Escapes

Escapes

West Coast of Canada

90,000 fish escaped per year from 1990 to 2000 because of natural disasters such as storms or accidents with nets. Escaped farmed fish pose several problems to wild fish stocks since they are often genetically altered to grow faster. This can alter the genetics of the fish as they breed and can increase the danger of disease.

Uzbekistan

Escapes in Uzbekistan are very rare since fish don't have anywhere to escape to -- they are landlocked.

Norway

Half a million farmed fish escape into Norwegian open waters every year. This means 25%, or one quarter, of the salmon and trout in Norway's coastal waters are fish farm escapees. This is a serious threat to the wild salmon. Their risk of disease is greater, there is the constant fear of genetic contamination, and farmed salmon have the potential to destroy the breeding habits of wild fish. Farmed salmon are more aggressive than wild salmon, and this can cause dominance in a breeding situation.