Do you know who's in charge of salmon fishing?

Wild salmon, sea trout and char have always been important resources for us humans. Many of us want to fish, and no one can fish unsustainably. The authorities have created many laws and regulations to ensure that fishing is sustainable. 

Public fisheries management

Wild salmon, sea trout and char are important natural resources. Fishing for these sought-after fish and other things that affect them is carefully controlled, or managed if you like, by the authorities. In Norway, the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Norwegian Environment Agency, the State Administrator, the county council and the municipality are responsible for fish management. This is stated in the Salmon and Inland Fisheries Act. The fisheries administration decides when and where you can fish in both rivers and the sea, and what you can fish with. Among many other things, they also decide where a river ends and where the sea begins. 

Fishing times and fishing gear

The Norwegian Environment Agency in Trondheim determines fishing times and which fishing gear can be used. To ensure that the fishing rules are as correct as possible, the Directorate has appointed 13 researchers from seven different universities and research institutions. The research group is called the Scientific Council for Salmon Management, and every year they assess the state of our wild salmon stocks. This means that they assess both whether there are enough spawning salmon in the rivers after fishing has ended and which threats have the greatest negative impact on the stocks. Experience-based knowledge must also be used. This is stated in the Nature Diversity Act. Because the condition varies between salmon rivers, the Norwegian Environment Agency sets different fishing rules for each individual river and coastal stretch. Where the condition is poor, fishing is prohibited. Some salmon rivers cross the borders of neighboring countries, in which case the fishing rules are determined in cooperation with other countries.

Landowners

Landowners along both rivers and lakes have exclusive rights to fish for wild salmon, sea trout and char. The exception is that anyone can fish in the sea with rod and line, but often according to specific rules. Many people rent out their fishing rights or sell fishing licenses. Landowners along salmon rivers must organize themselves into so-called river owners' associations. Among other things, the river owners' associations can set stricter fishing rules for their river than the Norwegian Environment Agency has done, but they cannot make the rules less strict. A

The landowner is therefore not allowed to fish in their own river when the fisheries administration has not opened it for fishing.