Now you can easily see how much farmed salmon interbreeds with wild Atlantic salmon.
Norway has a large proportion of the world’s wild Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), distributed among more than 400 watercourses. However, this culturally and economically important species is currently threatened by escaped farmed salmon, with interbreeding being of most concern.
The degree of gene transfer, or introgression, between wild and farmed salmon is continuously monitored and now classified for 250 wild salmon populations. It shows that more than 30% of the wild populations are classified as “poor”, with evidence of large genetic changes due to introgression.
To increase the availability and understanding of these results, a digital portal has now been developed where the classification of genetic integrity of wild salmon in the 250 waterways is presented.
Explore the portal here (in Norwegian)
Read the NINA Report Genetic impact of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon on wild salmon populations – revised status 2023 here (summary in English).
Contact: Sten Karlsson