Nature vs Greed – Take Action for Wild Salmon!
For decades, we have been fighting for free-flowing rivers and the protection of wild fish stocks. The last decade it’s become clear that the aggressive expansion of the Norwegian fish farming industry is the greatest threat to our remaining wild salmon stocks.
Experts in the international scientific salmon research community all agree that fish farming contributes to genetic pollution, fjord systems heavily infested with sea lice where few or any smolt survive, and an increasing rate of disease spreading into wild ecosystems. We have warned you before! And now it’s becoming more and more obvious, the time is running out for our wild salmon stocks.
Due to alarming low runs of salmon, Norwegian authorities closed 33 rivers while continuing to expand open-pen fish farming at an accelerating rate. This itself is a scandal!
For fish farmers, the wild salmon and those who fish for them are merely obstacles in the pursuit of more money. Politicians are in with the fish farmers in this dirty game – prioritising the interests of the fish farming industry over environmental sustainability by closing rivers and excluding the traditional anglers and the important outdoor community.
Also the Baltic salmon stocks are at historically low levels primarily due to a lack of food in the Baltic sea. The fish farming industry intensifies this problem by draining the ocean resources in a constant search for protein. This huge industrial trawling to supply fish farms must be stopped!
The real issue is not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of political will. Norwegian authorities, influenced by the fish farming industry, continue to prioritise short-term profit over sustainability. This situation puts nature up against greed, and without urgent action for change, nature will lose.
Here’s what you can do to take action:
- DON'T EAT FARMED SALMON – Refuse to buy or consume farmed Norwegian salmon. Spread the word to friends, family, and local businesses. Educated consumers have the power to drive change.
- DEMAND POLITICAL ACTION – Contact authorities and demand a transition to closed containment systems for fish farms. Tax incentives should favour land-based systems to protect our wild salmon.
- FISH 100% CATCH & RELEASE – Allow salmon stocks to recover naturally as much as possible. Norway must adopt sustainable Catch & Release practices, ensuring the survival of these magnificent fish. In 2023 alone, anglers killed approx. 51,000 Norwegian Atlantic salmon.
Join us in this crucial fight to save the wild salmon! Together, we can force change! Share this message – if you care about wild salmon, now is the time to act!
Contact the responsible politicians:
Peter Kullgren
Swedish Minister of Rural Affairs (responsible for the trawling in the Baltic sea)
peter.kullgren@regeringskansliet.se
Andreas Bjelland Eriksson
Norwegian Minister of Environment
postmottak@kld.dep.no
Marianne Sivertsen Naess
Norwegian Fish Minister
postmottak@nfd.dep.no
