Up to 5,000 mature salmon are feared to have escaped from the Lerøy facility in central Norway in recent days.
Lerøy Midt said it had informed the authorities of the incident, which is believed to have occurred on Tuesday of this week.
Harald Larsen, general manager of Lerøy Midt, said the company quickly recruited additional resources to try to repair the damage and recapture as many escaped fish as possible.
Although the incident is not major in the general sequence of salmon escapes, it is one more in a series of problems at Lerøy facilities in recent months, many of which have involved attacks by jellyfish
Larsen said: “We are maintaining a close dialogue with the authorities including the Director of Fisheries and we are working with them to handle the incident in the most effective way.”
He added: “Our emergency plan has been implemented immediately. About 1,200 meters of recapture nets are in place within the area we have permission to operate. We are now awaiting the go-ahead from the state administrator so we can implement retaking from a larger area.
Lerøy also has agreements with local fishermen to assist with recapture and these are now being implemented. They are usually paid NOK 350 (around £25) per fish.
The escape is believed to be due to net damage. Larsen said the company deeply regrets the incident, adding that the company has a vision to achieve zero escapes working with its own people.
In September, at least 15,000 trout escaped from a Lerøy pen near Bergen.
