Help us keep our fish healthy from gyro
Gyrodactylus salaris is a tiny creature, living in fresh water, which is often referred to as the "salmon killer" or simply "Gyro". The parasite occurs naturally in most Swedish and Finnish regions.
It does not cause significant damage to trout, or to the Atlantic salmon which migrates to the Baltic Sea. THowever, when infecting rivers in Norway or northernmost Finland, the parasite may cause total annihilation of the Atlantic salmon which migrates from this area to the North Sea.
For this reason it is very important that everyone who is out and about around rivers and fresh water knows what to do. We all have to do our bit to ensure that this parasite does not spread to other rivers.
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The transfer and release of fish is prohibited without permission from The Norwegian Food Safety Authority or the County Governor.
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Do not wash or gut fish anywhere else than where you caught it.
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Moving equipment between or within water systems, without first drying or disinfecting it, is prohibited.
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Do not pour water out anywhere else than where it was collected.
Make sure to do the following before moving equipment between/within water systems:
Visit a disinfection station and have the equipment disinfected,
or
disinfect it yourself using Virkon-S (available from e.g. Felleskjøpet). Dissolve Virkon-S in water to make a 1% solution, apply to the equipment and rinse off after at least 15 minutes. Virkon-S is known not to damage equipment. Follow the instructions on the packaging or contact The Norwegian Food Safety Authority for more information,
or
make sure that all equipment is dry before moving it to the next water system, or to another area of the same water system. This applies to fishing tackle, landing nets, boats, boots and any other equipment that has been in contact with water.
Kayakers must dry or disinfect their equipment
All canoers must dry and/or disinfect kayaks and any other equipment that has been exposed to water, using Virkon-S (available from e.g. Felleskjøpet) before moving them to other rivers.
Dissolve Virkon-S in water to make a 1% solution, apply to the equipment and rinse off after at least 15 minutes. Virkon-S is known not to damage equipment. Follow the instructions on the packaging or contact The Norwegian Food Safety Authority for more information,
Failure to do this may result in a general ban on sporting and leisure activities in gyro-infected rivers in Norway. Disinfection protects rivers and safeguards the right of canoers to use them.
Brochure
Download the information brochure and find out more about what you can do to prevent the spreading of the parasite.