Norway fish farms thrive under ecologists’ watchful eye

 

Photo: www.hib.no

Photo: www.hib.no

ØYGARDEN, Norway (AFP) — Tucked away in the corner of an enchanting fjord, 600,000 baby trout frolick in underwater cages as they wait their turn to end up on dinner plates: fish farming is booming in Norway, under the watchful eye of environmentalists.

In Øygarden near the western Norwegian town of Bergen, the Blom family’s fish farm consists of a building constructed on the water and three submerged basins where the fish are raised.

It is just one of the 800 fish farms dotting the coastline in the Scandinavian country, where three times more salmon and trout are produced than meat.

But while fish farming helps ease the pressure that industrial fishing is putting on the planet’s fish stocks, it is not without its own slew of problems.

Farmed fish that escape, rampant illnesses and a debate over feed have tarnished the reputation of a sector whose exports totalled 2.5 billion euros (3.5 billion dollars) in Norway last year.

Click here to read the entire AFP story written by Pierre-Henry Deshayes 

Norwegian American Logo

The Norwegian American

Published since May 17, 1889 PO Box 30863 Seattle WA 98113 Tel: (206) 784-4617 • Email: naw@na-weekly.com

%d