On this page, you can learn more about the efforts to combat the spread of pink salmon to protect local ecosystems.

A growing environmental concern

Pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), also called humpback salmon, is native to the northern parts of the Pacific Ocean. Pink salmon is an invasive species with a strong ability to colonize new areas and establish large populations.

It poses a significant environmental risk to river ecosystems by degrading water quality, competing with native species, spreading disease, and disrupting ecological balance.

Protecting native biodiversity

To safeguard biodiversity, measures are being taken to stop pink salmon before they enter the rivers. At the same time, efforts are done to protect wild salmon. 

In 2024, only 323 000 wild salmon have spawned in Norway. By comparison, 481 463 pink salmon were caught or observed in norwegian rivers in 2023.

The Norwegian envionment directorate is especially concerned about the Atlantic salmon, which is at risk of extinction.

Fish traps stop the pink salmon

The most effective measure against pink salmon is to remove them near river mouths. In the fish trap, the pink salmon is caught and removed, while wild salmonids are allowed to continue swimming upstream to spawn. When the pink salmon is stopped at the river mouth, it can neither spawn, disturb recreational fishing, nor degrade the water quality in the river when it dies.  

These traps capture and remove pink salmon, while allowing native salmonids to continue upstream to spawn. By stopping pink salmon at the river mouth they are prevented from spawning, disturbing recreational fishing, or degrading water quality through decomposition.

The pink salmon is sorted out

At most pink salmon traps, the salmon is sorted manually, but at three traps, technical installations have been developed. Using sluices, artificial intelligence, and image recognition, pink salmon will be automatically separated from Atlantic salmon and other fish.

A large portion of the pink salmon catch can be used as food, and products are made from both fillet and roe. What cannot be consumed by humans is used for the production of animal feed, biogas, protein concentrate, and fish oil.

New measures to combat pink salmon in 2025

This year, 63 rivers have state-funded measures against pink salmon, of which 53 rivers have fish traps. This is twice as many traps as during the previous invasion in 2023.

In 2023, fish traps were funded from eastern Finnmark to Hammerfest. In 2025, the effort is expanding westward to western Finnmark and in Troms as far as to Gratangen. Traps that didn’t work have been replaced, and many have been improved based on feedback from local associations.

The Tana fish trap is the largest single project

Although the Tana River can produce more salmon than any other European salmon river, the local salmon populations have become so reduced that they are now vulnerable. It is especially important to stop the pink salmon here to protect our native salmon and prevent its spread to other rivers.

The fish trap now installed in the Tana River is located at Seida, about four kilometers north of Tana Bridge. Here, the current is calmer than where the fish trap was placed in 2023. The structure is adapted to both the water conditions and the migration patterns of the fish.

It is constructed with a 400-meter-long row of poles across the entire river, designed to guide the fish migrating upstream into two capture cages (or traps), so that the pink salmon can be removed from the river, and wild salmonids can be released to continue upstream.

To ensure that wild salmon and sea trout can migrate from the river out to the sea, that is, fish that spawned the previous autumn and have overwintered before heading back to sea, two downstream migration solutions have been installed. These fish also have the option to pass directly through the barrier fence, as there is a 30 mm gap between the aluminum slats that allows juvenile fish to pass through.

Measures in other large rivers

In addition to this trap in the Tana River, new fish traps are also being introduced in the following locations:

• Neiden: A capture cage has been developed and will be placed at the top of the fish ladder in Skoltefossen. Downstream of the waterfall, pink salmon will be caught using a seine net. 

• Reisa River: A floating grate trap is being established in this river for the first time, the largest of its kind in Norway. 

• Alta: A trap is under development. While awaiting its completion, a new seine net is being purchased and personnel are being hired to remove as much pink salmon as possible using the net in the lower part of the Alta River. 

• Målselva: Funding is being provided for sorting out pink salmon in the fish ladder in this river. Before other methods are implemented there, experiences from Tana and Alta are being awaited. 

The Role of the Norwegian Environment Agency

Several organizations in Norway collaborate to combat pink salmon. The Norwegian environment agency is responsible for:

• Implementing the national action plan
• Leading the national expert group on pink salmon control

The Role of the County Governor

The County Governor plays a key role in:

• Monitoring spawning fish and juveniles in rivers
• Granting permits for pink salmon removal in rivers
• Facilitating the establishment of local fish traps
• Allocating funding for pink salmon control
• Contracting local associations to operate fish traps

Stakeholders

International cooperation

An international expert group under NASCO (North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization) is working on pink salmon issues. Since 1983, NASCO has regulated salmon fishing in international waters and supports the conservation, management, and restoration of salmon stocks.

Participating parties include: EU, Norway, United Kingdom, Iceland, Russia, Canada, USA, and Denmark (on behalf of the Faroe Islands and Greenland).

Information in Norwegian

On this website you can find information i Norwegian from the Norwegian Environment Agency: