Escapes

Challenges

Farmed salmon in Norway is the result of around 15 generations of targeted breeding, and is classified as partly domesticated and adapted to a life in cages. If salmon escape from the cages, there is a risk that they will spawn together with wild salmon, and this could result in genetic changes in the wild salmon stocks.

Our ambitions in this area

Lerøy Seafood Group has a vision of zero escapees.

How we work in the area / What action we have taken

Significant measures have been implemented to prevent escape at LSG's farming localities. The Group has invested heavily in both technology, control systems and development of new routines to prevent escape. 

All escapees and suspected escapees are reported consecutively to the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries and published on the following website https://www.fiskeridir.no/Akvakultur/Tall-og-analyse/Roemmingsstatistikk.

All Lerøy's facilities comply with technical standard NS 9415:2009 Marine fish farms. These requirements are specified in the NYTEK regulation that governs marine fish farms, all main components, structural elements for mooring and extra equipment.

How we measure our impact

The Group has full control at all times of the number of fish in cages at each facility. The number of fish released to each cage from the smolt facility is counted according to the number of vaccinations minus dead fish prior to release. All fish that leave the cage after release are logged daily. When an unknown number of fish escape from the cage, a well boat is used to count the remaining fish, so we have an estimate of the number of escapees by comparing the well boat count with the marine farm's own figures.

The national impact of escape of farmed salmon in watercourses is measured by the following project: Nasjonalt overvåkingsprogram for rømt oppdrettslaks i vassdrag (national monitoring programme for farmed salmon escapees in watercourses).

Targets per KPI and Results per KPI

Target 2020: Zero escape

In 2020, Lerøy Seafood Group reported up to 208 escapees from their fish farms.

Escapees in 2019 totalled up to 85 fish

Escapees in 2018 totalled 115 fish

Action taken due to results per KPI

Improvements have been made to working procedures for net handling, fish transport and net fastenings to minimise possible escape.

Lerøy has collaborated with other businesses to establish a new company, Sporbarhet AS. The aim is to ensure efficient traceability services for salmon in order to prevent escapees with no known origin. The tracking services currently being developed are based on genotyping of all male fish used for breeding and further element analyses to distinguish between fish with the same genetic origins.