It is spring in the air and traditionally good fishing spots are located in a row up the Lærdal river. Salmon fishing was to start on 1 June, but it is forbidden to fish in the river. Of a total of 475 salmon rivers in Norway, 184 of them are closed to salmon fishing this year. The wild ax is defined as the extinction trough and the population has halved since the mid-1980s. – Salmon lice from farming are the big problem. The facility should be closed and moved ashore. The fish farming industry is full of money and should be able to do so, says Per Hjermann. CRITICAL: Salmon lice from farming create major problems for wild salmon, says Per Hjermann, river owner and salmon fisherman in Lærdalselva. Photo: Bård Siem / news The parties do not have respect for each other Alf Olsen jr. is a daily camp in the National Wildlife Center, which is headquartered in Lærdal. – The debate is very sharp, where one blames the other party for motives they may not have. The respect between the parties is not good, he says. To try to improve the dialogue between the parties, he has hired the Nansen Peace Center, which works with conflict mitigation work all over the world. Senior adviser Christiane Seehausen at the peace center says that they use a dialogue methodology where the parties are not allowed to argue against each other, just ask questions. – In this way, the parties can gain a better understanding of each other, and we create trust, she says. She will soon meet the various parties in and around the salmon industry. – I have good faith that we will make it happen. But it is important to have a good time, she says. She is currently working on dialogue work for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). WANT DIALOGUE: The climate between the aquaculture industry and those who fight for wild salmon is very bad, says Alf Olsen jr. in the National Wildlife Center. Here by the Lærdal river. Photo: Bård Siem / news Oppdrettsnæringa wins yes to dialogue Oppdrettsnæringa is also invited around the table to Nansen Fredssenter – Sitting down around the table and discussing things together is very positive, says communications manager in the industry organization Seafood Norway, Øyvind André Haram. But he does not agree that the fish farming industry is to blame for the fact that there is now little salmon in the pupils. Haram points out that major excavations in the pupils, major transport projects, power developments and climate change also affect the wild salmon population. Secretary General of the Norwegian Salmon River, Torfinn Evensen, says good dialogue is not enough to get the aquaculture industry to change course. – The aquaculture industry is the major threat to wild salmon with both parasites, salmon lice and escapes. Political action is needed to put an end to this. Non-binding dialogue does not work, he says. – The statements from Evensen show what problem we have with finding common solutions, says Øyvind André Haram in Seafood Norway. Haram points out that the aquaculture industry spends a lot of resources on reducing the problems with salmon lice and salmon escapes. NOT THIS: Øyvind André Haram is tired of hearing that the farming industry is short of money and that they are destroying salmon rivers. He thinks the shoulders are misleading. Photo: Seafood Norway – Do not help to hit each other in the head Back in the Lærdal river tell Alf Olsen jr. that many feel sad because they can not fish salmon there. – The situation for the wild ax is dramatic. It is not without reason that it is on the red list, he says. At the same time, he adds that it does not solve anything for the salmon that the parties hit each other in the head with harsh arguments. – There must be a common understanding of problems and action is needed to save the wild ax, he says.
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Fredssenter connected to calm the tension in the salmon dispute – news Vestland
