Bloomberg: Baltic herring on the verge of extinction due to global popularity of salmon

Bloomberg reports this. Norway, which holds more than half of the farmed salmon market, exported $17 billion worth of products in 2023. The country’s government hopes to quintuple production by 2050.

Salmon production represents approximately 3% of Norway’s GDP. However, the success of aquaculture has posed a threat to the Baltic ecosystem. Herring populations in the Baltic Sea have reportedly declined by 90% since the 1960s, causing scientists to sound the alarm about the future of the species’ population.

In this context, as the agency writes, the European Commission proposed to completely stop herring fishing, but in the fall of 2023 the Baltic countries vetoed the ban, trying to save jobs and protect other economic interests.

Bloomberg points out that catch quotas are now set by countries, but vessels freely exceed them.

“The answer is simple: ban all herring fishing that is not intended for human consumption,” said Swedish fermented herring producer Björn Lundgren. Due to a shortage of raw materials, its production was reduced by more than five times.

One of the main threats to the region’s ecology are trawlers, fishing vessels designed to extract biological resources using trawl nets. Approximately 20 trawlers account for around 95% of all herring caught in Swedish waters.

The Norwegian salmon industry has reduced the proportion of fishmeal and fish oil in salmon feed to around 30%, down from 90% in the 1990s. However, further reduction is difficult because salmon requires omega-3 fats. 3 of marine organisms.