Earlier this month I visited Norway to speak at a science symposium at the University of Bergen on the use of toxic pesticides - you can watch my presentation online via: 'Silent Spring of the Sea' talk by Don Staniford
I also visited Norwegian behemoth Mowi - by far the largest salmon farming company in the world - at their head office in Bergen to warn consumers against consuming toxic pharmed salmon:
When you buy Mowi's "responsibly sourced", RSPCA Assured and ASC certified farmed salmon here's the horrific welfare abuse, infectious diseases and mass mortalities you're buying into:
"The Ecohustler salmon campaign has successfully raised awareness about issues around the factory farming of salmon," said Matt Mellen of Ecohustler in an exclusive interview this week. "Our videos and articles have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times. Off the back of this we secured 115,000 signitures calling for M&S to lead the way, be honest and stop calling the factory farmed salmon 'responsibly sourced'. M&S have engaged in a dialogue but they are not shifting their position which we are very disappointed in. The M&S brand is supposed to have quality and sustainability baked in and this is clearly not the case with their salmon products."
— Senter for vitenskapsteori (@vitenskapsteori) June 29, 2022
Download my presentation as a Powerpoint online here
Here's a video shot outside Benchmark's office in Bergen:
And here's a video shot outside Mowi's head office in Bergen:
Watch out for a documentary - "How Chemical Giants Destroyed our Ecosystem" - to be broadcast on French TV next month. Here's a clip featuring scientific evidence of impacts of Imidacloprid on wild fish in Japan:
Lower salmon production in Scotland enabled Norway to increase its exports of the fish to the UK https://t.co/es4d75yGSM How much of the Norwegian pharmed salmon sold in UK supermarkets @Tesco@asda@LidlGB@AldiUK was marinaded in the banned neocnicotinoid Imidacloprid? @UK_NSC
Yesterday (31 May 2022), Fish Farming Expert changed their headline (after it was pointed out that other companies - in addition to Benchmark - could be using Imidacloprid):
"It’s like the wild west" said @DaveGoulson "These chemicals are incredibly poisonous – the novichok for insects. It takes a billionth of a gram to harm aquatic life, so even tiny traces would have major impacts on marine life" @guardian@WeAreBenchmarkhttps://t.co/OzouYaXCEk
A video urging investors to support the use of D-10 Aquatic Blast (the active ingredient was not named but it is understood to be Imidacloprid) in salmon farming in New Brunswick, Canada, was published on You Tube in 2014:
Benchmark's patent for use of the toxic neonicotinoid insecticide Imidacloprid in salmon farming concedes it is a "potentially hazardous agent in the field" & that "leakage" can occur with "loss of agent in the environment" https://t.co/QfeF31RAiM@WeAreBenchmark@FerdOwnerpic.twitter.com/IPjorjqtmO
Fish Farmer reported in February 2020 that field trials of BMK08 (Imidacloprid) had taken place in Norway "over the last 24 months" involving five salmon farms and 35,000 tonnes of farmed salmon.
Mowi's request to the ASC inadvertently prompted the public revelation in March 2020 that Ectosan (then re-named by Benchmark as BMK08) was in fact Imidacloprid.
Campaigners fear that a nicotine pesticide that the fish farming industry and the Scottish Government want to trial in Scotland could threaten marine wildlife.https://t.co/bw5IBgTwqi
Scottish Salmon Watch revealed in May 2020 that Norwegian giant Mowi had lobbied the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to use Imidacloprid (Ectosan) in Loch Ailort in Scotland in a field trial.
$camon $cotland revealed in March 2022 that the salmon farming lobby was still pushing to use Imidacloprid in Scotland via Benchmark's 'CleanTreat' system.
Marine Scotland’s director, Annabel Turpie, has backed a treatment system for farmed fish designed to use a pesticide with “potentially devastating consequences for marine life”.https://t.co/kCHxUc4YBC
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency told a firm wanting to start using a bee-killing chemical at fish farms to mark correspondence “confidential”— so that it wouldn’t have to be released in response to freedom of information requests. #FOIhttps://t.co/hIclBVFKop
I'm buzzing with excitement to be flying over to Norway next week for a symposium on toxic chemicals! https://t.co/a1dvrYKrrL My talk - "Silent Spring of the Sea: Salmon Pharming Kills Shellfish & Other Marine Life" - lifts the lid on the use of Imidacloprid @WeAreBenchmark
Lower salmon production in Scotland enabled Norway to increase its exports of the fish to the UK https://t.co/es4d75yGSM How much of the Norwegian pharmed salmon sold in UK supermarkets @Tesco@asda@LidlGB@AldiUK was marinaded in the banned neocnicotinoid Imidacloprid? @UK_NSC
International symposium: Systemic pesticides and the biodiversity crisis: Toxic practices in agriculture, aquaculture and policy making, 7 Jun'22, Bergen. Meant for a broad audience, academics, NGO's, citizens, beekeepers, students, etc. Register: https://t.co/RYPYxvxiLSpic.twitter.com/8Vl3BkCIFw
— Jeroen van der Sluijs (@Jeroen_vdSluijs) May 23, 2022
I'm buzzing with excitement to be flying over to Norway next week for a symposium on toxic chemicals! https://t.co/a1dvrYKrrL My talk - "Silent Spring of the Sea: Salmon Pharming Kills Shellfish & Other Marine Life" - lifts the lid on the use of Imidacloprid @WeAreBenchmark
Despite Mowi's appalling track record, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council recently awarded 'responsibly farmed' certification at Mowi's salmon farms in Loch Alsh (at Ardintoul and Sron).
Mowi's Ardintoul salmon farm - accredited by the ASC on 20 April 2022 - has filed 27 'Mortality Event Reports' since January 2019 totalling 420,561 dead farmed salmon. Here's the most recent 'Mortality Event Reports' which also detail the use of antibiotics, toxic chemicals and infectious diseases:
Mowi's other salmon farm in Loch Alsh (Sron) - certified by the ASC on 28 March 2022 - has filed 12 'Mortality Event Reports' since January 2019 totalling 138,318 dead farmed salmon:
Mowi Scotland reports a 42% fall in Q1 production from 2021 to 2022. "The overall biological situation is more challenging than in 2021, mainly related to AGD and gill issues. CMS also remains at a relatively high rate of detection" @MowiScotlandLtdhttps://t.co/nWtY8GzkTJpic.twitter.com/ASgtu4Qsh3
Mowi Scotland reports a 42% fall in Q1 production from 2021 to 2022. "The overall biological situation is more challenging than in 2021, mainly related to AGD and gill issues. CMS also remains at a relatively high rate of detection" @MowiScotlandLtdhttps://t.co/nWtY8GzkTJpic.twitter.com/ASgtu4Qsh3
A report - commissioned from consultants by a fish farming industry body - concluded that levels of hydrogen peroxide in salmon cages could be 28 times higher than those considered safe for swimmers.https://t.co/5j2s97lAxV
$camon Scotland today (4 May 2022), filed a complaint with the Advertising Standards Authority against Sainsbury's for falsely advertising "responsibly sourced" Scottish salmon - read the complaint in full online here.
"How can ASC-certified Scottish salmon be advertised and marketed by Sainsbury’s (and other retailers) as 'responsibly sourced' when mortality rates, disease problems, toxic chemical use and use of antibiotics are so high?" wrote $camon Scotland. "How can it be deemed 'responsible' to source from salmon farms infested with parasites which peer-reviewed science has shown can be lethal to wild fish?"
"In conclusion, $camon $cotland reiterates the hard evidence submitted in November 2021 and alerts the ASA to new data on the irresponsible use of antibiotics and chemicals; mass mortalities of farmed salmon and cleaner fish; and lice infestation on ASC-certified salmon farms," concluded the complaint to the ASA (4 May 2022). "Sainsbury’s is clearly guilty of deceptive advertising and should be forced to remove all adverts claiming to source from “responsible” salmon farms in newspapers, Facebook and other media. Please send Sainsbury’s the crystal clear message that they cannot continue misleading consumers about the provenance of farmed salmon. No amount of greenwashing by the ASC, RSPCA Assured and supermarket advertisers can hide the fact that Scottish salmon farming is inherently unsustainable and irresponsible."
From: Don Staniford<salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com> Date: Wed, May 4, 2022 at 6:43 AM Subject: Complaint Vs Sainsbury's To: Celia Howarth <celiah@asa.org.uk>, David Barber <davidb@asa.org.uk>
Please find attached a complaint to the ASA re. Sainsbury's.
At this year's 'Scamons' (the alternative to tomorrow's Aquaculture Awards held in Aviemore) there was particularly fierce competition between salmon farming companies, supermarkets and certification bodies desperate to brand 'Scottish' salmon as "responsible" and "sustainable". In the end, it was just too close to call with Mowi and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council sharing the 'Greenwasher of the Year' award.
Bullshit Alert: "Sustainability is deeply engrained in the Mowi culture and at the heart of everything we do," claims Mowi's CEO Ivar Vindheim. "Mowi is at the forefront when it comes to sustainable food production" https://t.co/s1726IolTdpic.twitter.com/SqN5v02hzT
Not to be outdone, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council is doing their damndest to surpass their sister organisation (the Marine Conservation Society) in their shameless greenwashing.
"ASC will play a crucial role in ensuring a growing supply of environmentally sustainably and socially responsible food from the aquaculture industry" (Ally Dingwall in November 2021 as quoted in Fish Farming Expert)
And mass mortalities piling up faster than you can say: "The ASC salmon standard is not worth the paper it's written on".
A decade ago back in 2012 I exposed how the Aquaculture Stewardship Council - dubbed the Abominable Salmon Council - had been corrupted by commercial forces intent on watering down the standards to accommodate farmed salmon. As I wrote in April 2012:
The last decade has seen Mowi desperately try every trick in the book - from bending the rules, watering down the standards and moving the goalposts - to force Scottish salmon into the ASC. Scottish Salmon Watch reported in March 2021:
Alistair Dingwell from @ASC_aqua gave a very informative talk today about Navigating the Pathway to Social Licence for Aquaculture at day one of #aquacultureuk today. Don’t forget to stop by stand 199 to visit the International Aquafeed team! pic.twitter.com/EVNSqFx6Wf
Back in June 2019, I was served with a legal threat - a 'letter before court action' I think they call it in the world of law - by a law firm (Woods Whur) representing Yuri Lopatinsky (also known as Yuriy Lopatynskyy). The legal threat followed the publication of a report I wrote in February 2019 called '$cottish $camon' which was featured in The Ferret and The Sunday National. The letter was dated 30 May 2019 but it was not served on me - delivered to my home address by a legal representive who made me sign for it to prove that I had received the threat - until 28 June 2019. Here's the letter (I blackened out my address to stop salmon farmers from throwing rotten fish at my windows):
As a 'veteran' campaigner I'm used to legal threats and have fought more than my fair share of lawsuits (win, lose,draw and ongoing). To be honest, I read the Woods Whur letter a few times and then went back to the offending '$cottish $camon' report and did not see anything "ill-founded" or "defamatory". I did not consult with a lawyer and I did not remove the report as Woods Whur law firm had demanded. In March 2019, I'd even recorded a video outside Yuri Lopatinsky's properties in Charlotte Square in Edinburgh which quite literally surround the First Minister of Scotland's residence at Bute House.
I didn't think much of Yuri Lopatinsky - especially since he had sold his ownership in The Scottish Salmon Company to Faroese/Norwegian giant Bakkafrost in 2019 for a profit of EUR 370 million - until I was phoned up last month by Gordon Blackstock of The Sunday Mail. To cut a long story short - the spy story is still being told with many more Russian skeletons to come out in the wash - it turns out that Yuri Lopatinsky is closely connected to the Russian security agencies, the FSB and SVR (the new KGB) and enough dirty Russian money and oligarchs to fill a Siberian gulag with. Here's the front page story published in The Sunday Mail (27 March 2022):
The photograph of Yuri Lopatinsky - confirmed by Bill Browder (who wrote about Yuri Lopatinsky as his Moscow broker in the first edition of his 2015 book 'Red Notice' - his name is mysteriously changed in the second edition you can buy in bookshops) - was sourced from this 2019 video from Joli Vin which also features Angus MacMillan (formerly an 'organic' salmon farmer in the Outer Hebrides):
Here's a video update explaining more about Yuri Lopatinsky's legal threat; Liam Byrne's outing of Lopatinsky as closely connected to Russian security agencies and money laundering revelations via the AVISMA fraud scandal:
Now it seems that Yuri Lopatinsky's lawyers have changed. Here's an email from Andrew Woods at Woods Whur:
From: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk> Date: Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 3:09 PM Subject: RE: Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>, Paddy Whur <paddy@woodswhur.co.uk>, Amanda Usher <Amanda@woodswhur.co.uk>, Christopher Rees-Gay <chris@woodswhur.co.uk> Cc: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>
Don
Further to the below I am e mailing to confirm that we do not act for/represent the above (However the surname is spelt) and he is not a client of the firm. Mr Thompson left the firm in November 2020.
Legal Victory? Back in 2019, lawyers @WoodsWhur representing Yuri Lopatinsky threatened me with legal action for what they claimed was an "ill-founded" & "defamatory" report called $cottish Scamon. Today Andrew Woods said Yuri Lopatinsky was not a client https://t.co/TU8IUCHeoTpic.twitter.com/IDLudJJZ22
Any information - especially in relation to money laundering and fraud - would be much appreciated. Did Woods Whur perform all the necessary money laundering checks before being instructed by Yuri Lopatinsky in 2019?
Is Yuri Lopatinsky still a Woods Whur client?
Please pass this email onto James Thomspson - author of the threatening letter sent on Woods Whur letterhead in May 2019 (served in June 2019).
Best fishes,
Don Staniford
Director, $camon $cotland
I emailed back via:
From: Don Staniford<salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 4:31 PM Subject: Re: Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves To: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk> Cc: Paddy Whur <paddy@woodswhur.co.uk>, Amanda Usher <Amanda@woodswhur.co.uk>, Christopher Rees-Gay <chris@woodswhur.co.uk>
Thanks - but Woods Whur did act for Yuri Lopatinsky (Yuriy Lopatynskyy) in May 2019 when James Thompson sent the threatening letter?
What money laundering checks did Woods Whur carry out on your client Mr Lopatinsky/Lopatynskyy?
And here's the reply:
From: Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk> Date: Wed, Apr 27, 2022 at 6:14 PM Subject: RE: Lopatinsky's Laundromat (Part 2): Dishonour Among Thieves To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com> Cc: Paddy Whur <paddy@woodswhur.co.uk>, Amanda Usher <Amanda@woodswhur.co.uk>, Christopher Rees-Gay <chris@woodswhur.co.uk>, Andrew Woods <andrew@woodswhur.co.uk>
Don
I will not be providing any further information which is confidential. We do not act for or represent this person.
As if to hammer home the threatening point, Yuri Lopatinsky's solicitor James Thompson is an expert in the area of "violent and unnatural deaths". Here's a press release issued in October 2018 by Woods Whur:
Yesterday (26 April 2022), $camon $cotland sent a letter to Scottish Ministers and the UK Government asking for more information on Yuri Lopatinsky including the amount of public monies given to his companies:
It seems that pressure is building against the 'Moscow broker'. The Ferret reported (27 March 2022):
Scottish Labour MSP Sarah Boyack told The Sunday Mail (27 March 2022): “This is a worrying revelation. Every effort must be made to counter the influence of Russian and Russian-aligned millionaires in Scotland and the rest of the UK.”
“Parliament will be ruthless in demanding our Foreign Secretary sanctions every single profiteer from Putin’s regime. Now is the time for Mr Lopatynskyy to put his cards on the table or face MPs using parliamentary privilege to lay out the full dossiers” @liambyrnemp@Sunday_Mailpic.twitter.com/S5EocIqWml
‘Salmon farming has lost the war on sea lice’ — This activist claims underwater factory farms are fighting a losing battle against sea lice, which now pose a greater threat to the ecosystem pic.twitter.com/gzwgLFUZX6
$camon $cotland today published further information on Yuri Lopatinsky - the secret owner of a significant portion of the 'Scottish' seafood industry, neighbour of the First Minister of Scotland and closely connected to Russian spy agencies:
When Roman Abramovich visited the West coast of Scotland in his super-yacht 'Eclipse' in 2015 (with Davidovich, Shvidler, Polezhaev & Yaroslavsky in his entourage) did he meet with KGB contacts Yuri Lopatinsky & Yevgeniy Strzhalkovskiy? #Abramovich#Russiahttps://t.co/oqOI2c8su6pic.twitter.com/40zECfKPik
When @greigcameron@heraldscotland reported @LochFyneOysters had been "bought out by new investors for an undisclosed seven-figure sum" in 2012 perhaps it would have been good journalism to report that the new investor was Russian-linked Yuri Lopatinsky?https://t.co/IZ4QT9uSaX
A British property tycoon with Scottish businesses has denied links to Russia’s security agencies after opposition parties called for a Scottish Government probe, https://t.co/Aenz4WJCzz
Yuri Lopatinsky, originally from Ukraine, was linked to the Russian state agencies by an MP. Lopatinsky controls a company headquartered at Charlotte Square. Bute House, the First Minister’s official residence, is number six on the square.
"Scottish salmon is dead in the water," said Don Staniford, Director of Scamon Scotland (formerly Scottish Salmon Watch). "Shame on supermarkets for greenwashing disease-ridden Scottish salmon as 'responsibly sourced', RSPCA Assured, 'organic' and 'farmed responsibly'. The fact is that millions of farmed salmon and cleaner fish are dying on feedlots across Scotland - ravaged by lice infestations, infectious diseases, viruses, pathogens and welfare problems. Consumers should boycott the welfare nightmare of Scottish salmon like the proverbial plague."
Data for mortalities during December 2021 (which includes cummulative mortality rates over the whole harvest cycle) have just been posted by Salmon Scotland - download online here
A Freedom of Information disclosure has exposed 100% mortality of cleaner fish - and over half a million dead salmon - at The Scottish Salmon Company's Taranaish salmon farm near Breasclete in Loch Roag on the Isle of Lewis.
There is no salmon farm at Braesclate but The Scottish Salmon Company services salmon farms in Loch Roag out of Breasclete Pier - including Vacasay salmon farm and Taranaish salmon farm (both are licensed for salmon, lumpsuckers and wrasse):
Mortality data published by Salmon Scotland reveals that Vacasay, Taranaish and Vuia Mor salmon farms in Loch Roag experienced mass mortalities in late 2021 - with Vacasay reporting a staggering 49% monthly mortality in October 2021 and 26% monthly mortality in November 2021 before harvesting out in December 2021 with a cummulative mortality of 66% whilst Taranaish reported 49% monthly mortality in December 2021 and 57% monthly mortality in November 2021 (data for January 2022 is still not published):
Mortality data published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate on 7 March 2022 details a staggering 522,553 morts at Taranaish salmon farm via 14 'Mortality Event Reports' and 38,856 morts at Vacasay salmon farm via 8 'Mortality Event Reports' since October 2021. "Site inspected on the 7/12/2021 with diagnostioc samples taken, IPNv identified, recent issues reported onsite include AGD, PRV, SAV, Tenacibaculum," reported The Scottish Salmon Company on 20 December 2021 detailing 66,000 farmed salmon mortalities (no mention is made of dead lumpsuckers or wrasse) at Taranaish in Loch Roag. A further 129,650 morts were reported on 6 December 2021 and 92,891 more morts on 22 November 2021 at Taranaish salmon farm:
Here's the Fish Health Inspectorate Visit Report dated 25 January 2021 which reports 100% cleaner fish mortality at The Scottish Salmon Company's Taranaish salmon farm in Loch Roag on the Isle of Lewis - as well as a host of infectious diseases, pathogens and viruses (as well as antibiotic resistance) in farmed salmon:
Dead salmon and wrasse are not the only dead animals on show at The Scottish Salmon Company's Taranaish salmon farm - photos disclosed last year to Scottish Salmon Watch via FOI detailed a dead seal at Taranaish salmon farm in Loch Roag:
From: Don Staniford<salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com> Date: Fri, Feb 4, 2022 at 12:02 PM Subject: Letter & FOI request to Secretary of State re. cleaner fish mortalities on salmon farms in Scotland To: <defra.helpline@defra.gov.uk>, <george.eustice.mp@parliament.uk> Cc: <scottish.ministers@gov.scot>, SM-APHA-Enquiries APHA <enquiries@apha.gov.uk>, <APHA.Scotland@apha.gsi.gov.uk>, APHA Corporate Correspondence <apha.corporatecorrespondence@apha.gsi.gov.uk>
Please pass another letter and FOI request onto the Secretary of State (this is copied to Scottish Ministers and APHA) - download online here
Please note that Scottish Salmon Watch's letter of 20 April 2021 has still not been replied to - it is enclosed with today's letter from Scamon Scotland (formerly Scottish Salmon Watch) along with a letter to Scottish Ministers dated 1 February 2022.
Please consider this a formal request for information via the relevant FOI and Environmental Information regulations.
Please provide the information electronically.
Please provide a receipt for this letter and FOI request.
Surveillance and scrutiny of welfare abuse inside salmon farms cannot possibly get any worse but it may be about to take a significant turn for the better with the creation of a new animal health and welfare agency in Scotland. The Animal & Plant Health Agency (APHA) is dead, long live the Scottish Veterinary Service (SVS)! The issue of the APHA being replaced by the SVS was the subject of a letter from John Robins of Animal Concern to the Scottish Government sent last month (18 February 2022):
Mairi Gougeon MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Islands
The Scottish Government
St Andrew's House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
Dear Minister,
I write concerning the proposed Scottish Veterinary Service which will take over the duties of the APHA in Scotland.
This would be a major step forward for animal welfare but only if the SVS is fully resourced and empowered to properly police all sectors of animal agriculture in Scotland. That would mean providing the SVS with its own transport to conduct unannounced inspections of salmon farms.
At the moment I understand that any (if any) visits to salmon farms are facilitated using boats operated by the owners of the farms. Knowing a visitor is expected I’m sure that like anyone preparing for a guest, the farms make sure everything is spic and span before arrival.
It would also be sensible to request that responsibility for the welfare of animals in research laboratories in Scotland be devolved from the Home Office to the Scottish Government and the SVS. Can you tell me if the Scottish Government is considering seeking transfer of this responsibility?
I’d be grateful if you would tell me who is on the Board which is meeting for the first time later this month to decide on the format and future workings of the SVS. If necessary please regard this as a request under Freedom of Information legislation.
Compassion in World Farming investigated 22 salmon farms in four months between September & December 2020 using cameras, drones & divers. APHA 'inspected' 22 salmon farms in six years (2014 to 2019)! How many did @rspcaassured inspect? https://t.co/vgp2qsBh4g@media_ciwfpic.twitter.com/jMBQsCJZUF
The need for greater scrutiny and surveillance of welfare problems endemic in salmon farming has been highlighted by secret filming inside cages by Scottish Salmon Watch, Compassion in World Farming and Inside Scottish Salmon Feedlots since 2018.
Netflix's 'Seaspiracy' has brought the issue of welfare abuse, lice infestation and infectious diseases on Scottish salmon farms into the living rooms of millions of people around the world.
DATA REVEALED: Orchestrated visit by Scotlands Chief Vet to a salmon farm AFTER nearly 30,000 dead, diseased or moribund fish & an undisclosed number not fit for the visit were removed.
The lack of welfare surveillance is not only a problem for farmed salmon and trout but also for 'cleaner fish' which are dying in their millions inside salmon farms. Scamon Scotland reported last month (1 February 2022):
Another email from Benchmark to SEPA in October 2021 referred to “an update around SEPA’s position regarding the Cleantreat project, specifically how the technology and discharge might be regulated”.
An email from SEPA (named redacted) to Benchmark (name redacted) in November 2021 cited a “summary of the regulatory requirements applying where the discharge is made from a second vessel at the site rather than from the wellboat in which the fish are treated”. “The permit holder will need to apply for a simple, administration variation,” wrote SEPA. “The variation will amend the permit to provide for the discharge to be made from any vessel at the site rather than restricting it (as at present) to being made from the wellboat”. “We expect to begin the process of transferring all farm permits onto a new, simpler permit template before the end of 2021/2022. If the trial is carried out after this transfer, the application for variation referred to in (a) above will not be required. We expect to determine applications for variations within a maximum of 4 months. Simple administrative variations can be processed very quickly. We would be happy to liaise with you and the operators concerned to ensure we understand timings and can plan accordingly.”
Fish Farming Expert reported in December 2021 that the banned neonicotinoid "was keenly awaited by salmon farmers in Scotland, where the technology was developed".
Internal emails reveal that Turpie told colleagues she would “help with engagement” with environmental regulators so the treatment could “navigate through the system”.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency told a firm wanting to start using a bee-killing chemical at fish farms to mark correspondence “confidential”— so that it wouldn’t have to be released in response to freedom of information requests. #FOIhttps://t.co/hIclBVFKop
An internal email to SEPA staff in May 2021 (names redacted) “confirmed that no neonicotinoids are currently licensed for use and we have no applications pending”. Media lines provided by SEPA (understood to be to The Guardian who published an article – ‘Novichok for insects’ may be approved for Scottish fish farms’ – the following day) included: “If an application is made to discharge a new medicine we require, among other things, the applicant to provide the scientific evidence to identify the no effect concentration for that medicine in the environment, and information on how they will ensure that this concentration is met”.
FOI disclosure by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (22 February 2022):
"It’s like the wild west" said @DaveGoulson "These chemicals are incredibly poisonous – the novichok for insects. It takes a billionth of a gram to harm aquatic life, so even tiny traces would have major impacts on marine life" @guardian@WeAreBenchmarkhttps://t.co/OzouYaXCEk
From: Don Staniford<salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Mar 16, 2022 at 12:45 PM Subject: FOI re. CleanTreat & Imidacloprid (Ectosan Vet/BMK08) To: <info@sustainableaquaculture.com>
Please provide information on CleanTreat and Imidacloprid (Ectosan Vet/BMK08) since 1 January 2021.
Please include any details of SAIC’s funded Cleantreat project and technology as referred to in the email below (obtained from SEPA via FOI):
Please provide any correspondence with Benchmark - as indicated in the email below - as well as other parties including SEPA, Nature Scotland, VMD, Salmon Scotland (SSPO), the Scottish Government, Mowi, Leroy, Scottish Sea Farms and any other parties on the subject of CleanTreat and Imidacloprid (BMK08/Ectosan Vet):
Please consider this a FOI request under the relevant FOI and Environmental Information regulations.
Please provide the information electronically.
Please provide a receipt for this FOI request.
Thanks,
Don Staniford
Director, Scamon Scotland
From: Don Staniford<salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com> Date: Wed, Mar 16, 2022 at 12:58 PM Subject: FOI re. CleanTreat & Imidacloprid (Ectosan Vet/BMK08) since 17 April 2021 To: <CEU@gov.scot>
Please include any media lines, internal discussions, replies to journalists, Cabinet Briefings, emails, letters and other information relating to Imidacloprid (BMK08/Ectosan), CleanTreat and Benchmark since 17 April 2021.
Please include any details of SAIC’s funded Cleantreat project and technology as referred to in the email below (obtained from SEPA via FOI):
Please provide any correspondence with Benchmark as well as other parties including SAIC, SEPA, Nature Scotland, VMD, Salmon Scotland (SSPO), the Scottish Government, Mowi, Leroy, Scottish Sea Farms and any other parties on the subject of CleanTreat and Imidacloprid (BMK08/Ectosan Vet). It is understood that Benchmark and SAIC are actively seeking approval to use Imidacloprid via the CleanTreat system:
RSPCA sponsored welfare abuse: 136,339 dead salmon at Ardintoul in 2022 @MowiScotlandLtd@rspcaassured "Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia confirmed on site & treated with antibiotics". Hydrogen Peroxide dousing "aborted following increased mortalities" https://t.co/oZtlH0CRpV
Salmon farmers use Paramove 49.5% as an ectoparasiticide. Many, if not all will have lice damage, cage or seal damage including open wounds. These fish will be near the surface. pic.twitter.com/WY3x1tKg8O
Censored: Salmon farmers in Scotland refuse to publish numbers of deaths as disclosure is "commercially damaging" https://t.co/FiaGuR3KoG Yet Norway published 2020 data detailing 52 million deaths - why the double standard when Norway owns 80% of 'Scottish' salmon? @ScottishEPApic.twitter.com/S6d45qnsTx
"I am most proud about being part of the team that achieved the authorisation for Ectosan® Vet" says Jamie Dawson @WeAreBenchmark failing to mention the fact that Ectosan Vet is the banned neonicotinoid Imidacloprid! https://t.co/j8wqkMlBIppic.twitter.com/FCuTk7aHdc
"Ectosan Vet was developed by @WeAreBenchmark in Scotland but is currently only authorised for use in Norway. Benchmark said it will apply for authorisation in other countries in due course" https://t.co/AESPBqtNkF Has Benchmark applied in Scotland? @ScottishEPA@marinescotland
Wanted: Whistleblowers of the world - do you have any video footage of farmed salmon 'morts' being dumped in pits or skips, floating inside feedlots or dead at the bottom of nets? https://t.co/AfqxVJajJCpic.twitter.com/CIoQpXEsZG
Hey taxpayer, @MairiGougeon gave £5MILLION of your cash to Faroese company Bakkafrost to build a salmon hatchery - in the name of “sustainable growth”.
In January 2022, Scottish Salmon Watch were tipped off by a whistleblower that The Scottish Salmon Company's Applecross/Russel Burn Hatchery was suffering a welfare disaster and filed a welfare complaint with the Scottish Government and the Animal & Plant Health Agency:
From: Don Staniford<salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com> Date: Fri, Jan 28, 2022 at 10:11 AM Subject: Welfare Complaint re. Applecross/Russel Burn Hatchery (The Scottish Salmon Company) - 600,000 dead? To: <MS.fishhealth@gov.scot>, SM-APHA-Enquiries APHA <enquiries@apha.gov.uk>, <APHA.Scotland@apha.gsi.gov.uk>
I received a distressing phone call at 9am this morning from someone with a relative working at The Scottish Salmon Company's Applecross Hatchery (understood to be also called Russel Burn) in Kishorn.
The tip-off claimed that 600,000 fish had died due to sulphite in the pipes/water and that there was an ongoing welfare disaster. The person who provided the information said that they could not sleep last night worrying about the welfare problems at the hatchery and they were clearly extremely concerned. They said that morts were piling up at the site - with 600,000 morts given as an estimate.
Based on such intelligence would it be possible to conduct an inspection ASAP to allay any welfare concerns?
Mortality data published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate on 12 January 2022 (data up to the end of November 2021) details significant mortality at the Applecross/Russel Burn hatchery and the nearby Loch Damph facility operated by The Scottish Salmon Company during November 2021 (data for December 2021 and January 2022 has presumably been received by FHI but not yet published): https://www.gov.scot/publications/fish-health-inspectorate-mortality-information/
When Scottish Salmon Watch visited The Scottish Salmon Company in Loch Carron in September we found serious welfare abuse, mortalities and lice infestationhttps://t.co/1G3dwUuxaapic.twitter.com/1HeoFhcbWQ
Norwegian giant Mowi has already reported 668,235 dead farmed salmon in 38 incidents during 2022 (data up to mid-February 2022) - including mass mortalities at Ardintoul, Seaforth, Grey Horse Channel and Greshornish due to Complex Gill Diseases, Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia, Amoebic Gill Disease, Heart & Skeletal Muscle Inflammation and Pasteurella Skyensis leading to medication with antibiotics:
Mowi report 668,235 dead fish in 38 incidents in 2022 - including mass morts at Ardintoul, Seaforth, Grey Horse Channel & Greshornish due to Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia, Amoebic Gill Disease, Heart & Skeletal Muscle Inflammation & Pasteurella Skyensis https://t.co/DqDKfxGm84pic.twitter.com/x8HNGfyTO1
RSPCA sponsored welfare abuse: 136,339 dead salmon at Ardintoul in 2022 @MowiScotlandLtd@rspcaassured "Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia confirmed on site & treated with antibiotics". Hydrogen Peroxide dousing "aborted following increased mortalities" https://t.co/oZtlH0CRpV
"Scottish salmon is a hopeless drug addict that surely belongs on the floor with the Trainspotting junkies not welcomed into your kitchen & served as ‘healthy’ food. Norwegian giant Mowi should check itself into rehab to curb their drug dependency" https://t.co/T3qavQYEURpic.twitter.com/irjTlZ6EFq
My eight year old daughter is currently is reading 'Ratburger' by David Walliams - a book which leaves you with a nasty taste in the mouth (you may have watched the movie which would have put you off dodgy burger vans for life).
I can't help but thinking of 'Ratburger' when reading news of Mowi's 'Salmon Wagon' serving 'healthy' burgers to unsuspecting punters at charity events this Summer.
Sadly, applications by charities for the use of Mowi's 'Salmon Wagon' have now closed - applicants will be notifed by 25 March if they've been 'successful'. If charities are still on the look out for a burger van, David Walliams can be contacted via his agent online here - the Ratburger van may well be available for your event. I'd rather eat a ratbuger than one of Mowi's salmon burgers!
Scamon Scotland is also looking into hiring a van to take on the road this Summer and is hoping that Del Boy Trotter's old van will be available to tour Scotland.
According to the Fish Health Inspectorate data published on 7 February 2022, Norwegian giant Mowi has reported 3.1 million mortalities since 1 January 2021 (data up to mid-January 2022) via 184 'Mortality Event Reports' - here's the biggest mass mortalities in sea cages or freshwater cages headed by over 100,000 dead salmon at Grey Horse Channel Outer in North Uist:
EXPOSED: Mowi's ASC-certified salmon farm off the Isle of Rum experienced 160,000 morts with anaemic "fish bleeding out during lice counts" in a four week period in Sept/Oct 2021 @marinescotland - how can @ASC_aqua still certify @MowiScotlandLtd as "farmed responsibly"? pic.twitter.com/GIaw6leVuh
Millions around the world have watched 'Seaspiracy' on Netflix which quite literally lifts the lid on Mowi's disease-ridden salmon (but don't worry, it's certified as welfare-friendly by RSPCA Assured and "farmed responsibly" by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council):
And if you love your pharmed salmon with a side order of antibiotics, then you're in luck. The Sunday National and The Ferret reported last week (27 February 2022):
"Scottish salmon is a hopeless drug addict that surely belongs on the floor with the Trainspotting junkies not welcomed into your kitchen & served as ‘healthy’ food. Norwegian giant Mowi should check itself into rehab to curb their drug dependency" https://t.co/T3qavQYEURpic.twitter.com/irjTlZ6EFq
Certification of @MowiScotlandLtd salmon farms has been cancelled @ASC_aqua "Carradale was cancelled due to an escape event; Cairidh due to administrative reasons; Maol Ban & Sconser Quarry because they were projected to exceed the permitted antibiotic treatments number" pic.twitter.com/byKk6EYukC
Antibiotics given to caged salmon to combat diseases at over 50 farms around Argyll, the highlands and islands have risen from 147 kilograms in 2016 to 7,476 kilograms in 2021. https://t.co/adsjFAdW5Y
"Scottish salmon is a hopeless drug addict that surely belongs on the floor with the Trainspotting junkies not welcomed into your kitchen & served as ‘healthy’ food. Norwegian giant Mowi should check itself into rehab to curb their drug dependency" https://t.co/T3qavQYEURpic.twitter.com/irjTlZ6EFq
"Scottish salmon is a hopeless drug addict that surely belongs on the floor with the Trainspotting junkies not welcomed into your kitchen & served as ‘healthy’ food. Norwegian giant Mowi should check itself into rehab to curb their drug dependency" https://t.co/T3qavQYEURpic.twitter.com/irjTlZ6EFq
Here's the largest users of Aquatet (Oxytetracycline) between 2015 and 2019 - the list is dominated by Marine Harvest/Mowi (Marine Harvest changed their name to Mowi on 1 January 2019 due to "negative consumer perception") who is responsible for 22 out of the 23 doses:
Here's the largest users of Florocol (Florfenicol) between 2015 and 2019 - with Marine Harvest/Mowi responsible for 39 of the 71 reported doses followed by Grieg Seafood (15), Cooke (12), Kames (4) and Loch Duart (1). By far the biggest dose of Florfenicol was by Mowi in Loch Duich - a Special Area of Conservation and a contentious site which Mowi claimed in 2019 would be closed down and a site which is currently being audited for ASC certification!
Whilst salmon farmers in Scotland are using more and more antibiotics, the trade press still blindly ignores Scottish salmon's drugs addiction. Fish Farmer reported on 31 December 2021:
Thankfully, some trade press outlets are not afraid to report the bitter truth about all the pills being taken by Scottish salmon (and cleaner fish). The Fish Site reported (9 December 2021):
A Freedom of Information request disclosed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (F0192000) reveals increasing use of antibiotics on marine salmon farms in Scotland spearheaded by Norwegian giant Mowi. Between 2015 and 2019 the use of Aquatet (Oxytetracycline) and Florocol (Florfenicol) increased 14-fold from 144kg to 2084kg (that's 2.1 tonnes)!
Antibiotic use on marine salmon farms in Scotland leapt like a disease-ridden fish from 144kg in 2015 to 2084kg in 2019. That's a 14-fold increase in 5 years with 2.1 tonnes of Oxytetracycline and Florfenicol used in 2019. Data obtained from @ScottishEPA by @SeafoodWatchpic.twitter.com/WsOJ8CVIJK
Site specific data for 2020 and 2021 is not yet available (a cyber-attack on SEPA last year impacted operations) but the UK Veterinary Antibiotic Resistance and Sales Surveillance Report published in November 2021 (p49-51) details increasing use of antibiotics on salmon farms during 2020 (the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation - renamed Salmon Scotland on 1 November 2021 - claimed that the use of antibiotics decreased in the freshwater phase of production whilst conceding an increase in the use of antibiotics on marine salmon farms):
Carcinogenic chemical Formalin used "twice a week" @HGSalmonUK Ormsary Hatchery along with antibiotic Florocol. "Lesions" & "Fungus" with Flavobacterium & Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis virus. 54,629 mortalities reported @marinescotland due to "shock morts" & "deformities". pic.twitter.com/llYriEi2R7
