Co-existence with coastal white fish

Research has yet to establish a link between farmed salmon and the coastal cod population in Norway. However, many coastal fishermen are concerned that salmon farms impact cod spawning grounds in fjord areas. Grieg Seafood is engaged in a research project conducted by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research, which will study this issue in Frakkfjord in Finnmark. The research project is financed by the Research Council of Norway.

The research project will study and compare one fjord with existing salmon farms, a fjord where a salmon farm will be established, and a fjord with no salmon farms. The cod are traced by acoustic devices, providing information on their behavior. The project started in the summer of 2019 and will continue for five years. The findings from this research may impact how Norwegian aquaculture is regulated. Reach more about this project at the website of the Institute of Marine Research (in Norwegian.

Some fishermen are also concerned that salmon farms impact the quality of the cod, pollock, and other wild fish that eat surplus feed, which may spill out through the almon pens. Research by Nofima, the Institute of Marine Research, and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research, which evaluated the quality of pollock that ate salmon feed around sea farms, concluded that quality of the fish was not reduced. In any case, we work hard to avoid overfeeding and see positive results from moving feeding operations from the farms to larger units.