Grieg must cull 1 million salmon in Norway
Food Safety Authority orders move after detection of parasite that causes systemic infections
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has notified Grieg Seafood that it must cull fish in eight single pens on two farms in the Finnmark region, due to detection of the parasite Spironucleus salmonicida. There are about 1 million fish of an average weight of approximately 700 g in the pens.
Grieg’s harvest guiding is not impacted, the company said.
The parasite has also been detected in single pens on other farms with fish from the same generation. The majority of the pens have no signs of sickness at all.
Grieg said measures have been taken with successful outcomes on some of the impacted pens, resulting in reduced levels of mortality, improved fish welfare and stable biology.
S. salmonicida is a flagellate adapted to micro-aerobic environments that causes systemic infections in salmonids.
The source of the parasite is believed to be the water intake to the freshwater facility during a limited period of time between the autumn of 2021 and spring of 2022. Measures have been taken and additional measures are under assessment. There have been no detections on the current generation in the facility, which is being transferred to sea.
Grieg said it remains in close dialogue with the Norwegian Food Safety Authority on the issue.
