Facing record mortality, are Norwegian salmon healthy ?

Près de 63 millions de saumons –un record– sont morts prématurément l'an dernier dans les grandes cages immergées dans les fjords du pays scandinave. DaveAlan/Getty Images

Vanté pour son Oméga 3 et ses vertus diététiques, le saumon norvégien n'affiche pas une grande forme dans les fermes piscicoles où il est élevé.

Nearly 63 million salmon – a record – died prematurely last year in large cages submerged in the fjords of the Scandinavian country, the world's largest producer of Atlantic salmon. That is an unprecedented mortality rate of 16.7%, which increases from year to year.

At issue: diseases (of the pancreas, gills, heart, etc.) but also injuries caused during operations aimed at ridding them of sea lice, parasites that feed on them of their host.

"The death of animals is a waste of lives and resources", notes Edgar Brun, head of the fish health and welfare division at the Norwegian Veterinary Institute. "We also have a moral, ethical responsibility to guarantee them the best possible conditions".

Not always pleasant

Salmon that die prematurely are usually processed into animal feed or biofuel. But, according to Norwegian media, it could be that fish that were sick at the time of slaughter, or even already dead, end up on the plates, sometimes under the label "superior& quot;.

"I see fish on sale that I myself would not eat", testified l' former quality manager in a slaughterhouse, Laila Sele Navikauskas, in November on the NRK channel. According to experts, its consumption does not pose a risk to human health. "Common pathogens that cause illness in salmon are not transmissible to humans&quot ;, assures Edgar Brun.

But these revelations harm the qualitative image that the sector is trying to establish. "If you buy meat in a store, it seems obvious to you that it comes from an animal that was slaughtered properly and not one that was lying dead outside the' #39;stable", argues Trygve Poppe, fish health specialist.

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority found irregularities in farms during every second inspection last year: injured or malformed fish were found been illegally exported in particular.

For reasons of reputation, only the export of superior or ordinary quality salmon is authorized. Lower quality fish, which constitutes a growing share of the stock, can only be sold abroad after processing, cut into fillets for example.

The stakes are high. Salmon exports earned Norway some €10 billion last year, with the 1.2 million tonnes sold representing the equivalent of 16 million daily meals.

Question of trust

For Robert Eriksson, head of the Sjømatbedriftene organization which represents small producers  – generally considered more virtuous -, the discrepancies reported among certain breeders are "totally unacceptable". "We live on trust", he said.

Taking shortcuts, "it's like pissing in your pants: it only warms you for a moment"< /em>, he adds. "Then, we are punished by the market and the economic impact is much greater than the few extra kilos we will have sold".