The incident was discovered 25 minutes into the loading operation, too late to prevent the death of the fish.
A technical malfunction onboard a well boat has resulted in the death of 7,700 fish for Cermaq, one of the world’s leading salmon farming companies.
The incident occurred on August 28, as the well boat Inter Barents was loaded with around 11,000 salmon intended for transport to a harvest facility from Cermaq’s site in Husfjord, Hammerfest.
A mishap involving the sliding bulkheads of the boat, which were driven the wrong way and subsequently wedged, led to the fish being crushed. The incident was discovered 25 minutes into the loading operation, too late to prevent the death of the fish.
Astrid Aam, Cermaq’s communication manager, confirmed the incident to SalmonBusiness.
“This was an unfortunate incident, and we are in close dialogue with the shipping company and are reviewing the incident in cooperation with them to ensure that similar incidents do not happen again,” she told SalmonBusiness by email.
The Norwegian Food Safety Authority has been informed, and communications between the regulatory body and the company are ongoing to ascertain the full details and implications of the incident.
