Farmed salmonid mortality has dropped sharply in Norway
Recent figures from the country's Directorate of Fisheries show a decrease of 35.7% in the number of fish dying in farms when comparing the first halves of the last three years.
Of the 13 production areas (POs) along Norway's coast, 11 have seen a decrease in the number of dead fish in the first half of 2023 to 2026, several of them with very sharp drops. PO10 (Andøya to Senja) tops the list with a decrease of 61.5%, closely followed by PO12 (Vest-Finnmark) with 57.9% and PO3 (Karmøy to Sotra) with 55.7%. PO11, PO5 and PO6 have also seen a decrease of over 40%.
The annual mortality rate in Norwegian fish farming fell from 16.7% in 2023 to 14.2% in 2025 - a 15% reduction over two years - and that trend appears to be continuing in 2026.
"This is not a coincidence. It is the result of targeted work throughout the value chain," said Krister Hoaas, head of policy and communications at producers' organisation Seafood Norway in a press release.
"We see an improvement along the entire coast, not just in individual regions. This is not due to coincidences in individual facilities or operational improvements at individual companies. Here, there is an entire industry that has worked and is continuously working to improve production," said Hoaas.
Many reasons for improvement
He points to several factors that together explain the development:
"We have received new and better vaccines, new and more gentle treatment methods have been introduced, new production methods have been used, and good work has been done to create a more robust smolt."
He also points to the increasing use of large smolts, which provides a shorter and more sheltered period at sea. In addition, the industry is working through coordinated cooperation to continuously strengthen biosecurity throughout the value chain. This is expected to lead to further improvements in the coming years.
PO1 is the exception
The only production area with a marked negative development is PO1 (Swedish border to Jæren). PO13 (East Finnmark) also has a small increase, but from a very low level.
"The figures for PO1 clearly differ from the rest of the country and the explanation is obvious. There, an attack of toxic algae had an acute and sometimes severe impact on mortality," explained Hoaas.
PO1 and PO13 are also the two production areas with the lowest production, which means that incidents such as algal blooms have an extra strong impact on the statistics.
Lowest level in nine years
Overall, the number of salmon and trout that died in Norwegian cages in the first half of the year has decreased by 35.7% from 2023 to 2026. The number is also the lowest for the period for all years in the period 2018–2026, and June 2026 has the lowest figures for a June month in the same period.
"When we see a decline of over 35% in three years, driven by real improvements, it is important that [government] policy is based on actual developments in the industry," concluded Hoaas.
