Norway reports another six months with a decline in fish mortality

The corresponding figures for the first half of 2025 were 7.3% and 8.8% in 2024. This is reported by the Norwegian Veterinary Institute.

The Institute emphasises that the half-year figures cannot be compared with the accumulated mortality for the entire year, which was 14.2% in 2025 and 15.4% in 2024.

"The half-year figures support a positive development with decreasing mortality nationally, and we hope that the important work for increased survival and fish welfare continues," says department director Ingunn Sommerset. 

The figures are calculated according to the Norwegian Veterinary Institute's method, based on farmers' monthly reports to the Directorate of Fisheries. Delayed reports and corrections cause some uncertainty in the figures, but usually only result in minor adjustments in the estimated mortality.

22.7m fish lost

In the first half of 2026, approximately 22.7 million salmon were reported lost. Of this, approximately 19.1 million were classified as dead fish, approximately 1.1 million were classified as discarded and approximately 2.5 million were reported as "other".

The proportion of fish lost in the category "other" accounted for 11% of total losses, whereas in the first half of 2025, the "other" proportion accounted for 17%. Reduction in estimated mortality in the first six months of 2026 cannot therefore be explained by increased reporting in this category.

In the first quarter of 2026, large quantities of salmon died in production area 1 and partly in production area 2 - a combined area covering the Swedish border to Jæren and Ryfylke - due to toxic algae blooms. This characterises the mortality figures for these areas in the first half of 2026.

With the exception of production areas 1 and 2 (which have been merged for the purposes of this count due to the few active facilities in production area 1) and production area 4, mortality in the first half of 2026 was similar to or lower than in 2025. The decline is particularly evident in production areas 9 and 10, where the first half of 2025 was characterised by algal blooms and the viral disease Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA).

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Full production cycle mortality 

A production cycle is calculated from the first stocking after fallowing to the last reported harvest or other removal of fish before the next fallowing. Only cycles with continuous production at sea of between eight and 24 months are included in the calculations.

For the first six months of 2026, the median production cycle mortality for salmon is estimated at 13.3% (155 completed cycles), compared to 14.6% in 2025 (368 completed cycles). The number of completed cycles in 2026 is lower as the year is not yet complete and several production cycles are still ongoing. Production areas with the lowest mortality on their production cycles so far in 2026 are PO 8 and 9 with 7.5% and 9.0% respectively.

Details about mortality and calculation methods can be found in the Norwegian Veterinary Institute's salmon loss application.