All major salmon-producing rivers in Finland will be dammed this summer in an effort to prevent the alien species of humpback salmon, the Norwegian Environment Agency said.
– In Finland, most of the waterways between Hammerfest and Grense Jakobselv, which have significant potential for salmon production, will be blocked, says director Ellen Hambro. Norwegian Environment Agency According to a press release.
Also, the directorate plans to survey and capture unwanted alien species in several small rivers and streams in the same area.
To the west of Hammerfest, grants have been awarded to survey and remove humpback salmon in 25 more rivers. 16 of these are in trams.
Black tongue and cone on back
The humpback salmon (Pacific salmon) differs from the Atlantic salmon in having a dot pattern on the tail and black tongue, and it acquires a characteristic hump on its back as it travels upriver to spawn.
The first observations of humpback salmon this season have already been made on a research vessel in the sea southwest of Bodo. In the summer, large numbers of unwanted species are expected to try to enter the rivers in Finnmark and parts of Troms.
– The large increase allocated in the state budget in the last two years has given us the opportunity to implement comprehensive measures with more rivers and better equipment than the previous humpback salmon year 2021. Humbrow says they have more control over humpback salmon than they did two years ago.
Div 2: Revised Additional Provisions
According to TV 2, the government is allocating an additional NOK 10 million in the revised state budget to the fight against humpback salmon. The revised ones will be submitted on Thursday.
Local hunting and fishing associations have worked hard to eradicate humpback salmon. Joachim Schistad of the Sør-Vanger Hunters and Fishermen’s Association says Television 2 That there were more humpback salmon in 2021 than expected and that they took out 13,000 individuals in homemade salmon traps.
Try it with a specially designed tool
Marine Research Institute Together with Møreforskning among others, they report that they will find more effective methods of fjord fishing selective for humpback salmon. Møreforskning fishes with ring seine, while the Institute of Marine Research fishes with specially designed wedges.
The Institute of Marine Research emphasizes that the fight against humpback salmon is killing two birds with one stone:
In the river, fish food goes through a transformation from useless to fish. There it also dies after spawning. But in the sea, before it reaches the river, the humpback salmon is as good a food fish as any other fish.
– Then we can capture it as a resource or to fight an environmental problem or both, says researcher Svein Løkkeborg at the Institute of Marine Research.
The problem with catching it at sea is that it can become bycatch of our own, red-listed Atlantic salmon. The aim is to document whether the use of wedge webs becomes a problem.
According to the Norwegian Environment Agency, in terms of the number of operations and geographical spread, no effort has been made to combat humpback salmon on a similar scale in the past. Based on strategy for damming rivers National Action Plan to Combat Humpback Salmon.
Larger rivers, because of their greater width, depth, water flow, and fish size, present an additional challenge in preventing humpback salmon from entering. Neidenelven in Sør-Varanger is one of these. There, the humpback salmon will stop at the salmon ladder in Sköldefossen.
At Tanavassdraget, the Norwegian Environment Agency has commissioned the Veterinary Institute to lead the work on the installation of a fish trap. There, all the fish must be transported by the eastern route at Seetaholmen. With the help of a sluice system with multiple possibilities for video monitoring and sorting, humpback salmon will be removed, and Atlantic salmon will be released further.
– We have taken up this task with great humility. “We work hard to get as many humpback salmon out as possible without harming Atlantic salmon,” says Rohr Sandton, program manager at the Veterinary Institute.
They will learn from Tanayelva’s experiences with a view to future operations for the Altayelva and other large watersheds to the south. This year, Alta Laksefiskeri Interessentskap will harvest humpback salmon with nets and seines.
Humpback salmon were expected in late June.
By then, there should be a lot of equipment, and fish traps and other equipment are now manufactured in Vadsø, Bodø, Trondheim, Bryne and California.
“Music geek. Coffee lover. Devoted food scholar. Web buff. Passionate internet guru.”
