Authorities claim victory in major fish escape case

The incident, which the Directorate has described as serious, involved the company Aller Aqua and took place in October 2022.

Aller Aqua Norway produces fish feed and has a marine facility for testing feed in Vadheim in the Sognefjord, Norway’s longest fjord. It was from this facility that approximately 35,000 salmon escaped during the loading of fish onto the combined well and harvester vessel "Norwegian Gannet" on the night of 28-29 October 2022.

Inspections conducted by the Directorate after the escape showed 11 discrepancies. The case was then reported to the police for further follow-up. The police issued the company a fine of NOK 4,5 million (around £330,000), which the company refused to accept. So this meant the case had to go to court.

The Sogn and Fjordane District Court, which handled the case,, has ruled that Aller Aqua must pay a fine although it has been reduced from the original figure imposed by the police.

The figure is NOK 2.7m (just short of £200,000) plus legal costs of NOK 100,000 (£7,300).

Fisheries Director Frank Bakke-Jensen said: “This is a thorough verdict that established important principles in the supervision and response work we will conduct going forward.

“The company was not convicted of a serious violation and the fine has been reduced from 4.5 million kroner, but otherwise the verdict is in our favour on all points.”

He added: “The case is also a good example of good interdisciplinary cooperation between our sections and between us and the police.”

The Directorate announcement also said the cause of the escape was a lack of risk assessment, grounding and control of the net during a risky work operation.

This led to one of the propellers on the vessel "Norwegian Gannet" pulling the net on one of the cages and creating two large rips through which the salmon escaped.

Some of the escaped fish were sick with PD (pancreatic disease) and were sexually mature and thus had a greater potential for harm than fish that are not sexually mature.

“The fact that the escape occurred during the spawning period for wild salmon in a national salmon fjord also underlines the seriousness of the escape case,” the Directorate statement added.