The global seafood company **Mowi** has announced a reward for fishermen who catch **salmon** following the **escape of nearly 27,000** specimens from a fish farm off the **Norwegian coast**. The news comes after the ruling for a similar situation in Chile was known, as reported by [Noticias Ambientales](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/confirman-sancion-millonaria-a-una-empresa-por-escape-de-salmones-en-2018/).
Environmentalists have described this incident as a **”disaster for wild salmon”**.
**Mowi**, based in Norway, is the world’s largest **producer of farmed salmon**. The company reported that a quarter of a total of 105,000 salmon escaped from its facilities in the Troms region.
In response to the escape, they announced a reward of 500 crowns (42 euros) for each captured salmon and described the situation as **”serious and very sad”**.
The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries reported that the company had reported damage to the **outer ring of the fish pen** during the Sunday storm at the Storvika V plant in the municipality of Dyroy, Troms. It was stated that the average weight of the escaped fish was 5.5 kilograms.
Norwegian authorities inspected the facilities on Monday, demanding that the company expand its efforts to **recapture the fish**.
“Normally, fish farmers can only carry out recapture operations within 500 meters of the facility. However, given the potential scale of this incident, Mowi was allowed to work beyond this boundary,” they said.
## Environmental Impact and Consequences of Salmon Escape in Norway
Fugitive salmon [generate serious environmental problems](https://noticiasambientales.com/animales/aparecieron-salmones-en-el-rio-parana-que-impacto-tienen-en-el-rio/). According to activists, this reduces the genetic diversity of wild salmon, increases sea lice infections, and intensifies competition for breeding areas.
In Norway, which exports 1.2 million tons of **farmed salmon** annually, the wild salmon population reached historic lows last summer due to this issue, leading to [the fishing ban on salmon in 33 rivers](#). This summer, it was proposed to close 42 rivers and three fjords (bays formed by glacial valleys).
“The 27,000 illegal farmed salmon are a disaster for wild salmon,” said Pål Mugaas, a spokesperson for Norwegian Salmon Rivers. “It is scientifically proven that crossing wild populations with farmed salmon produces offspring with poor long-term survival in nature,” he added.
## Is Farmed Salmon Illegal?
The Norwegian Scientific Advisory Committee for Atlantic Salmon has classified illegal farmed salmon as [one of the greatest threats to wild salmon](#). It is estimated that two-thirds of Norway’s wild Atlantic salmon populations [have genetic interactions](#) with illegal farmed salmon.
Norwegian Minister of Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, refused to ban open-net salmon farms, despite acknowledging last month that North Atlantic wild salmon is under an “existential threat”.
Eriksen stated that they would instead seek an **”acceptable level of pollution”** for the wild salmon population. “This is very sad and a situation that should not have occurred,” said Mowi spokesperson Ola Helge Hjetland to the newspaper ‘VG’.
Do you already know our YouTube channel? Subscribe!
