– We thought that if we get 3-400 humpback salmon, then we are satisfied. But then got 4,000, i.e. ten times more. That’s what the general manager of the Vestre Jakobselv hunting and fishing association, Vidar Isaksen, says about Wednesday’s catch in a single net. The purse seining is part of the removal of the blacklisted fish that the association is in full swing with now. A work that is being done in around 30 rivers in Troms and Finnmark this summer in the fight against humpback salmon. – There are indescribable quantities of fish. The note was completely black, we saw nothing. It is difficult to describe such a situation, says Isaksen. Vidar Isaksen is the general manager of the Vestre Jakobselv hunting and fishing association. Photo: Hanne Wilhelms / news Fears a tenfold increase Nevertheless, the association is prepared for a major push by humpback salmon this summer. – We knew there would be more this year. It has long been said that it is possible that there will be ten times more than in 2021. Two years ago, 208,000 humpback salmon were recorded in Norwegian rivers and coastal waters. The humpback salmon pose a threat to the Atlantic salmon – the wild salmon that we are used to seeing in the Norwegian rivers. Scientists fear that over one million humpback salmon may come to spawn in Norwegian rivers this year. As a result, the Atlantic salmon runs the risk of being in a strong minority against the humpback salmon in the battle for the spawning grounds in the rivers where the fish reproduce. Large catches in the sea Large quantities of humpback salmon are also now being reported among sea salmon fishermen along the entire coast of Finnmark. At the start of the season, sea salmon fisherman Daniel Strand and his brother caught around 30 humpback salmon a day in the Altafjord. This week their boat was filled with 135 humpback salmon from a single seine. Their total catch that day was 200 humpback salmon. Sea salmon fisherman Per Kristian Strand and his brother Daniel caught 135 humpback salmon in one single catch. On the same day, Strand only caught 15-20 Atlantic salmon. – It may seem that such catches dominated by humpback salmon are our new everyday life. If this becomes too much, I think we will have to find something else to do, says Strand. The Sør-Varanger sea salmon fishing association, SVSF, also reports catches of over 100 humpback salmon per net. In total, several thousand humpback salmon have been caught by sea salmon fishermen in SJSF alone so far. Sea salmon fisherman Daniel Strand reports large quantities of humpback salmon in the bill this year. For every Atlantic salmon, he now gets over 10 humpback salmon. Photo: André Bendixen / news Help needed Back in Vestre Jakobselv in Vadsø municipality, Isaksen believes that Wednesday’s big catch is only the beginning of what is to come. – I swam downstream at the net to see how many humpback salmon were not caught in the net. There were several thousand fish. This is going to be a busy season. Now he and the association need help to handle the large withdrawals of humpback salmon. – We need lots of people. We who are employed and the permanent members are not enough to take this away, says Isaksen.
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– There are indescribable amounts of fish – news Troms and Finnmark
