Lerøy reports fish escapes in Austevoll

Norwegian salmon and trout farming company Lerøy has reported trout escapes at its facility in Naveide, Austevoll, Norway.

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries reported Lerøy contacted it about the discovery of a hole in one of its cages containing rainbow trout. The discovery came as the company as checking kelp at its farming site, the directorate said.

The extent of the escape has not been determined, and the fish cage in question had an average weight of “around 3 kilograms,” the directorate said. The directorate added that it will follow up the report with inspections at the site.

Lerøy’s reporting of a hole in its net comes after the Directorate of Fisheries received multiple reports from local fishers of escaped rainbow trout in Øygarden and Bjørnafjorden, Norway. Fishermen in the area caught rainbow trout in the area on 25 August and again on 31 August and reported the catch to the directorate.

The fish bore signs of having escaped from a farm, and the set of fish caught on 31 August also weighed on average roughly 3 kilograms in size – matching the report from Lerøy.

Since the discovery, the company has put recapture nets in place at the location to minimize further escapes.  

Photo courtesy of the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries