Danish salmon exported to German rivers are thriving

Fish populations are increasing in several tributaries thanks to the initiative

Danish salmon from west Jutland are being exported to German rivers – the Elbe, the Rhine and the Weser – to help replenish local populations.

According to Gert Holdensgaard, the head of the Danish centre for wild salmon, this co-operation has been going on for more than 10 years.

READ MORE: Danish waters getting fishier

Good business
“This means that we have a significantly larger customer base than we would have had otherwise,” Holdensgaard told DR.

“The Germans are actually helping us to make a good business.”

READ MORE: Record salmon landed in Denmark

Win-win solution
Moreover, money from the sales to Germany ensures there is enough salmon in the Danish creeks, such as Skjern Å, Storåen, Gudenåen and Ribe Å.

Thanks to the Danish exports, the once nearly extinct populations of salmon in Germany have slowly been increasing in some of the tributaries of the Elbe and Rhine, and today salmon with Danish genes can be found on the Czech side of the Elbe.