Millions of salmon in Norway were killed the wake of a severe algae outbreak. Salmon farmers are now allowed to increase production to make up for loss.
“We are now giving salmon farmers affected by the algae bloom the opportunity to recover some of the lost production. It is important to take care of workplaces,” said Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Seafood Harald T. Nesvik in a press release.
The algal bloom in Nordland and Troms, Northern Norway, earlier this year resulted in the loss of almost 14,000 tonnes of fish. In order to help the affected salmon farmers, the Minister of Fisheries and Seafood have opened the companies up to apply to the Directorate of Fisheries to increase salmon production.
The Directorate of Fisheries has now granted applications from the following companies: Cermaq, Ballangen Sjøfarm, Gratanglaks and Kleiva Fiskefarm, Nordlaks, Salaks, Sørrollnesfisk and Northern Lights Salmon, Ellingsen Seafood and Mortenlaks.
These can, according to the Ministry of Trade and Fisheries, during the next five years increase production but how much they can, depends on how much fish they lost in connection with the algae outbreak.
“These salmon farmers have been through very tough times. I hope this will help them get back on their feet,” concluded Nesvik.
