Mowi’s Salmon Jailbreak: 27,000 Fish on the Run, 500 Kroner Bounties

They did it again. A massive salmon prison break off the Norwegian coast. 27,000 “farmed” inmates fled from a Mowi facility in Troms, north-west Norway, leaving the seafood corporation scrambling to slap bounties on their heads. 

Mowi, the world’s largest salmon exploiter - sorry, “producer” - blames stormy weather for shredding a cage that housed 105,000 fish. Officials say a quarter of these captives vanished. Now Mowi’s dangling 500 kroner (about £36) per recaptured salmon in a frantic attempt to hush up the scandal.

Predictable Disaster?

Campaigners aren’t shocked. They’re calling this a major blow to wild salmon. Farmed salmon “escaping” into open waters means genetic dilution, more sea lice, and cutthroat competition for finite spawning grounds. Norway boasts a 1.2m-tonne export market for farmed salmon every year, and wild fish pay the ultimate price. Rivers are shutting down to salvage whatever’s left of genuine, non-modified salmon. Yes, you read that right: 42 rivers - and three fjords - are queued for closure this summer.

Authorities Come Knocking

The Norwegian directorate of fisheries sprang into action, ordering Mowi to expand its recapture efforts beyond the usual 500-metre zone around the facility. Seeing 27,000 potential intruders swarm local ecosystems has a funny way of speeding up bureaucracy. Mowi’s top brass called it “serious and regrettable.” Must be tough handing out hush-money bounties instead of looking in the mirror.

Politicians Shrug

Norway’s environment minister, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, admits wild North Atlantic salmon face “existential threat” but still won’t ban these open-net fish factories. Instead, he’s hunting for an “acceptable level” of pollution - apparently for both the environment and his conscience.

The Takeaway

This is more than a “serious and regrettable” slipup. It’s a destructive collision of corporate arrogance and political complacency, forcing wild salmon into an even tighter corner. Mowi offers cash as a quick fix. Meanwhile, wild salmon- already hammered by pollution, parasites, and meddling genetics - face another onslaught of unwelcome neighbors. If we keep letting fish-farming barons run the show, we’ll soon wonder what “wild salmon” even means.

Originally reported by The Guardian.