There’s some rough news coming out of Norway this week with the announcement of the closure of “33 rivers in Norway from [June 23rd, 2024] at midnight; this includes the famous rivers such as Gaula, Orkla, Stjørdalselva, Nidelva, Verdalselva, and the Namsen,” to name a few of the most well-known salmon rivers.
“It is with a heavy heart that we stop salmon fishing. We know that summer salmon fishing is an important tradition and a great joy for many, but now every salmon simply counts. It is our responsibility to ensure that enough spawning fish enter the rivers so that there will be enough young salmon next year to continue the population. It is crucial in order not to risk a long-term failure in the introduction of salmon,” says Director of the Norwegian Environment Agency, Ellen Hambro.
Fly fishing operators in the area, like the Norwegian Fly Fishers’ Club announced the closure on their Instagram Page:
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The closure doesn’t come as a total surprise as earlier this month, the Norwegian Government’s Environment Department issued this warning (Google Translation):
“‘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.”
Authorities may reconsider the river closures in early July as further fish return data comes in. You can follow those returns, here.
The council is also encouraging river owners in areas not affected by the closure decision to take catch-limiting measures before the mid-way evaluation of the salmon season at the beginning of July, where local knowledge indicates that it is necessary.”
You can read the full press release from the Norwegian Government’s Environment Department, here!
Featured Image from Ahed El-Najar.
