IntraFish reports that Mowi, the world’s largest salmon farmer, lost 178,000 fish during a routine delousing in western Norway — an incident the company calls “completely unacceptable.”

While Mowi and shipping company Solvtrans both insist there’s no clear link to the delousing method, they are investigating what went wrong. Water and fish samples are being tested to uncover the cause, and both company vow to prevent similar tragedies in the future.

But mass fish kills like this cause ripples beyond the immediate loss. Nutrient overload, potential disease outbreaks, and wasted feed all add up. Mistakes, spills, and large-scale mortalities remain a troubling reality in industrial-scale finfish farming, harming marine ecosystems and consumers.

Read the full story here! (paywall)

Norway’s salmon farming industry has dealt with repeated escapes and mass mortality events over the years, making incidents like this unfortunately common.