Large quantities of fish escape from Norwegian fish farms every year. 2006 set new records in escapes both from the production of salmonids and marine species like cod. The amount of escaped fish was reduced somewhat in 2007 to a more normal but still a large amount of escaped individuals.
The table below is based on reported escapes to the Directorate of Fisheries. The figures for 2007 are preliminary and may still be revised upwards.
| Species |
1998 |
1999 |
2000 |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
2005 |
2006 |
2007 |
| Salmonids | 640.000 | 388.000 | 351.000 | 368.000 | 730.000 | 550.000 | 563.000 | 722.000 | 911.000 | 618.000 |
| Cod | – | – | – | – | – | – | 20.000 | 213.000 | 246.000 | 70.000 |
Source: The Directorate of Fisheries