– We could run the risk of, in the worst case, having the cod population destroyed locally here. It will be a tragedy for everyone who fishes. This is something that shouldn’t happen, it’s not worth it. Hobby fisherman Oddvin Bjerkvik is very critical of the fact that the farming company Ode has applied to start up two new facilities for farmed cod in the fjord within where he lives. Not far away, around 87,000 cod escaped from another plant last autumn, also Ode’s. – They should not have done it until they have more knowledge about the consequences of the escape. They should wait to give more permits before they know the consequences, says Bjerkvik. He says that he caught a lot of farmed cod in his net when he was fishing this winter. He fears how it will affect the wild cod in the area. Now he hopes that the county council will wait to respond to the new application until a new research report on cod escapement is ready. This is a farmed cod Oddvin Bjerkvik caught in the net this winter. He says that the farmed cod looks different, among other things because it has a hump on its back, and it has a sharper nose. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news This escaped farmed cod has pellets in its stomach. Bjerkvik believes it must have been in the vicinity of the breeding facility this winter to have ingested food. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Torsken Bjerkvik was born in February and has had a doctor in the freezer since then. The fisherman thinks the male cod is ready to spawn – just what he fears will harm the wild cod. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Have to consider whether they wait for the research Two new locations for farming are on the steps in the Austefjord within the Volda, one mile from the plant where the escape occurred in 2022. One is out for public consultation, while the other is in the final phase with the county council. Case manager in Møre and Romsdal county municipality, Rebekka Varne, says they will use the report if it is finished. – If it is not finished, then we have to consider whether we have to wait or whether we have to finish processing before we get it. But I’ll have to look at that when we get everything on the table. Rebekka Varne in the county council says they are considering whether they want to wait for the research report, or whether they will eventually give permission to start farming anyway. Photo: Roar Strøm / news Varne points out that it is difficult to find the actual consequences for the environment after an escape like the one in 2022, but is sure that the report will be helpful. – Marine research has a project here that can shed light on this very well when it is finished, says Varne. It was from the Alida facility between where Oddvin Bjerkvik lives and the center of Volda that the escape in 2022 took place. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Don’t think the farmed fish will do much damage Falk Øveraas, who is community and authority contact in Ode, says that together with the fisheries authorities they found out what was wrong with the escape in 2022, and that they have had to fix this. – It was an isolated incident, says Øveraas. Falk Øveraas says farmed cod is poorly suited to survive in the open, and therefore does not think it will be a problem for the ecosystem and environment. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news He says that the cod Ode or Nofima, which has bred the fish Ode uses, believes that farmed cod or potential crossings with coastal cod will cause some problems in the ecosystem in the fjords. – Our observations are that farmed cod have fared poorly in the open. Our conclusion is that the likelihood of an impact is small, says Øveraas. From the office in Ålesund, the employees in Ode can monitor and manage the feeding of the farmed fish in the facilities around the county. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news The feeding of the farmed cod is also managed from the office. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news This frees the employees who work outside the cages to do other things, Øveraas explains. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news Eighteenth in the front, Oddvin Bjerkvik stands with a half-frozen farmed cod he got last winter. He is still worried about the coastal cod he is so fond of. – This one is ready to spawn. They claim that it will take longer before the courtfish are ready to spawn, but the male cod is ready in any case. If he manages to spawn against wild cod, then the damage has already been done, says Bjerkvik. – It’s such a Klondike atmosphere, in a way. That you just drive on and get into trouble later, says Bjerkvik. Photo: Josef Benoni Ness Tveit / news
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Fishermen critical of new facility after 87,000 cod escaped last year
