The Norwegian Veterinary Institute is involved in a work package aiming to prevent the spread of the salmon parasite Gyrodactylus salaris. To increase and maintain the public awareness of G. salaris and the threats related to its spreading, a communication plan together with a detailed contingency plan will be prepared in the project. In addition, environmental DNA methods will be further improved and tested as an early detection system of G. salaris.

This project aims to address specific issues related to water and environmental management in Finnish-Norwegian cross-border watersheds. These issues have been raised as concerns by people in the northern municipalities of Finland and Norway. Due to the complexity of these topics, they require more attention and cross-border cooperation than is possible within the normal everyday work of the authorities and research organizations of either state. The project focuses on three transboundary river systems in northern Finland and Norway: the rivers Pasvik, Neiden, and Tana. The project consist of four work packages, WP1-4, with the following aims and objectives, and where the Norwegian Veterinary Institute is involved only in WP4;

• WP1. Documentation of long-term effects from heavy air pollution from Russian metallurgic industry on the Finnish-Norwegian border area and recovering of aquatic environment.
• WP2. Build genetic library to reveal human-induced changes in the unique natural brown trout populations in the Pasvik-Inari watershed for cross-border management and conservation.
• WP3. Shared new information on the status of the Neiden River salmon stocks as a basis of the renewal of the bilateral agreement on salmon conservation and management.
• WP4. In this work package, the main aim is to prevent the spread of the salmon parasite Gyrodactylus salaris. To increase and maintain the public awareness of G. salaris and the threats related to its spreading, a communication plan together with a detailed contingency plan will be prepared in the project. In addition, environmental DNA methods will be further improved and tested as an early detection system of G. salaris.

Lead partner EU

• Lapin Elinkeino-, liikenne- ja ympäristökeskus (ELY)

Lead partner Norway

• Statsforvalteren i Troms og Finnmark

Project partners

• Luonnonvarakeskus (Luke)
• Ruokavirasto, Finnish Food Safety Authority
• Klima- og miljøinstituttet NILU
• Akvaplan-niva
• Norsk institutt for bioøkonomi (NIBIO)
• Norsk institutt for naturforskning (NINA)
• Veterinærinstituttet

Work package 4

• Veterinærinstituttet
• Ruokavirasto
• Mattilsynet, Norwegian Food Safety Authority – non-funded participant

You can read more about the project here: Our Precious Waters (Interregaurora.eu)