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09/25/2020

Mowi's Legal Threat Over Filming

 

 

Ardintoul Photo #14 No Unauthorised Access

Toxic Keep Out

 

 

 

 

In July 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's salmon farm at Ardnish in Loch Ailort where the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) was asked in March 2020 to support a field trial of the banned neonicotinoid Imidacloprid.

 

 

 

Before our visit to Mowi's salmon farm in Loch Ailort (the oldest salmon farm in Scotland), Scottish Salmon Watch followed biosecurity procedures advised by the Scottish Government.

 

 

 

And ensured that safety was paramount throughout the visit on 18 July 2020.

 




 

Over two months later Scottish Salmon Watch received the following legal threat from Mowi's lawyer - the "sharp litigator" Euan McSherry who Scottish Legal News describes as "one of Scotland’s most highly rated litigation experts":

 

From: McSherry, Euan <[email protected]>
Date: Tue, Sep 22, 2020 at 6:50 PM
Subject: Letter issued by email to Mr Don Staniford from Mowi Scotland Limited regarding unauthorised access at Ardnish Finfish Farm at Loch Ailort
To: [email protected] <[email protected]> 

Our ref: 694168

Mr Don Staniford

Mowi Scotland Limited (the Company)

Unauthorised Access at Ardnish Finfish Farm at Loch Ailort

  1. We act for the Company which operates a number of finfish farm sites throughout Scotland. We have had repeated cause, and have written to you, to ask you to cease your unauthorised incursions and activities at the Company’s fish farms and processing plants in Scotland. This email focuses on your unauthorised incursion at the Company’s finfish farm at Ardnish at Loch Ailort (the Ardnish Farm).
  2. In each of our correspondences we requested that you refrain from taking unauthorised access to the Company’s farms for the reasons set out. The Company had hoped that you have ceased the activities complained of. However, this has not occurred. You attended the Ardnish Farm on 18 July 2020. You accessed the Ardnish Farm by kayak. You kayaked over the Company’s leased area of water and secured your kayak to the Company’s property. The property consists of a walkway surrounding feed trial pens and feed storage sheds (the Property). You accessed the walkway and walked over the Property. You filmed the Property in partial darkness.
  3. Your incursion and activities occurred without obtaining the permission of the Company. You were unaccompanied by any Company site personnel which is a serious breach of the Company’s health and safety policy for working over water and visiting the Company’s fish farms (the H&S Policy). In order to reduce the risk of injury and to control a visitor’s safety, no visitor is allowed on the water at any of the Company’s fish farms without being accompanied by at least two qualified Company personnel.  The following are further, serious breaches of the Company’s H&S Policy: you appear to be without a VHF radio contact or man down alarm in the event of an emergency; you are not wearing a thermal protection suit along with a Hybrid life jacket with 150 newtons auto inflation bladder with 50 newtons additional inherent buoyancy. Your actions are reckless and put you in danger of serious injury.
  4. This incident has been reported to the police in line with the Company’s policy for responding to intruders.
  5. As we stated in our earlier correspondences, the Company has legitimate and grave concerns about all unauthorised incursions and activities at its Sites as these contravene their biosecurity and health and safety policies and safe ways of working. All Company farms (whether aquatic or terrestrial) operated throughout Scotland need to ensure the highest standards of animal protection, and of staff and visitor health, safety and wellbeing. All visitors need to comply with site specific protocols in order to protect fish, visitors, staff and property.  
  6. The Company is concerned that your activities impact fish health and welfare; your own personal safety; staff health, safety and wellbeing; and property rights and obligations. These concerns apply not only to the Ardnish Farm, but to all the sites (the “Sites”) operated throughout Scotland by the Company. As well as the risk to fish health and welfare, the Company has duties to its staff, its regulators, the Crown Estate and the public to ensure that it prevents your potentially hazardous interference with the Company’s Sites. For those reasons, it will be forced to take further action unless you co-operate with its requests and desist from further unauthorised access at any of its properties and workplaces.
  7. In the circumstances detailed above, and in order to protect fish, visitors, staff and property, the Company requires you to desist from taking any further unauthorised access to, or having any further unauthorised interaction with, the Sites and requests that you provide an undertaking to desist in the terms contained in the undernote to this letter.  
  8. If you refuse or delay to confirm your undertaking in these terms the Company will be left with no choice but to take steps to protect the Company’s Sites, and its rights in relation thereto, through the courts.  No further warning will be given. We trust that will not be necessary and look forward to receiving the signed undertaking from you by no later than Friday, 25th September 2020.

Regards

Euan McSherry 
Partner | Aberdein Considine

Undernote:

I, Don Staniford, hereby undertake to the Company, that neither I, nor any person instructed on my behalf, will access or interfere with the Company’s Sites, and for the avoidance of doubt neither I nor any person instructed on my behalf, will take, or cause to be taken on to the Company’s Sites, any equipment, vehicles, vessels, goods, gear or other apparatus without the express written consent of the Company.

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch is seriously considering Mowi's legal threat.

 

 

 

Earlier this month (12 September 2020), Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's Ardnish salmon farm in Loch Ailort to monitor if the toxic neonicotinoid Imidacloprid (banned for use in terrestrial agriculture in 2018) was being used.

 

 

 

 



If the European Medicines Agency have their way then Imidacloprid will be used at salmon farms across Scotland (if it has not been used already). 

 

EMEA Imidacloprid approval Sept 2020 #1

 

 

 

 

In May 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch revealed that Mowi had lobbied SEPA to use the banned neonicotinoid Imidacloprid in a field trial at Ardnish in Loch Ailort.

 

 

 

 

PR Imidacloprid trial in Loch Ailort by Mowi 20 May 2020 #2

PR Imidacloprid trial in Loch Ailort by Mowi 20 May 2020 #3

 

 

 

 

 

 

Watch more video footage from Mowi's Ardnish salmon farm in Loch Ailort (a site visited by HRH the Duke of Edinburgh in 1974 leading to a Royal Warrant):

 

 

 

 

Last year, Mowi's lawyers issued similar legal threats following filming by Scottish Salmon Watch at other Mowi salmon farms.  

 

"The Go Pro camera never lies unlike salmon farming companies," said Don Staniford, Director of Scottish Salmon Watch in November 2019.   "Secret filming inside salmon farms, gruesome photos obtained via Freedom of Information and tip-offs from whistleblowers have lifted the lid on disease-ridden Scottish salmon.   Scottish Salmon Watch will continue to closely monitor this toxic and unhealthy industry and that means further filming inside and under filthy feedlots.  Norwegian-owned Mowi is operating in Scottish waters where the public have enshrined rights to navigation and access."

 

190702CMC_SalmonWatch-126

"Filming is in the public interest and the public has a right to know what's going on inside salmon feedlots," continued Staniford.  "Secret filming at Mowi's 'Bay of the Dead Heads' salmon farm in July prompted an investigation by the Animal & Plant Health Agency and media coverage in The Sunday National and The Ferret.  Shocking footage shot at The Scottish Salmon Company's welfare nightmare in Loch Shieldaig was broadcast by STV News in June and led to an unannounced site inspection by Marine Scotland's Fish Health Inspectorate.  Given the skeletons lurking in their cages, it is not surprising that Mowi physically blocked our filming at salmon feedlots in the Argyll Coast and Islands Hope Spot in September and now lawyers are threatening legal action following further filming earlier this month in Loch Alsh Special Area of Conservation.  Based on video footage and photographic evidence, Mowi is clearly breaking the Animal Health & Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006 in relation to 'unnecessary suffering', 'cruel operations' and 'ensuring the welfare of animals'."

 

Ardintoul Photo #9 Don

 

Read more via "The Go Pro Camera Never Lies (Unlike Salmon Farmers)"

 

 

In July 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's disease-ridden salmon farm in Loch Greshornish on the Isle of Skye.

 

 

 

And in July 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's disease-ridden salmon farm at Port Na Moine in Loch Craignish.

 

 

 

When we visited the same Mowi farm in September 2020 it was the same toxic salmon soup with containers of Formic acid and Hydrogen peroxide littering the shore of Loch Craignish.

 

 

 

When we kayaked out to Mowi's salmon farm at Port Na Moine in Loch Craignish in September 2o20 the farmed salmon looked anything but healthy.

 



 

In July 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch filmed dead salmon floating on the surface of Mowi's salmon farm in Lough Swilly in Ireland.

 

 

 

In November 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's lethal salmon farming operations in Loch Alsh. 

 

Photo Ardintoul Mowi land base 2 Nov 2019 #9 soupy morts

 

 

 

 

 

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's salmon farms around Shuna in September 2019 our kayak was rammed and we filed a complaint for reckless behaviour.

 

 

 

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's salmon farm at Ardgour in Loch Linnhe in July 2019 it prompted a complaint to the Health & Safety Executive.

 

 

 

Another visit to Mowi's Ardgour salmon farm in July 2020 showed the cruel nature of factory fish farming.

 

 

 

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's 'Bay of the Dead Heads' salmon farm in July 2019 it led to a welfare abuse investigation by the Animal & Plant Health Agency.

 

 

Sunday National 10 Nov 2019 newspaper version in full

 

 

Diver David Ainsley published further video footage at Mowi's 'Bay of the Dead Heads' salmon farm in September 2019.

 

David Ainsley Vimeo Sept 2019 #1 mort grab

 

 

Video footage of dead salmon at Mowi's Poll Na Gille salmon farm - rated by One Kind as the worst salmon farm in Scotland - was posted by David Ainsley in 2017:

 

David Ainsley photo #2 dead salmon at bottom of net

David Ainsley photo #3

 

 

When Scottish Salmon Watch filmed at Mowi's Poll Na Gille salmon farm in September 2019 we were chased away (Scottish Salmon Watch wrote a letter to the Chief Executive of the Maritime & Coastguard Agency regarding Mowi's intimidation, harassment and reckless navigation).

 

 

 

Welfare abuse including the deaths of 300,000 farmed salmon at Mowi's Carradale salmon farm in Kilbrannan Sound in 2018 prompted a whistleblower to leak shocking images of skinned alive Mowi salmon.

 

Whistleblower Carradale #2 video with faces blackened out

 

 

 

 

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's salmon farm in Loch Arkaig in July 2019 the discovery of a cache of carcinogenic chemical containers led to media coverage in The Sunday Times.

 

 

 

In May 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch filmed rows upon rows of chemical containers to be used on salmon farms (including those owned by Mowi).

 

 

 

Video footage shot during a visit in May 2019 to Mowi's Loch Leven salmon farm showed welfare abuse of the Thermolicer - a public interest issue featured in The Herald and The Sunday Times and an issue which may yet trigger legal action itself.

 

 

 

 

 

In January 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch revealed disease-ridden Mowi as the source of dead salmon.

 

 

 

 

 

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's salmon farms at Gorsten in Loch Linnhe and Loch Ewe in November 2018 we nearly vomited from the stench of diseased salmon - with The Sunday Mail reporting on the "disease hell".

 

 

 

 

Sunday Mail 24 Nov 2018 # Newspaper version

 

 

French and Latvian TV featured the public interest issue in December 2018 with video footage of Mowi's diseased salmon broadcast around the world.

 

Latvian TV #4 Don with reporter on top of skip

Latvian TV #4 Don with Go Pro on top of skip

 

 

The same nauseating smell of diseased Mowi salmon permeated the air when Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's Loch Torridon farm in September 2020.

 

 

 

Not much had changed since we visited in November 2018.

 

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch would like to visit other Mowi salmon farms to expose disease-ridden operations.   The Daily Mail reported in January 2018 on mass mortalities at a Mowi salmon farm in Loch Erisort:

 

Daily Mail 27 Jan 2018 #1 newspaper version double pager

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch, despite objections from lawyers acting for salmon farming companies, have forced the disclosure of damning photos of farmed salmon via the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate including shocking images from Mowi's RSPCA Assured farms in Loch Erisort, Loch Alsh, Loch Greshornish, Loch Linnhe, Isle of Rum and Kingairloch.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi's Kingairloch salmon farm in Loch a Choire in July 2020 we did not have time to board the farm but witnessed the factory farming operations.  

 

 

 

This is a Mowi salmon farm where welfare abuse had been photographed by the Fish Health Inspectorate in April 2019.

 

FHI April 2019 Kingairloch Photo #2

 

FHI April 2019 Kingairloch Photo #3

 

FHI April 2019 Kingairloch Photo #4

 

 

Here's more gruesome photos published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate which help explain why Mowi does not want the public knowing the ugly truth about RSPCA Assured Scottish salmon.

 

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #3 Mowi Tabhaigh

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #4 Mowi Port na Cro

 

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #6 Mowi Poll na Gille

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #7 Mowi Rum

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #16 Mowi Stulaigh

 

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #20 Mowi Groatay

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #21 Mowi Grey Horse Channel

 

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #24 Mowi North Shore

 

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #36 Mowi Ardintoul

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #37 Mowi Scotasay

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #38 Mowi Scotasay

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #39 Mowi Raineach

 

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #44 Mowi Ardmaddy

Photo Dossier of FHI Case Information Feb 2020 #45 Mowi Ardmaddy

 

Mowi may have changed their name from Marine Harvest (much to the disgust of the Mowinckel family) in January 2019 (Mowi's CEO admitting that the name change was due to negative consumer perception).  However, it's still the same shite being spewed by a company which is both ethically and environmentally bankrupt.

 

 

 

 

 



 

Scottish Salmon Watch strongly believe that there is a public interest in exposing the toxic practices of a Norwegian-owned company with an appalling history of polluting Scotland's pristine waters and spreading infectious diseases, parasites, pathogens and viruses.  

 

Skye blog #3 Elseanne

 

 

 

The Norwegian owner of Mowi - John Fredriksen - is a public figure who commands media attention as the #141  on the Forbes Billionaires List worth $9.9 billion and #18 on The Sunday Times 'Rich List' 2019 with a house in Chelsea that even the Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich could not buy. 

 

 

 

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch will continue to highlight the sham, scam and consumer con that is Scottish salmon and that inevitably means focusing video surveillance and monitoring on Scotland's largest operator.

 

Counterfeit Fredriksen

 

Salmonopoly with Fredriksen

 

 

Mowi is leaving a legacy of pollution, welfare abuse and environmental destruction across Scotland - not to mention a bad smell - and Scottish Salmon Watch will continue to publish video evidence. 

 

 

 

 

Mowi's Loch Ailort salmon farm at Ardnish - the subject of Mowi's latest legal threat - is particularly interesting as it is the proposed site of a field trial of the banned neonicotinoid Imidacloprid (a chemical which scientists have cautioned against).   In fact, in the August 2020 issue of British Wildlife the public concern over the use of Imidacloprid by Mowi in Loch Ailort was so high that the publisher decided it warranted an Editorial by Professor Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex. 

 

 

 

 

The public interest in Mowi's use of Imidacloprid also led to an article The Sunday Times in June 2020:

 

 

 

 

And coverage on BBC Radio via Farming Today in June 2020.

 

 

 

 

The issue of Mowi's proposed use of Imidacloprid in Loch Ailort was also raised in May 2020 with the Scottish Government by the Scottish Greens.

 

 

 

 

 

Scottish Salmon Watch will not be intimidated by legal threats and will continue to shine a light on the deadly world of Mowi and other salmon farming companies operating in Scotland.

 

 

 

 



 

Moreover, Scottish Salmon Watch questions the legality of a company which has appropriated public waters and blocks public navigation.

 

 

 

Cheers. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read more via:

Secret Salmon - On the Trail of Imidacloprid Use in Scotland!

Fish Farmers Resorting to Some Extravagant Prose

Letter to the Prince of Wales re. bee-killing Imidacloprid use at royal warrant holder Mowi

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

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

Fighting Mowi's Legal Action Over Filming at Salmon Farms

 

 

 

 

 

 

 




Posted at 09:40 AM |

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