Published 08.04.2024 Caseworker: Arne Roger Hansen

NMF has reviewed the Directorate of Fisheries' (FD) proposal on risk-reducing measures to prevent spawning in farmed cod and has identified several important considerations that we believe must be addressed to ensure more effective and sustainable regulation. While the FD has presented some good proposals, it is our view that further adjustments are necessary to prevent spawning in fish pens, and that penalties for non-compliance should be significantly increased.

Proposals for risk-reducing measures

The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries' new § 36, which addresses the duty to prevent and hinder spawning in aquaculture facilities, is a step in the right direction. According to the proposal, cod farmers are required to monitor sexual maturation and carry out risk assessments aimed at minimizing the risk of spawning. Furthermore, the cod must be slaughtered before reaching spawning condition if the maturity status indicates that spawning is imminent.

FD's proposal for a new § 36:

“The duty to prevent and hinder spawning shall read: In the production of cod at sea, the operator shall exercise particular caution to prevent spawning within the production unit. Sexual maturation shall be monitored and, to the greatest extent possible, limited. The operator shall carry out slaughtering if the maturity status indicates that spawning is imminent. A risk assessment shall be conducted with the aim of minimizing the risk of spawning. The risk assessment shall form the basis for systematic measures. The best available knowledge shall be included in the risk assessment, selection of systematic measures, and monitoring. Monitoring of sexual maturation shall be carried out by visual inspection of the fish’s gonads and documented in such form and scope as necessary to demonstrate the maturity status in each production unit.”

NMF, however, believes that the sentence “a risk assessment shall be conducted with the aim of minimizing the risk of spawning” should be changed to “a risk assessment shall be conducted with the aim of preventing spawning in the cages.” This is because the risk of spawning should not merely be minimized, but fully prevented in order to avoid harm to both fish stocks and the surrounding environment.

The cods biological drive and the challanges with spawing

NMF is, however, skeptical that the proposed measures will be sufficient to stop the cod’s strong biological instinct to spawn before reaching slaughter weight. Cod farming has been attempted several times in the past, but we have not seen any long-term success in preventing cod from entering spawning mode. All previously attempted methods to prevent spawning have proven to be inadequate.

In NMF’s assessment, it is not realistic to expect that the risk-reducing measures proposed by the fish farmers will be able to eliminate the problem in the long term. Once the cod’s biological instinct—to spawn—is triggered, it is extremely difficult to stop the process. This creates problems not only for the farmers, but also for local cod populations, which may be negatively affected by genetic mixing with farmed cod.

Increased penalties for non-compliance

To make the legislation more effective, NMF believes that penalties for non-compliance with the proposed risk-reducing measures should be significantly increased. Currently, the proposed penalties – which include financial sanctions and the culling of cod – are insufficient to create a real consequence for aquaculture operators who choose to ignore the rules. The financial risk for operators is currently too low to have a preventive effect.

NMF therefore proposes that financial sanctions should be introduced in the millions, and that the license for cod farming should be revoked after repeated violations of the legislation. This stricter penalty regulation will be necessary to force real improvements in the cod farming industry and prevent the same mistakes from being repeated.

Sterilizing - A solution that doesnt work

Sterilization has been suggested as a possible solution to prevent spawning in farmed cod, but experiences from the salmon farming industry show that this is neither a practical nor sustainable solution. Sterilization of salmon has been attempted for decades, but has resulted in significant animal welfare issues and has not been very successful. Triploid salmon, which are genetically modified to prevent spawning, have been an attempt to solve this problem, but have been banned in Norway due to concerns about animal welfare.

NMF believes that the same problems will arise if sterilization is attempted on cod. The animal welfare concerns associated with sterilization will make it untenable to implement such measures in cod farming.

Conclusion: Total ban on codfarming

After considering the risk-reducing measures and the proposed changes, NMF is convinced that cod farming in open cages is not a sustainable solution. We believe that the biological challenges of preventing spawning in the cages are insurmountable, and that the farming practice cannot be considered responsible for animal welfare, the environment, or the vulnerable coastal cod populations.

As previously mentioned, NMF stands firm on our demand that all cod farming in Norway must be banned. This is the only way to ensure the protection of our local cod stocks, prevent genetic contamination, and safeguard both nature and animal welfare. Management must act swiftly to prevent further damage to our coastal ecosystems and to protect the natural cod populations from the adverse effects of commercial cod farming.