Farmed Salmon Moves Wild Population in Atlantic Ocean From ‘Least Concern’ to ‘Threatened’ Due to Breeding

Farmed salmon are putting their counterpart in the wild at risk. Experts have learned that the offspring develops an inferior capacity to survive in the ocean when interbreeding with the wild.

Atlantic Salmon Population Threatened Due To Farmed Salmon

About 20 percent, or one-fifth, of all freshwater fish species, are currently threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) initial red-list assessment. Long-standing issues like pollution, overfishing, and climate change-related global warming continue to be factors in the decline of many of these fish species.

The Atlantic salmon, a species known to inhabit freshwater and saltwater habitats, was formerly listed as "least conce." Still, it has since been upgraded to "threatened," according to the IUCN assessment.

According to a previous report, farmed salmon are increasingly escaping captivity and mingling with wild populations of salmon in the Atlantic, posing a unique challenge for the latter. The outlet also notes that breeding farmed and wild salmon results in offspring that are less able to adapt to the effects of climate change.

About 3,500 captive salmon broke free from a fish farm in the northeast Icelandic community of Patreksfjörður in August. One expert called this run-out "an environmental catastrophe."

Experts calculated that "many" of the escaping fish had attained sexual maturity by this month, meaning they may have bred with wild populations.

It is well recognized that farmed salmon mature more quickly than wild salmon, which is a feature they can pass on to their progeny, making it harder for the next generations to reproduce. The accelerated maturation also increases the fish's "boldness and aggression," which raises the possibility that they will be killed while still in their juvenile stage. Additionally, illnesses that endanger wild populations can be carried by farmed fish.

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Future of Wild Salmon In Danger

The wild salmon was put at risk when thousands of framed fish from a Norwegian strain broke free and were discovered upstream in waterways.

Scientists claim that there are three reasons why this escape is so catastrophic: first, a vast region of rivers is being invaded by fish; second, the quantity of fish is unprecedented; and third, a significant portion of the fish are mature and ready to reproduce wildly Atlantic salmon worldwide has decreased from 8-10 million in the 1970s to 3-4 million today. These salmon are an important food source for numerous mammals and birds. In Norway, there are now just 500,000, half of what there were 20 years ago.

Their biggest concerns are sea lice, a recurring issue in open-pen farms, and escaped farmed fish. Over the course of four decades, Scotland has experienced a 40% decrease in the number of salmon returning to its rivers. The government of Scotland attributes the problem to several issues, including the climate emergency, but it also believes that sea lice from aquaculture had a role.