Green Around the Gills : February 2020

Please Come Clean on BMK08!

Scottish Salmon Watch has appealed to the Scottish Information Commissioner (SIC) to force the disclosure of documents in relation to Benchmark's 'Clean Treat' method of lice treatment and has asked both the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and the Scottish Government to review their refusal of information in relation to the secret chemical treatment BMK08 (perhaps also known as Ectosan).

Scottish Salmon Watch's letter to the Scottish Government dated 21 February 2020 includes:

The letter went on to cite a plethora of press coverage - including:

The review letter to the Scottish Government dated 21 February 2020 concluded:

The review letter to SEPA concluded:

Scottish Salmon Watch's appeal filed with the Scottish Information Commissioner on 21 February 2020 included:

Scottish Salmon Watch's letter of appeal (21 February 2020) concluded:

So whilst the Scottish Government and SEPA refuse to disclose information on Clean Treat and BMK08 (which could be the same as Ectosan) investors are pumping money in Benchmark.

Is BMK08 destined to be a magic bullet or will it be remembered as a toxic trade like a failed Ponzi scheme?

Whatever the case, surely the public has a right to know certainly before BMK08 is used on Scottish salmon farms (if it has not been used already)?

When asked for a site visit to the Clean Treat operation and specific information on BMK08, Benchmark replied to Scottish Salmon Watch:

So whilst SEPA and the Scottish Government are busy behind the scenes protecting big business from public scrutiny, Benchmark employees continue to pump their own money into Clean Treat and lure in investors betting on the future of BMK08. Does Benchmark already know that the Scottish Government and SEPA has granted permission to use BMK08 across Scotland?

In December 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch reported:

The Sunday Times reported (29 December 2019):

In November 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch won a landmark FOI victory when the Scottish Information Commissioner forced the Scottish Government to disclose 'commercially damaging' data on 'Scottish' salmon.

'Scottish' Salmon Exposed As Made in Ireland & Iceland

Scottish Salmon Watch visited Benchmark's Laboratory at Ardtoe in July 2019:

SEPA's lack of transparency in terms of toxic chemical use by salmon farming operations is shocking. Scottish Salmon Watch Tweeted yesterday (26 February 2020):

Cleaning Tox-Sick Scottish Salmon

CleanTreat FOI Disclosures by the Scottish Government to Scottish Salmon Watch

Media Backgrounder: Chemically Embalmed Scottish Salmon

All is Not Well With Sick Scottish Salmon

Update:

From: <enquiries@itspublicknowledge.info>
Date: Thu, Jun 11, 2020 at 8:09 AM
Subject: Update on Application for Decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner - 202000275
To: <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>

Our Ref 202000275

11 June 2020

Dear Mr Staniford

Application for Decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner
Public Authority: Scottish Environment Protection Agency

I wrote to you in March to let you know that we were closing the office because of the COVID-19 virus. In line with government guidance, the office premises remain closed.
For the past 12 weeks, my two deputies and I have been working hard to keep the work of the wider Enforcement Team going. While we have been able to accept new applications, respond to enquiries and progress some cases (including issuing a number of decisions), the work we have been able to do has been limited.
The good news is that we are finally able to access our IT systems remotely and so can now access your case file. Five additional members of the team are also now working remotely. We hope to be able to continue to roll out remote access to other members of the Enforcement Team over the next month or so.
I am sorry that your investigation has been delayed, but we should now be able to make some progress. We’ll be in touch as soon as we can.
If you have any questions about your case, or decide you no longer want the investigation to go ahead, please email sjenkins@itspublicknowlede.info.
Thank you for your continued patience.

Yours sincerely

Margaret Keyse
Head of Enforcement

From: Wendy Snedden <wsnedden@itspublicknowledge.info>
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 2020 at 4:24 PM
Subject: Application for Decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner - Scottish Salmon Watch and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency - 202000275
To: salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>

Our Ref: 202000275

Date: 17 August 2020

Dear Mr Staniford

Application for Decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner

Applicant: Scottish Salmon Watch (SSW)

Public Authority: Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

I refer to previous correspondence regarding SSW’s application to the Commissioner. This relates to its information requests of 23 October 2019 to SEPA, seeking information concerning the treatment of wellboat discharges.

I will investigate SSW’s application and will be your point of contact with this office. If you have any queries, or would like a progress report at any time, please contact me by email at wsnedden@itspublicknowledge.info.

Scope of investigation

My investigation will be limited to the matter raised in SSW’s application to the Commissioner. This is to ascertain whether SEPA was entitled to withhold some of the information SSW requested (in part 6 of its request) under the exception in regulation 10(5)(e) (Confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (the EIRs).

Public Interest Test

SEPA is withholding some of the information SSW asked for under an exception which is subject to the public interest test, i.e. regulation 10(5)(e) (Confidentiality of commercial or industrial information). More information about the public interest test can be found here:

http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/Law/FOISA-EIRsGuidance/ThePublicInterestTest/ThePublicInterestTestEIRs.aspx

This means that the Commissioner must balance the public interest in favour of disclosing the information against any public interest there may be in not disclosing it. I have already noted the public interest arguments set out in SSW’s application to the Commissioner, and note your subsequent emails of 5 and 17 March 2020. Please let me have any additional comments SSW wishes to submit on why it believes disclosing the information would be in the public interest.

Please provide any further comments by close of business on Tuesday, 1 September 2020.

I will now contact SPEA and give it an opportunity to comment on SSW’s application. The Commissioner is required, by law, to give authorities an opportunity to comment.

Once I have considered the submissions from both SSW and SEPA, I may contact you again to explore whether it is possible to resolve SSW’s application without the need for a formal Decision Notice.

It is important that you let me know about anything which may be relevant to the investigation. If SEPA contacts you in relation to SSW’s application, or if SSW finds it no longer needs a decision from the Commissioner, please let me know as soon as possible. Please also let me know if your contact details change.

Over the last few months, we have received many more applications than usual and our office premises remain closed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, although staff are working remotely. This means there might be a slight delay in progressing SSW’s application, however please be assured we will do so as quickly as possible.

I am now on leave until 31 August 2020, however my emails are being monitored in my absence. On my return, I will be working remotely, normally Mondays to Thursdays.

Information about what we do with the personal information you give us can be found in our Privacy Notice: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/home/privacy.aspx. If you would like me to send you a hard copy of the notice, let me know.

It would be helpful if you could acknowledge receipt of this email.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

Yours sincerely

Wendy Snedden

Freedom of Information Officer

________________________________________

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road

St Andrews, KY16 9DS

Email: wsnedden@itspublicknowledge.info

Web: www.itspublicknowledge.info

Twitter: @FOIScotland

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Aug 25, 2020 at 3:07 PM
Subject: Additional Information re. SEPA 202000275
To: Karin Killington <kkillington@itspublicknowledge.info>, <wsneddon@itspublicknowledge.info>

Further to Scottish Salmon Watch's appeal filed on 21 February 2020 (posted online via https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2020/02/please-come-clean-on-bmk08-.html):

Scottish Salmon Watch strongly believes that there is a public interest in the disclosure of information on 'CleanTreat' including BMK08 (Ectosan).

In fact, it was only in March 2020 that Scottish Salmon Watch discovered that BMK08/Ectosan was the toxic neonicotinoid insecticide Imidacloprid (banned by the EU in 2018 for use in terrestrial agriculture).

This was reported via The Ferret, ENDS and other publications in March 2020:

Revealed: Toxic Neonicotinoid Insecticide Used to 'CleanTreat' Lousy Salmon

The Ferret: "Fish farm companies ‘bidding to use bee-harming pesticide’"

ENDS Report: "Calls for greater transparency over ‘toxic’ new fish farm product"

Benchmark sea lice treatment identity revealed

And it forced out a public statement by Benchmark (architects of the CleanTreat system which uses Imidacloprid/BMK08/Ectosan):

https://www.benchmarkplc.com/news/bmk08/

Suffice to say that this controversial disclosure adds considerable weight to Scottish Salmon Watch's appeal.

Moreover, Scottish Salmon Watch further revealed in May 2020 (via a FOI disclosure by SEPA) that salmon farming giant Mowi in March 2020 had asked SEPA to support a field trial of Ectosan (re-named BMK08 in November 2019) in Loch Ailort:

Secret Trials: 'Royal' Salmon Doused with Bee-Killing Insecticide Imidacloprid?

"Mowi asks to trial new lice drug in Scotland"

The use of Imidacloprid warranted a letter to the Cabinet Secretary for the Environment from the Scottish Greens in May 2020:

Scottish Greens "Deeply Concerned" at Mowi's Field Trial of Neonicotinoid Imidacloprid in Loch Ailort

In June 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch published scientific opposition to the use of Imidacloprid (which Benchmark proposes to use via the CleanTreat system):

Further Scientific Opposition to Imidacloprid Use in Salmon Farming

Scientific Opposition to Neonicotinoid Use in Salmon Farming

Backgrounder: "Imidacloprid - A Neonicotinoid Insecticide Toxic to Aquatic Life"

Scottish Salmon Watch also published further details on the patents secured by Benchmark (information which we are not even sure that SEPA was in possession of):

Patent lifts lid on neonicotinoid use in salmon farming

The Sunday Times and BBC Radio featured the controversial issue in June 2020 and British Wildlife viewed the issue as such a public concern that they featured it in their Editorial in August 2020:

Sunday Times: "Outlawed insecticide may be used on Scottish salmon"

BBC Farming Today on "Neonicotinoids in Salmon Farming"

British Wildlife: "Neonics in Salmon Farming - Alarm Bells Are Ringing"

SEPA's refusal to disclose information on CleanTreat, BMK08, Ectosan and Imidacloprid is an affront to transparency and runs counter to their role as a publicly-funded watchdog for the environment. Scottish Salmon Watch believes that protecting the commercial interests of a Norwegian-funded industry at the expense of the Scottish environment is unacceptable and unreasonable.

It beggars belief that SEPA are placing the profits of Norway's 5th richest man (Johan Andresen - owner of Ferd Capital which controls Benchmark) before the Scottish environment and public accountability.

Scottish Salmon Watch asks the Scottish Information Commissioner to force the disclosure of information in the public interest. The considerable media coverage of the issue since March 2020 when it was publicly revealed that CleanTreat was a Trojan Horse designed to use a banned neonicotinoid insecticide is evidence enough.

Media coverage before Benchmark was forced to publicly admit that BMK08/Ectosan was Imidacloprid is available as reference via Media coverage of Benchmark's 'CleanTreat', Ectosan and BMK08

A time-line detailing how the use of Imidacloprid was secured via a patent in Norway back in 2011 is online via Horrible History: Imidacloprid Use in Salmon Farming

Please force SEPA to protect the Scottish environment rather than protect the commercial interests of a Norwegian company wanting to keep secret documents detailing the use of a toxic neonicotinoid insecticide.

If you require further information please do not hesitate to contact me on 07771 541826.

Please provide a receipt for this email.

Thanks,

Don Staniford

Director, Scottish Salmon Watch

From: Wendy Snedden <wsnedden@itspublicknowledge.info>
Date: Mon, Oct 26, 2020 at 4:33 PM
Subject: Application for Decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner - Scottish Salmon Watch and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency - 202000275
To: salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>

Our Ref: 202000275

Date: 26 October 2020

Application for Decision by the Scottish Information Commissioner

Applicant: Scottish Salmon Watch (SSW)

Public Authority: Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA)

I refer to SSW’s application to the Scottish Information Commissioner dated 21 February 2020, when it asked the Commissioner to investigate whether SEPA complied with the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002/the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004, in responding to its request for information concerning the treatment of wellboat discharges.

I write to update you on the progress of the investigation. We are currently in the process of considering all the submissions in this case, which is taking some time, given the volume of submissions received by both parties, and the amount of withheld information requiring to be considered. Once this has been completed, my findings will be submitted to our Deputy Head of Enforcement.

In the meantime, should SEPA contact you in relation to your application, please let me know.

Our office premises remain closed due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, however staff are continuing to work remotely.

Yours sincerely

Wendy Snedden

Freedom of Information Officer

________________________________________

Scottish Information Commissioner

Kinburn Castle, Doubledykes Road

St Andrews, KY16 9DS

Email: wsnedden@itspublicknowledge.info

Web: www.itspublicknowledge.info

Twitter: @FOIScotland

Posted at 11:28 AM | Permalink

Intrafish: "Scotland's ban on Norwegian farmed salmon eggs threatening growth prospects"

Intrafish reported (26 February 2020):

Fish Farmer magazine reported (27 February 2020):

Fish Farming Expert reported (1 March 2020):

Read more via:

Posted at 08:05 AM | Permalink

Deadly Mowi - the Horror Story Continues!

Norwegian-owned Marine Harvest renamed itself Mowi on 1 January 2019 due to negative consumer perception.

With all the dead bodies piling up at Mowi's door it may have to think about re-branding itself again.

The Press & Journal reported (21 February 2020):

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's Ardintoul salmon farm in Loch Alsh in November 2019 we reported reckless behaviour to the Health & Safety Executive and the Maritime & Coastguard Agency.

In January 2020, Mowi warned people to keep away from their farms. "As activists continue to sidestep the democratic process in favour of interrupting work spaces, governments must step up to protect the health and safety of employees working within the laws of the country," wrote Mowi Scotland's Director of Communications in Fish Farmer magazine (16 January 2020).

Mass mortalities on Mowi salmon farms in Scotland may not trigger investigations by Police Scotland, the Health & Safety Executive or the Maritime & Coastguard Agency but they may well represent a breach of animal welfare laws and certainly leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Data published earlier this month by the Scottish Government reveal that Mowi/Marine Harvest reported over 5.4 million dead salmon via 258 'Mortality Event Reports' between 2017 and 2019.

Here's the worst mass mortality events officially reported by Mowi/Marine Harvest since 2017:

No wonder the Mowinckel family (after whom Mowi is named) strongly objected to their good name was being dragged down into the gutter.

Mowi is also guilty of slaughtering seals in Loch Alsh - including grey seals killed at Ardintoul in 2019 according to data published by the Scottish Government in November 2019:

Tourist operator Nigel Smith has reported seals slaughtered in Loch Alsh (a Special Area of Conservation and Marine Protected Area) with shocking photos of dead seals naming and shaming Marine Harvest.

BBC News reported in 2005:

BBC News reported in 2008:

In October 2019, Mowi was in hot water in Canada in relation to the late reporting of disease problems and Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) in particular.

In November 2019, The Telegram reported:

The Globe & Mail reported (8 October 2019) on the "awful smell" coming from Mowi:

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's Bagh Dail Nan Ceann (Bay of the Dead Heads) salmon farm in early July 2019 there were visible health challenges with dead and dying lumpfish littering the surface.

Shocking video footage of salmon mortalities at Mowi's 'Bay of the Dead Heads' in September 2019 was posted by diver David Ainsley.

Mowi reported in October 2019:

The Sunday National & Ferret reported in November 2019:

Mowi's salmon farm at MacLean's Nose in Loch Sunart reported 140,873 dead salmon in six incidents in 2019 (all in May) with Cardiomyopathy Syndrome cited as the reason for mortalities (it appears that Mowi may not have reported the incidents immediately):

Mowi's salmon farm at Camas Glas in Loch Sunart reported 128,361 dead salmon in three incidents in 2019 (all in October) with Pasteurella skyensis cited as the reason for mortalities:

Mowi's salmon farm at Poll na Gille in Loch Shuna reported 114,514 dead salmon in five incidents in 2019 (all in September & October) with Anaemia, Pasteurella skyensis, complex gill disease, treatment losses and Hydrolicer treatments cited as reasons for mortalities:

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's Linnhe salmon farm at Ardgour in early July 2019 harvesting out was well under way with Health & Safety violations spotted by an eagle-eyed John Robins of Animal Concern.

Mowi's health and safety record around the world is shocking. In 2016, Mowi Scotland was fined £5,000 after a worker lost the tops of four fingers.

In 2009, the Norwegian newspaper Dagbladet reported on deaths of workers in Chile (before 1 January 2019, Mowi was named Marine Harvest).

Salmon Business reported in 2018:

My blog reported back in 2012:

Salmon Business reported in March 2019:

In a letter to Mowi's CEO Alf Helge-Aarskog in 2012 I wrote:

The stench from Mowi's operations in Scotland is also leaving a bad smell and giving the company an ever-escalating PR problem.

The Scotsman: "Storm Brendan causes mass escape of farmed salmon in Hebridean waters"

All Sorts of Problems for Mowi in Loch Erisort (Yet Again)!

"Leave Our Farms Alone" Demand Mowi. Here's What They're Hiding & Why Mowi Want the Public to Keep Away!

Update: Mass Mortalities Piling Up at Scottish Salmon

Mowi's Mass Mortalities Pile Ever Higher

Mowi's Ghoul at Ardintoul

Fighting Mowi's Legal Action Over Filming at Salmon Farms

Caught on Camera - Mowi's Reckless Breaches of Health & Safety in Loch Alsh

Sunday National/Ferret: "Salmon company Mowi rapped over fish welfare after 700,000 deaths"

Mowi "care passionately for the health and welfare of our fish" (*cough* Bullshit! *cough*)

EXPOSED: Photo Disclosures Opens Floodgates to More Diseased & Deformed Scottish Salmon

Update: Mortalities & Disease Decimating Scottish Salmon

Mowi's Nightmare Before Xmas - The Unlucky 13

Revealed: Mowi's Nightmare in Loch Linnhe - 55% Mortality & Infectious Diseases

'Frankenfish' Halloween Protest (31 October) - Beware of the Nightmare of Scottish Salmon!

It's Like a Bad Mowi (Deja Vu After Marine Harvest Horror Show)!

Video Nasty: Thermolicer - the Heated Torture Chamber for Scottish Salmon

Sick Bucket Time for Mowi Salmon

Cardiac Disease Arrests Mowi in Kingairloch

Welfare Abuse at Scottish Salmon Farms - Why No Legal Enforcement Or Prosecutions?

Mowi's Welfare Nightmare on Rum - "blind", "physical damage", "anorexic" & over 40,000 dead fish!

The Fish Pharm Menace - Mowi is Like a Bad Movie (& Dick Dastardly)!

"Mowi are talking rubbish" says National Trust in the Financial Times

Ministers Gorge on Scottish Salmon à la John Gummer

Scottish Salmon's Mort Mountain Piles Ever Higher in 2019

BBC Countryfile on ADDs impacting on cetaceans

Video sparks HSE scrutiny of Mowi in Loch Linnhe

Proposed salmon farm raises environmental concerns in Hebrides

Memo to MOWI - You Got to Move it, You Got to Move it Mowi!

Mowi “holding communities to ransom” over relocation of fish farm sites says campaigner

Shocking Video Footage from Mowi's 'Bay of the Dead Heads' (Bagh Dail nan Ceann)

Mowi's Fungus Pollution of the River Polly

Fish farms urged to stop use of toxic chemical in Scottish waters

EXPOSED: Mowi's Cache of Carcinogenic Chemicals On Conservative MSP's Estate

Salmon farming giant Mowi probed over chemical use

Salmon Farming Exposed

Mowi's Greed of Feed

Mowi's Disease-Ridden Mortalities - 1.6 million+ in 101 incidents (2017-2018)

The Sorry State of Scottish Salmon Farming in 2018

Negative perception of Marine Harvest behind switch to Mowi

"We think it's completely wrong that the Mowi name will be associated with the kind of farming that Marine Harvest operates"

X-Rated Mowi: Preview of Marine Harvest's Horror Show

Media Backgrounder: MOWI - Unfit for Purpose

Scottish salmon farms in disease hell row after tons of rotting fish dumped in skips

Whistleblower photos of Marine Harvest

Sunday Mail: "Gutted - 300,000 salmon are killed as storm batters fish farm"

The welfare status of salmon farms in Scotland

Named: Supermarkets selling salmon from 'poor' welfare firms

EXPOSED: Gruesome Photos of Deformed & Diseased Scottish Salmon

Horror photos of farmed salmon spark legal threat

Media Backgrounder: "Marine Harmfest Scotland"

24,500 fish escape from Marine Harvest farm after storm damage

Scottish Salmon's Mort Mountain Leaps Over 10 Million - FOI reveals 2.3 million dead salmon at Marine Harvest farms in 2017

Mapped: the 45 lochs polluted by fish farm pesticides

RSPCA in firing line over Marine Harvest's seal-killing spree in Scotland

16,000 salmon escape Argyll fish farm after storms

Fish company investigated after salmon farm pollutes Scottish loch - Marine Harvest, one of the largest fish-farming companies, is under investigation after polluting loch with pesticide

Revealed: the dirty dozen salmon farms that contaminate lochs with pesticides

Marine Harvest fined £23,500 for pollution

Campaigners want polluted salmon farm endorsed by Oliver to be shut

Posted at 02:07 PM | Permalink

FOI letter to Norwegian Food Safety Authority re. Infectious Salmon Anaemia

And:

Download FOI letter in full as a PDF online here

Read more via:

Posted at 11:24 AM | Permalink

Undercurrent News: "Iceland replaces Norway as main source of Scottish salmon eggs following import ban"

Undercurrent News reported (25 February 2020):

Read more via:

Posted at 11:15 AM | Permalink

Letter to Scottish Ministers: "Bio-security Protocols & Safety Precautions re. Ova Imports"

Download letter in full online here

The Scottish Government replied on 25 March 2020:

According to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE):

The Scottish Government's 'Biosecurity Measures Plan' states:

The Scottish Government's 'Disinfection Guide' is available online here

Read more via:

Posted at 09:27 PM | Permalink

The Ferret: "Imports of Norwegian salmon eggs banned over deadly virus"

The Ferret reported (24 February 2020):

Posted at 09:22 PM | Permalink

Norwegian Salmon Egg Exports Banned Due to Disease Risks

Read press release in full online here

Download press release in full (with media backgrounder and summary of FOI documents) online here

Documents disclosed by the Scottish Government to Scottish Salmon Watch via FOI-19-02663 on 14 February 2020 (published online on 17 February 2020):

FoI-19-02663 - Response letter from Scottish Government dated 14 February 2020

FoI-19-02663 - Documents for release (1)

FoI-19-02663 Documents for release (2)

FoI-19-02663 - Documents for release (3)

Copy of FoI-19-02663 - Salmon ova imports 2016

Copy of FoI-19-02663 Salmon ova imports 2018 to April 2019

Copy of FoI-19-02663 Salmon ova imports April 2019 to December 2019

Press release dated 24 February 2020 online here (previous version)

More via: FOI Dossier - Norwegian Ova Banned Due to ISA (February 2020)

Watch video reports:

The Global Aquaculture Alliance reported (1 June 2020):

The Norwegian Food Safety Authority reported (23 April 2020):

Posted at 09:21 AM | Permalink

Private Eye on Salmon Farming's 'Killing Fields'

Private Eye reported (No. 1516: 21 February - 5 March 2020):

Read more via:

Read more Private Eye articles by Old Trout online via:

Old Trout lives on in the Private Eye archive!

Private Eye issue 1098 (23 January 2004)

Private Eye issue 1042 (30 November 2001)

Private Eye issue 1021 (9 February 2001)

Private Eye issue 1126 (18 February 2005)

Private Eye issue 1036 (7 September 2001)

Private Eye issue 1172 (24 November 2006)

Private Eye issue 1104 (16 April 2004)

Private Eye issue 1109 (25 June 2004)

Private Eye issue 1117 (15 October 2004)

Private Eye issue 1053 (3 May 2002)

Private Eye issue 1075 (7 March 2003)

Private Eye issue 1087 (30 May 2003)

Private Eye issue 1087 (22 August 2002)

Private Eye issue 1017 (15 December 2000)

Private Eye issue 987 (15 October 1999)

Private Eye issue 984 (3 September 1999)

Private Eye issue 976 (14 May 1999)

Private Eye issue 981 (23 July 1999)

Private Eye issue 972 (19 March 1999)

Private Eye issue 1028 (18 May 2001)

Private Eye issue 1048 (22 February 2002)

Private Eye issue 1024 (23 March 2001)

And here's a few letters from March 2005:

And another letter from April 2004:

Subscribe to Private Eye magazine online here

Posted at 02:45 PM | Permalink

The Killing Farms - Scottish Salmon's Horror Story Continues!

New 'Case Information' published online by the Scottish Government last week (7 February 2020) gives a shocking snapshot into the lethal nature of salmon farming in Scotland.

In addition to mass mortalities on salmon farms (caused by infectious diseases, lice infestations and other production problems) the salmon farming industry is culling huge quantities of fish due to poor quality.

Scottish Salmon Watch has delved into the new 'Case Information' and puts some flesh onto the bones of 'The Killing Farms'.

First up is the shocking case of Norwegian-owned Scottish Sea Farms in Loch Spelve on the Isle of Mull (a site certified as "welfare-friendly" via RSPCA Assured). An inspection on 15 November 2019 by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate (published online on 7 February 2020) revealed that out of 382,344 salmon stocked on the site only 24,000 were harvested with 199,124 culled and 177,588 morts due to Complex Gill Disease (the figures are still estimates and need to be confirmed by Scottish Sea Farms - a company exposed by the BBC 'One Show' over mass mortalities back in 2017 in Loch Kishorn).

The 'mortality rate' was listed by the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation as a staggering 37.2% in October 2019 and a cumulative mortality rate of 40.6% (and the site was listed as 'fallow' - i.e. empty - in November 2019).

However the survival rate (i.e. the number of fish which made it to harvest) was a meagre 6% with only 24,000 harvested out of 382,000 stocked in the farm. Imagine walking past a field and seeing only 24 cows alive in a graveyard of over 350 dead cows. Faced with such animal cruelty the public would be outraged (yet the RSPCA continue to make over £500,000 per year from certifying Scottish salmon farms as 'welfare-friendly').

Incomplete mortality data published by the Scottish Government on 7 February 2020 reveals that Scottish Sea Farms reported six 'Mortality Event Reports' in Loch Spelve during 2019 (five of them in November) with a mortality rate as high as 22.1% but numbers of dead farmed salmon per incident was "not provided".

However, the PSI case 20190701 referred to above does not provide more detailed information and it is apparent that the Fish Health Inspectorate did not even visit the Loch Spelve salmon farm - with zero hours spent on site (i.e. the inspection took place over the phone!).

So let's go through that again - a staggering 199,124 farmed salmon were culled and a whopping 177,588 farmed salmon were reported as dead in what is believed to be one of the biggest die offs in recent years. It seems mortalities started on 16 September 2019 and continued throughout October until 29 October 2019 when the site became fallow. Yet the Fish Health Inspectorate was not officially informed until 14 November 2019 and an 'inspection' took place over the phone on 15 November 2019 with a letter sent to Scottish Sea Farms on 16 November 2019.

Doesn't that stink to high heaven to you? Scottish Salmon Watch have asked the Fish Health Inspectorate for further details on this shocking case including specific details on the numbers of dead fish and why Scottish Sea Farms did not notify the Fish Health Inspectorate much sooner. And how can the RSPCA - which shamelessly certify the Loch Spelve salmon farm via RSPCA Assured - endorse such cruelty and suffering?

It was not until 3 March 2020 that the Scotland's Aquaculture web-site published data on the weight of mortalities in Loch Spelve in October 2019 - a staggering 192 tonnes (data on the number of mortalities has not been published since 2013 following industry lobbying claiming that disclosure would be 'commercially damaging')!

You might also ask where was the SSPCA when hundreds of thousands of farmed salmon were dying in Loch Spelve. The person to contact would be Ronnie Soutar who is the Chair of the SSPCA and also just happens to be head of veterinary services at Scottish Sea Farms. The SSPCA was heavily criticised in 2018 when another salmon farming company - The Scottish Salmon Company - was guilty of severe welfare abuse in Loch Roag.

In view of the piss-poor surveillance of salmon farms it is not surprising that over 44,000 people have signed a SumOfUs petition calling for unannounced inspections of salmon farms.

Unlike the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate, Scottish Salmon Watch actually visited Loch Spelve in August 2018 and obtained shocking video footage of lice-infested 'cleaner fish' swimming inside the Scottish Sea Farms site (which had been fitted with a 'lice skirt').

Here's more video footage from the RSPCA Assured (formerly called Freedom Foods) salmon farm in Loch Spelve:

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited another salmon farm operated by Scottish Sea Farms off Shuna Island in Loch Linnhe in July 2019, Police Scotland acted as private security and told us we required permission from the Norwegian-owned giant to be in public waters.

Last week (7 February 2020) the Scottish Government published updated mortality data for salmon farms up to the end of December 2019.

The Fish Health Inspectorate data includes over 10,000 dead salmon due to chemical overdosing at Grieg Seafood's Linga salmon farm in Setterness in December 2019:

The Fish Health Inspectorate 'Case Information' published on 7 February 2020 refers to an "error in concentration of bath treatment" (Salmosan - an Azamethiphos-based organophosphate known to kill shellfish) with the chemical treatment being aborted when "a few fish were starting to go over".

It is not only mass mortalities of farmed salmon but so-called 'cleaner fish' which die in their thousands on salmon farms. The newly published 'Case Information' for December 2019 includes the deaths of 10,000 lumpfish (100% mortality) due to bacterial infection as well as thousands of dead farmed salmon due to "grumbling CMS" (Cardiomyopathy Syndrome) at The Scottish Salmon Company's salmon farm in Loch Odhairn on the Isle of Lewis.

Shamefully, mortalities of cleanerfish (raised as a welfare problem in a report published in December 2018 by OneKind) are not routinely reported by the Fish Health Inspectorate. The Scottish Salmon Company's Loch Odhairn salmon farm has an appalling history of mass mortalities - filing 22 'Mortality Event Reports' totaling over 345,000 dead farmed salmon since 2017. In four cases the number of morts was "not disclosed" with the FHI writing in one case: "Company unwilling to disclose the % of the mortality or the number of fish involved" and "Discussions ongoing to get actual figures".

Further 'Case Information' for December 2019 published by the Scottish Government on 7 February 2020 details a mass mortality of 25,966 dead salmon due to the Thermolicer at Mowi's farm in Loch Duich (a contentious site which Mowi has pledged to close down).

This was reported via the Scottish Government's new mortality data for December 2019 published online on 7 February:

Watch video footage of the Thermolicer torture chamber in action at Mowi's salmon farm in Loch Leven:

The horror of the culling farms knows no bounds - here's another case report from December 2019 (published by the Scottish Government on 7 February 2020) detailing the culling of 199,000 farmed salmon in August 2019 "due to poor quality" at The Scottish Salmon Company's Barvas Hatchery on the Isle of Lewis.

The Fish Health Inspectorate's mortality data records three 'Mortality Event Reports' at The Scottish Salmon Company's Barvas Hatchery with one mass mortality of 90,000 farmed salmon citing costia, fungus and deformities along with "poor ova quality".

Another FHI 'Case Information' report for The Scottish Salmon Company in December 2019 reveals culls at Loch Langavat on their Isle of Harris - including 25,088 in November 2019 due to "quality reasons" and a "grading cull" of 21,407 in October 2019 and another "grading cull" of 30,557 in September 2019.

The Fish Health Inspectorate's mortality data records two 'Mortality Event Reports' at The Scottish Salmon Company's Loch Langavat site with 34,000 dead farmed salmon due to fungus (shockingly it seems other farmed salmon infected with fungus were "transferred to sea during same week, on veterinary advice".

Another FHI 'Case Information' report for The Scottish Salmon Company in December 2019 reveals regular culls at the Amhuinnsuidhe Hatchery on the Isle of Harris. The report details "quality culls through the year at grading or vaccination usually about 25,000" with a "159,000 quality cull due to small size" in November 2018. In February 2018 there were also 65,170 dead ova.

The poor quality of The Scottish Salmon Company's disease-ridden operations is obvious to anyone who has dared to lift the lid.

So instead of the call of the wild salmon, the horror story that is Scottish salmon has degenerated into the cull of the farms. Or as BBC reporter Joe Crowley put it on 'The One Show' in December 2017 (when exposing mass mortalities at Scottish Sea Farms in Loch Kishorn), the run of wild salmon leaping up waterfalls has been replaced by 'The Dead Salmon Run' and a convoy of haulage trucks transporting dead farmed salmon away from the Highlands & Islands of Scotland.