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IJMS Editor’s Choice - Invasive pink salmon in the Norwegian and Barents Seas

In the latest Editor’s Choice article, read about the first study of invasive pink salmon in the North Atlantic Ocean.
Published: 12 January 2023

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Pink salmon is native to the northern Pacific Ocean where it supports a highly valuable fishery. In the Northeast Atlantic however,​ pink salmon is a non-native species. It was deliberately introduced to Russian rivers in the White Sea region during 1955-1999, spreading then to Norway and other European countries.
 
Pink salmon has a two-year life cycle: fry emerge in rivers in the spring, leaving to spend one year rapidly growing at sea before returning to the river to spawn in autumn, where they die soon after. In Norway, pink salmon has a much higher abundance in odd years than even years. 

Pink salmon is now widely distributed throughout the Norwegian Sea and along the Norwegian coast. The number of individuals entering Norwegian rivers increased by several orders of magnitude from 2015 to 2017 and continued to increase in 2019 and 2021. 

The authors​ of the latest Editor's Choice article in ICES Journal of Marine Science present the magnitude of the invasion, reporting for the first time the geographic distribution, abundance, and diet of non-native pink salmon in the Norwegian and Barents Seas, along the Norwegian coast, and in Norwegian rivers. 
 
The marine diet of pink salmon in the Norwegian and Barents Sea area mainly constitutes amphipods, small fish, and Euphausiidae, indicating that pink salmon are opportunistic predators rather than showing a preference for specific prey. Based on diet, pink salmon can potentially compete with coastal pelagic species such as saithe, sea trout, and Artic charr. However, more research is needed to fully understand the impact of invasive pink salmon feeding on prey abundance and on the competitors for prey in Norwegian coastal waters.
 
Pink salmon mitigation programmes require information about the potential number of individuals entering the rivers each year. Authors of the paper present the marine areas where pink salmon are more likely caught, the size distribution of pink salmon in the sea and rivers, and the time of river ascent. However, more research is needed to forecast the scale of the invasion to scientists and river managers.
 
Read the full paper, Geographic distribution, abundance, diet, and body size of invasive pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in the Norwegian and Barents Seas, and in Norwegian rivers, in ICES Journal of Marine Science.




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Upper image: Pink salmon: on top, a fish of unknown sex that recently entered a river, underneath, a male in spawning phase) caught in a Norwegian river during their spawning migration. © Eva B. Thorstad;
Lower image: Map showing distribution of pink salmon in the Norwegian Sea and rivers. The coloured circles represent numbers of individuals caught; warmer colour and larger size indicate higher numbers. © Diaz Pauli et al.

​Paper title
Geographic distribution, abundance, diet, and body size of invasive pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) in the Norwegian and Barents Seas, and in Norwegian rivers

Authors
Beatriz Diaz Pauli, Henrik H. Berntsen, Eva B. Thorstad, Eydna ì Homrum, Susan Mærsk Lusseau, Vidar Wennevik, Kjell Rong Utne
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IJMS Editor’s Choice - Invasive pink salmon in the Norwegian and Barents Seas

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