About The Norwegian Scientific Advisory Committee for Atlantic Salmon

The Norwegian Scientific Advisory Committee for Atlantic Salmon (Vitenskapelig råd for lakseforvaltning) is an independent body appointed by the Norwegian Environment Agency. Comprising thirteen scientists from seven institutions, the committee evaluates the status of wild Atlantic salmon in Norway, identifies key threats, and provides science-based management advice.

Each year, the committee publishes comprehensive reports detailing their evaluation. While the full reports are in Norwegian, English summaries of the main reports are available to reach a broader audience.

The most recent English report summaries include:

Scientific articles in English:

Predation of Atlantic salmon across ontogenetic stages and impacts on populations
Novel large-scale mapping highlights poor state of sea trout populations
The committee's method for evaluating achievement of the spawning target is published in the article "Reference point based management of Norwegian Atlantic salmon population".
The major threats to Atlantic salmon in Norway

The most recent reports in Norwegian:

Status for norske laksebestander I 2024 (Status of Wild Atlantic Salmon in Norway 2024 – full report in Norwegian)
Metoder for vurdering av norske laksebestander i 2024 (Methods for evaluation of Wild Atlantic Salmon in Norway 2024)
Trusselvurdering for sjøørret (Threats to sea trout in Norway - full report in Norwegian)
Vurdering av bruk av fiskeredskap i sjøen til bekjempelse av pukkellaks (Evaluation of the use of fishing gir in the sea to combat pink salmon)
Effekter av predasjon på laks (Effects of predation on Wild Atlantic Salmon in Norway)

Contact

Torbjørn Forseth, leader
Norwegian institute for nature research (NINA).
Telephone: +47 73 80 14 00, +47 92 64 34 37
e-mail: torbjorn.forseth@nina.no
Mail address: Postboks 5685 Sluppen, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
Visitor address: Høgskoleringen 9, 7034 Trondheim, Norway

Eva B. Thorstad, secretariat
Norwegian institute for nature research (NINA).
Telephone: +47 73 80 14 00, +47 91 66 11 30
e-mail: eva.thorstad@nina.no
Mail address: Postboks 5685 Sluppen, 7485 Trondheim, Norway
Visitor address: Høgskoleringen 9, 7034 Trondheim, Norway

News

Status of wild Atlantic salmon in Norway 2025

Publisert: 23. juni 2025

Each year, the Norwegian Scientific Advisory Committee for Atlantic Salmon assesses the status of wild salmon in Norway. This summary presents the main findings from the 2025 report.

Status of wild Atlantic salmon in Norway 2025

Foto: Bjørn Barlaup.

The decline of the salmon continues. Norwegian salmon populations are at a historically low level, and the number of salmon returning from the sea to Norway in 2024 hit an all-time low. In fact, three of the past four years have seen very low returns.

Declining salmon populations have led to the closure of salmon fishing in many rivers and much of the sea in recent years. In 2024, the harvestable surplus - salmon that can be caught sustainably - dropped to a record low. Several rivers were closed to fishing during the 2024 fishing season, while strict limits were imposed on fishing in other rivers and remaining sea fisheries.

The cause of the reduced salmon populations is human activities and low survival at sea. The biggest human induced threats are salmon farming and climate change. Salmon lice pose the greatest threat, and there is a risk of worsening conditions due to insufficient measures. Salmon populations in Western and Central Norway are the most diminished, and the impact of fish farming significantly contributes to the low returns and the fact that nearly half of the rivers no longer have any surplus salmon left to fish.

The salmon in the Tana River system is critically endangered. The main cause is previous overexploitation. In 2024, the return was more than halved compared to the already very low levels seen in 2020 to 2023, and there is a risk of further decline in the coming years.

Read full summary of the report (in English).

The 2025 annual report is published in Norwegian.

Ranking of 16 impact factors (2025), according to their effects on wild Atlantic salmon in Norway, and the likelihood of a further negative development. Green indicates the highest confidence level and red the lowest.

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Members

Torbjørn Forseth (Senior researcher, Norwegian institute for nature research)

Asbjørn Vøllestad (Professor, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Synthesis, University of Oslo)

Knut Wiik Vollset (Researcher, NORCE - Norwegian Research Center AS)

Peder Fiske (Senior researcher, Norwegian institute for nature research)

Morten Falkegård (Researcher, Norwegian institute for nature research)Åse

Monica Solberg (Senior researcher, Institute of marine research)

Helge Skoglund (Researcher, NORCE - Norwegian Research Center AS)

Eva B. Thorstad (Researcher, Norwegian institute for nature research)

Øyvind Kaste (Senior researcher and regional leader, Norwegian institute for water research)

Anders Foldvik (Senior researcher, Norwegian institute for nature research)

Sigurd Einum (Professor, Centre for Biodiversity Dinamics, Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

Åse Helen Garseth (Veterinarian, Norwewgian Veterinary Institute)

Kjell Rong Utne (Researcher, Institute of marine research)

Geir H. Bolstad (Senior researcher, Norwegian institute for nature research)