Norway Limits Wild Salmon Fishing

Photo: Derrick Mercer/Flickr CC2.0

Pacific salmon aren’t the only ones facing population threats. Fisheries managers in Norway recently announced new restrictions for wild Atlantic salmon fishing in 2025 as the country’s stocks hit record lows, according to Phys.org.

Earlier this year, fisheries managers in Norway also shut down 33 rivers to salmon fishing in response to low returns.

Ellen Hambro, head of the Norwegian Environment Agency, said that anglers can expect “more restricted fishing at the start of the (2025) season, with the possibility of opening it up for more later is the number of salmon returning is considered sufficient.”

Norwegian officials lay the primary blame for poor salmon numbers at the feet of local fish farms in the fjords. These farms, with their large concentration of young salmon, are a breeding ground for sea lice and other diseases that infect wild salmon swimming free of the cages, according to officials. Fisheries managers also contend that farmed fish that escape and breed with wild salmon dilute the wild gene pool, weakening the existing stocks of salmon.