The status of Norwegian wild salmon is evaluated annually by the Norwegian Scientific Advisory Committee for Atlantic Salmon. This is an English summary of the 2024 report.
Atlantic salmon stocks in Norway are at a historically low level. The number of salmon returning from the ocean to Norway in 2023 was the second lowest ever. The two lowest returns occurred during the last three years, in 2021 and 2023. The greatest decline in salmon stocks has occurred in western and central Norway, as well as in the large Tana watercourse.
The biggest threats to Norwegian salmon are salmon farming and climate change. Salmon lice from farms, escaped farmed salmon and infections are the biggest threats from salmon farming. The present mitigation measures are insufficient to stabilize and reduce the threats from salmon lice and other infections. The threats to Atlantic salmon are relatively similar to previous years’ assessments. The threats from escaped farmed salmon, pink salmon, the parasite Gyrodactylus salaris and overexploitation were slightly reduced in 2024 compared to 2023 due to mitigation measures.
Hydropower regulation and other physical alterations are also major threats that reduce salmon populations. Further measures could be implemented to reduce the effects of hydropower regulation and other physical alterations. Methods for improving conditions for salmon in regulated rivers are well developed. Pink salmon is an invasive species with an exponential increase in abundance since 2017. This is a difficult threat to assess, because almost no knowledge exists on the effects of invasive pink salmon.
Read full summary of the report (in English).
The 2024 annual report is published in Norwegian.