A Norwegian industrial fish farm is offering $45 each for return of its 27,000 escaped salmon, nearly a quarter of the supply at one of its facilities in northwestern Norway.
The company, Mowi, says that it has set up facilities in the local area where registered fishers could return fish. The breakout, which the company called a “serious and very rerettable situration,” was announced last week by Norway’s Fisheries Directorate.
The situation is considered serious because of its possible effect on wild fish in the area; experts say that fish escaping from farms have a higher incidence of disease than their wild counterparts. These diseases could kill off wild stock, impacting ecosystems.
Also, the changed diet, lives and conditions of farmed fish compared to wild fish means that if they were to be bred with wild fish, the offspring would be less likely to survive in the wild, leading to dwindling populations. Because of already lower populations, 33 of Norway’s rivers and several fjords have been closed to salmon fishing.
A similar breakout, this one involving trout, happened several years ago in Denmark, also with a bounty offer.
