– The Tanaelva is perhaps the world’s most important river for Atlantic salmon. Therefore, it is an important task to succeed in taking out humpback salmon. That’s according to Roy Langåker, senior advisor in the Norwegian Environment Agency. Senior adviser Roy Langåker hopes that the trap will work after some adjustments. Photo: Håkon Mudenia / news Fishing for Atlantic salmon has been a large part of the local population’s life for several hundred years, and is the very reason why people settled in Tana. The humpback salmon is an alien species that can threaten Atlantic salmon in the river. Up to several hundred thousand humpback salmon are expected in the Tanaelva this summer. That is why the Norwegian Environment Agency has set up a trap to stop all humpback salmon. Humpback salmon The humpback salmon we find in Norway is the result of Russian stocking in the 1960s. It is today most numerous in northern Norway, and is considered an invasive species. The large shoals can displace and disturb local species of salmon, trout and char. Humpback salmon die after spawning, and many thousands of dead humpback salmon in the river can affect the entire ecosystem due to decay, fungi, nutrient supply, etc. Source: The State Administrator in Troms and Finnmark Fight against humpback salmon The humpback salmon are taken out of the trap and slaughtered on land. The Atlantic salmon slip by quite quickly. At least this is how it works in theory. The video shows how a trap for humpback salmon works. The pictures are not from Tanaelva, but the theory behind the trap is the same. – Six humpback salmon have fallen into the trap so far, says Langåker. This is what the fence looks like. Where the fence “breaks” is the trap, and that is where you want the salmon to swim. The problem so far has been that the salmon swims along the fence, and turns when it meets the “sluice” in the middle. Now the lock is to be removed, so that the salmon can go straight into the trap when it swims along the fence, according to the Norwegian Environment Agency. Photo: Håkon Mudenia / news Since Thursday last week, the trap has been in operation. But three days later the newspaper Ságat wrote that not a single salmon had fallen into the trap. The contrast is great with the other rivers in Finnmark, where it is reported that almost 4,000 humpback salmon have already been taken. – On Monday evening we decided to open the trap. There were a few hundred fish downstream of the trap. As soon as we opened the trap, the fish swam past, says Langåker. Here the trap was opened to let the Atlantic salmon pass while changes are made to the trap. The humpback salmon also escapes. Photo: Håkon Mudenia / news He says that on Tuesday morning, 360 fish were recorded as having passed by, of which 130 are humpback salmon, 130 are Atlantic salmon and 100 are unidentified due to the cloudy quality of the images. – The salmon know the river Salmon fisherman Rauna Guttorm believes the trap should be removed. – It is a disaster. It prevents the Tanalaksen from swimming upwards, she says. Salmon fisherman Rauna Guttorm watches with concern what is happening more than 100 kilometers further down the river. Photo: Lemet Johanas Nystad / news She usually fishes for salmon further up Tanadalen. – Humans cannot decide over nature. The salmon has its own paths, and it knows the river. If it sees a fence, it avoids it as far as possible, she says. She believes the best solution is to let nature take its course. Trying to fix the problem So far, the Norwegian Environment Agency is trying to solve the problem by moving the trap. Langåker says that the problem must have been that the lock the salmon must swim into has protruded from the fence. – We have documented on video that the salmon turns when it meets the trap itself. Now we are moving it two meters further up so that the trap is more at an angle with the fence so that there are no obstacles, says Langåker. Watch the stream of the humpback salmon trap in Vestre Jakobselv.
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Tanaelva: Fella is going to catch humpback salmon, but has not succeeded yet – news Sápmi
