually good. So it would be a good resource for food supply here in Norway, Europe and wordlwide”.
