14,000 farmed salmon have escaped from facilities with serious infection

Bacterial kidney disease (BKD) and the kidney disease PD had been detected on salmon in the facility before the escape occurred, confirms general manager Harald Larssen in Lerøy Midt to Dagbladet’s The stock exchange.

Due to the infection, the plant at Reitholmen in Hitra was closed by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority.

Lerøy estimates that the extent of the escape is just under 14,000 salmon weighing just over 7.3 kilos.

Because the escaped salmon is so large, fish health professor Are Nylund from UiB believes that it is mostly likely that the fish will end up in the rivers. This presents a significant risk of BKD infection to wild salmon.

– We know that the salmon is close to the red list and that BKD can cause mortality to fry, so this is serious. All cases of escaped salmon are serious, but it is especially serious when it is infected with a disease that can lead to infection of fry, says Nylund to Dagbladet.

The emergency plan at Lerøy was implemented immediately following the escape became known, Larssen explains Intrafish.

Several thousand meters of fishing nets have been deployed within the area where the company has a permit, and Lerøy is in dialogue with the State Administrator to assess further measures.

– We deeply regret the incident. This should not happen, says Larssen.