Wikipedia

Patreksfjörður farmed salmon escape

The Patreksfjörður farmed salmon escape was the escape of approximately 3500 farm-raised Atlantic salmon in an open fish farm on August 20, 2023, at Patreksfjörður, a village on the northwest coast of Iceland.[1][2] The fish farm is managed by Arctic Fish, an agricultural company in Norway. Soon after the incident, Arctic Fish discovered two 20 by 30 centimeter holes in its net pens.[3][4][5]

Aftermath

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Arctic Fish fixed the two holes by placing new nets over them on August 21, 2023. Drone footage shows that fish were seen in the river of Ósá in Patreksfjörður on August 22, 2023. Inspectors from the Directorate of Fisheries, Norway, ordered Arctic Fish to set up nets in nearby rivers on August 23, 2023. At least four salmon that appeared to have characteristics of farmed salmon were caught in the nets and were sent to the Marine and Freshwater Research Institute for analysis.[6][7] Arctic Fish has issued an apology.[8]

Environmental Impact

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Many of the escaped farmed salmon have reached sexual maturity. This implies that there will most likely be introgression between the escapees and local wild salmon population.[9] Farmed salmon escape incidents can cause irreversible and substantial impact on wild salmon populations.[10] Farmed salmon can compete with wild salmon for resources, introduce diseases, and reduce genetic diversity through interbreeding. Escape incidents can also lead to the extinction of wild salmon over time.[11]

Reaction

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Since this incident, there was also a sea lice outbreak at an open sea salmon farm in Tálknafjörður, Iceland. Many locals and environmentalists have been protesting against open sea fish farm industries in Iceland.[12]

On November 9, 2023, Icelandic singer songwriter, Björk, released a song titled, "Oral," in collaboration with Catalan pop star, Rosalía. The profits of the song will go towards supporting activists who are fighting for new laws and regulations for aquaculture in Iceland.[13][14][15]

References

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  1. ^ McVeigh, Karen (September 30, 2023). "Thousands of salmon escaped an Icelandic fish farm. The impact could be deadly". The Guardian. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  2. ^ Donohue, Jane (2023-12-06). "Fish farm threatens to wreak havoc as thousands of fish escape into natural waters: 'An environmental catastrophe'". Yahoo News. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  3. ^ Lawton, Graham (23 October 2023). "On the hunt for thousands of salmon that escaped Icelandic fish farm". New Scientist. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  4. ^ Writer, Thomas Kika Weekend Staff (2023-12-11). "Salmon escaping farms are wreaking havoc on wild fish". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  5. ^ Ćirić, Jelena (2023-08-31). "Farmed Salmon Caught in Rivers Across Northwest Iceland". Iceland Review. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  6. ^ "Holes in Arctic Seafarm's sea farm at Kvígindisdalur in Patreksfjörður | Ísland.is". island.is. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  7. ^ "Concerned over farmed salmon runaways". Iceland Monitor. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  8. ^ Outram, Robert (2023-09-14). "Iceland salmon company apologises for fjord escape". Fish Farmer Magazine. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  9. ^ Bolstad GH, Karlsson S, Hagen IJ, Fiske P, Urdal K, Sægrov H, Florø-Larsen B, Sollien VP, Østborg G, Diserud OH, Jensen AJ, Hindar K. Introgression from farmed escapees affects the full life cycle of wild Atlantic salmon. Sci Adv. 2021 Dec 24;7(52):eabj3397. doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abj3397. Epub 2021 Dec 22. PMID: 34936452; PMCID: PMC8694624.
  10. ^ Kjetil Hindar, Ian A. Fleming, Philip McGinnity, Ola Diserud, Genetic and ecological effects of salmon farming on wild salmon: modelling from experimental results, ICES Journal of Marine Science, Volume 63, Issue 7, 2006, Pages 1234–1247, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.icesjms.2006.04.025
  11. ^ "Center for Food Safety | GE Fish & the Environment | | GE Fish & The Environment". Center for Food Safety. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  12. ^ McVeigh, Karen (2023-11-03). "Sea-lice outbreak on Icelandic salmon farm a 'welfare disaster', footage shows". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
  13. ^ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (2023-10-05). "Björk and Rosalía team up to campaign against industrial fish farming". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  14. ^ Bjarkason, Jóhannes (2023-10-07). "From Iceland — Björk And Rosalía Release Protest Song Against Fish Farming". The Reykjavik Grapevine. Retrieved 2024-03-20.
  15. ^ Garcia, Thania (2023-10-05). "Björk and Rosalía to Release New Song Protesting Industrial Fish Farming". Variety. Retrieved 2024-03-22.
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