– So far this year, we have confiscated 62 unmarked salmon nets in the sea compared to 52 at the same time last year. In addition, there are 21 reviews and seizures with a known perpetrator. At the same time last year, there were 6 reported cases. This is what acting section leader of the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate (SNO), Knut Magne Thomassen, writes in an e-mail to news about the seizures and reports they have made so far this season. Subsequently, several illegal nets have also been confiscated in the counties of Vestland and Nordland. – On Friday morning, SNO seized an illegally set net chain at Bruvik in Osterøy. A person is suspected and has reported to the police. The relationship will be reported, writes the Norwegian Environment Agency on Twitter. In June, the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate seized an illegally set net at Stolmen in Austevoll in Vestland county. The yarn was 74 meters long and 6.5 meters high. There were three dead salmon in the net. Photo: Statens naturoppsyn – Can have dramatic consequences Acting section leader in the fisheries section of the Norwegian Environment Agency, Heidi Hansen, points out that the salmon is red-listed and threatened by a number of influences such as escaped farmed salmon, salmon lice, climate change and invading humpback salmon. – In order to ensure that the stocks survive and that fishing can be maintained in the future, it has therefore been necessary to strictly regulate fishing both in rivers and in the sea, writes Hansen in an e-mail to news. – Illegal net fishing for salmon can have dramatic consequences, especially for small and vulnerable populations, where a single net in the sea can result in fewer salmon spawning in the river and thus lead to a further decline in the population. In June, the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate confiscated two nets in Nordland county. One was confiscated in Storjeva in Vestvågøy and a net near Nesland in Flakstad. There were a herring and three pollock in the nets. Photo: The National Nature Inspectorate Receives more tips Knut Magne Thomassen states that SNO has a permanent salmon inspection along the entire coast. They do not have an increased focus from last year to this year. – But we register an increasing number of tips to us. This probably contributes to the SNO’s hitting a better target when it comes to stopping even more of this activity, writes Thomassen. He adds that illegal net fishing is in addition to a number of other threat factors for the Atlantic wild salmon population. – There are several people who do not think this illegal fishing on vulnerable mixed salmon stocks in the sea is okay. The general manager of the Alta Laksefiskeri Interessentskap (ALI), Vegard Ludvigsen, is very critical of them again registering illegal fishing for salmon in the river they manage. Photo: Jonas Løken Estenstad / news Increased vigilance in Altaelva It is not only in the lake that illegal fishing is recorded. In the Altaelva, which is ranked by many as one of the world’s best salmon pupils, at the start of the summer they have uncovered a lot of illegal fishing in the river. General manager of the Alta Laksefiskeri Interessentskap (ALI), Vegard Ludvigsen, states that this is something they take very seriously. Against the background of increased illegal fishing, ALI has increased the vigilance in the river. – We are increasing vigilance and cracking down on illegal fishing, says Ludvigsen, who adds that there are people of all age groups who fish for salmon illegally in the Altaelva. Poaching has also been observed in the mouth of the Altaelva. In June, the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate confiscated two nets in Nordland county. One was confiscated in Storjeva in Vestvågøy and a net near Nesland in Flakstad. There were a herring and three pollock in the nets. Photo: Statens naturoppsyn Significant decline In a new report from the Scientific Council for Salmon Management, it appears that the salmon catch was among the lowest ever recorded in 2022. The salmon catch, which is the number of salmon that each year return as spawning fish from the sea to the rivers in Norway, on the other hand, was slightly higher in 2022 than the bottom year, which was in 2021. In the last five years, the average is below 500,000 salmon that have entered the rivers in Norway. Salmon stocks are most reduced in central Norway and western Norway. Salmon lice, escaped farmed salmon and infections linked to fish farming are the biggest threats to wild salmon. Hydropower regulation and other physical interventions are also major threats that reduce salmon populations. Important salmon river is struggling The Tanavassdraget stands out negatively in northern Norway, with a significant decline in salmon stocks. In 2022, fewer salmon returned to Tana than they have ever recorded before. While the amount of salmon returning from the sea is low, there are more salmon spawning in the rivers than before. There is a natural explanation for this, says senior researcher at the Norwegian Institute for Natural Sciences, Torbjørn Forseth. – The fact that there are more spawning fish, even though fewer salmon return from the sea, is due to significant restrictions on salmon fishing in the sea and river. New threat According to the report, the humpback salmon is a new threat, and there is a lack of knowledge about the effects of humpback salmon on local salmonids. – In 2023, traps will be installed at the bottom of many rivers in Finnmark to prevent humpback salmon from entering the rivers, but we do not know enough about how well the measures work. That’s what Eva B. Thorstad of the Scientific Council for Salmon Management writes in a press release. Acting section leader in the National Nature Inspectorate (SNO), Knut Magne Thomassen, cannot say whether the announced humpback salmon invasion is the reason why more people set illegal salmon nets this year. – We have no evidence to confirm this. In June, the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate pulled up an illegal net that had been set in Bjørnvika in Salangen municipality. Photo: The Norwegian Nature Conservancy
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– At the same time last year, there were 6 reported cases – news Troms and Finnmark
