Press Release: "Marine Harvest: Scotland's #1 Seal Killer"

Sainsbury's & Waitrose In Firing Line Over Seal Shooting

Download press release in full with Notes to Editors online here

Data published by the Scottish Government reveals that Marine Harvest killed over a quarter of the seals shot in Scotland in 2016. Since 2011 (from when official figures are publicly available), Marine Harvest has killed 102 seals shooting up from 5 seals killed in 2013 to 26 seals killed in 2016. Marine Harvest - the world's largest salmon farming company - supplies Sainsbury's as well as Waitrose.

Ben Hadfield, Managing Director of Marine Harvest Scotland, told today's Sunday Times: “If seals keep attacking the fish, then, like a farmer kills foxes, we shoot them.” Read more via: "Seals shot to save Waitrose salmon".

Photos: Seals killed near Marine Harvest's salmon farm in Loch Alsh Special Area of Conservation (download high res images online here and online here)

According to the latest seal-killing data published online by the Scottish Government, Marine Harvest killed 26 out of the 98 seals reported as killed in 2016 (more than any other company). A total of 15 Marine Harvest salmon farms reported seal kills including sites in Loch Ewe, Torridon, Greshornish, Linnhe, Colonsay, and Lochalsh - that represents 30% of Marine Harvest Scotland's 49 salmon farms killing seals.

Download a summary via 2016 Seal Killing Data by Company sourced from Scottish Government licensing returns

Salmon farming companies - Marine Harvest, Scottish Sea Farms, Cooke Aquaculture, Loch Duart, the Scottish Salmon Company, Wester Ross Fisheries and Balta Island Seafare - accounted for 77% of the seals killed in Scotland in 2016 (76 out of 98 seals killed). That's a leap from 49% of the seals killed in Scotland in 2015, 39% in 2014 and 38% in 2013. The rise in the % of seals killed by salmon farms is largely due to the end of the slaughter of seals by Usan Fisheries on the East coast of Scotland following a campaign by Sea Shepherd Society and the Hunt Saboteurs Association.

Scottish Sea Farms supply Marks & Spencer via their fake Lochmuir brand whilst Loch Duart supply restaurants and fishmongers; Cooke Aquaculture is certified by Whole Foods, the Soil Association and accredited via RSPCA Assured/Freedom Foods; and the Scottish Salmon Company supplies Waitrose via Aquascot.

Whilst Marine Harvest continue their seal-killing spree, Grieg Seafood completely eliminated seal killing during 2016. In 2013, Grieg Seafood killed 32 seals falling to 7 in 2014, 4 in 2015 and zero in 2016. Grieg Seafood's decision to hang up their guns comes in the wake of an ITV News investigation and the installation of anti-predator nets at an estimated cost of £1 million per farm.

As Marine Harvest has cranked up the slaughter of seals other companies have reduced the number of seals killed. The Scottish Salmon Company killed 30 seals in 2015 (the most of any company) falling to 2 in 2016. Cooke Aquaculture killed 28 seals in 2015 falling to 8 seals in 2016. Scottish Sea Farms killed 14 seals in 2016 compared to 6 in 2015, 33 in 2014 and 33 in 2013 [1].

"Marine Harvest Scotland is a serial seal killer," said Don Staniford, Director of the Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture. "In the horrific world of Scottish salmon farming bullets are much cheaper than predator nets. It costs £1 million per salmon farm to install seal-friendly predator nets - as Grieg Seafood has done in Shetland leading to zero seal kills in 2016 - yet some trigger-happy companies such as Marine Harvest, Scottish Sea Farms, Cooke Aquaculture and Loch Duart continue to slaughter seals. Shame on Sainsbury's for sourcing salmon from Scotland's #1 seal-killer Marine Harvest [2] and shame on the RSPCA for certifying seal-killing salmon farms via their Freedom Food/RSPCA Assured scam [3]. People buying Scottish salmon have the blood of dozens of seals on their hands. If you want to stop the killing of seals please stop buying Scottish salmon."

Watch a video report from Don Staniford via "Marine Harvest: Stop Shooting Seals!"