Illustrative photo of a Norcod's site in Norway. The escape occurred at a different site, Labutkta, off the island of Nesna.

Cod farmer culls fish to find extent of escape

Editorial team
Published

Norwegian cod farmer Norcod has initiated a cull at a cage at its Labukta farm in Nordland to gauge the extent of a fish escape discovered yesterday, when an opening between two net panels was discovered.

“Recapture nets have been deployed and emergency fishing is under way. From yesterday to now, 11 cod have been found in recapture nets, which probably originate from Norcod’s facility,” the company wrote in a stock exchange announcement today.

It said it continues to work on mapping the scope of the escape and the reason why the opening in the new net occurred. It added that it has a close dialogue with the Directorate of Fisheries about the incident.

The fish in the cage have an average weight of just under 3 kilos.

All local fishermen who believe they have caught farmed cod are being asked to deliver the fish to the facility, against a payment of NOK 100 (£7.12) per fish.

norcod labukta farm nordland fish escape directorate of fisheries news