Any members of the Forum planning on going to Norway this summer need to read the press release (see below) put out by the Norwegian government's Environment Department concerning the possible closure of rivers to protect stocks. There may be a decision as early as tomorrow. I recommend that you contact your fishing provider as soon as possible.
Here is the text of the statement, translated from the original Norwegian by Google:
Preliminary figures from the rivers indicate very low catches of the red-listed Atlantic salmon in the vast majority of places in Norway. We are particularly concerned about rivers where larger salmon make up a significant part of the population. There, the catch figures indicate that there may be far too few fish on the spawning grounds, even if small salmon should arrive normally later in the season, says director of the Norwegian Environment Agency, Ellen Hambro.
Looks very bad so far
The Scientific Council for Salmon Management (VRL) came out with a report on 17 June which showed that the number of salmon that returned to the rivers in Norway from the sea last year was the second lowest ever, and that every third salmon stock has a very poor status. The 2024 salmon season is so far also one of the worst we have seen, with catches far below what is normal so far into the season.
- We always make a mid-way evaluation of the salmon season at the beginning of July, and introduce restrictions on salmon fishing in both river and sea, if it proves necessary. This year this may be too late, says environment director Ellen Hambro.
This means that salmon fishing this year may be closed before the mid-term evaluation.
May have to stop salmon fishing earlier
The Directorate is now working to gain an overview of where there is already information indicating that there is a risk of serious damage to the stocks. It is most relevant to consider stopping salmon fishing in rivers with a lot of large salmon from the border with Sweden in the south up to and including Trøndelag, and stopping sea salmon fishing in the same stretch. Further north, salmon entry is normally later, and the basis for assessment is generally far worse there.
- Where there is a risk of serious damage to the salmon stocks, it may be appropriate to change the fishing rules so that salmon fishing is stopped. This can happen at very short notice. If there is too much fishing, we can have a serious break in the production of salmon fry. Then there will be even less to fish for in the future, and if this were to happen again, it could lead to a long-term failure in the arrival of salmon, as for example in Tana, says Ellen Hambro.
Here is the text of the statement, translated from the original Norwegian by Google:
Preliminary figures from the rivers indicate very low catches of the red-listed Atlantic salmon in the vast majority of places in Norway. We are particularly concerned about rivers where larger salmon make up a significant part of the population. There, the catch figures indicate that there may be far too few fish on the spawning grounds, even if small salmon should arrive normally later in the season, says director of the Norwegian Environment Agency, Ellen Hambro.
Looks very bad so far
The Scientific Council for Salmon Management (VRL) came out with a report on 17 June which showed that the number of salmon that returned to the rivers in Norway from the sea last year was the second lowest ever, and that every third salmon stock has a very poor status. The 2024 salmon season is so far also one of the worst we have seen, with catches far below what is normal so far into the season.
- We always make a mid-way evaluation of the salmon season at the beginning of July, and introduce restrictions on salmon fishing in both river and sea, if it proves necessary. This year this may be too late, says environment director Ellen Hambro.
This means that salmon fishing this year may be closed before the mid-term evaluation.
May have to stop salmon fishing earlier
The Directorate is now working to gain an overview of where there is already information indicating that there is a risk of serious damage to the stocks. It is most relevant to consider stopping salmon fishing in rivers with a lot of large salmon from the border with Sweden in the south up to and including Trøndelag, and stopping sea salmon fishing in the same stretch. Further north, salmon entry is normally later, and the basis for assessment is generally far worse there.
- Where there is a risk of serious damage to the salmon stocks, it may be appropriate to change the fishing rules so that salmon fishing is stopped. This can happen at very short notice. If there is too much fishing, we can have a serious break in the production of salmon fry. Then there will be even less to fish for in the future, and if this were to happen again, it could lead to a long-term failure in the arrival of salmon, as for example in Tana, says Ellen Hambro.
