Comments made by the CEO of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council on BBC Countryfile last night (6 December 2020) ruling out certification for salmon farms reporting more than 10% mortality represents a hammer-blow for the predominantly Norwegian-owned salmon farming industry in Scotland.
Watch via BBC iplayer online here (salmon clip starts at 11 minutes 30 seconds)
The ASC's pledge to rule out certification for salmon farms reporting greater than 10% mortality leaves Mowi's commitment to 100% ASC-certification dead in the water along with dozens of other disease-ridden salmon farms across Scotland. Here's mortality data published by the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation - with cumulative mortality over the full production cycle (in the sea-phase) for all salmon farms harvested out in the last year (November 2019 to October 2020):
Out of 96 salmon farms which harvested out over the last twelve months (November 2019 to October 2020) only 22 would pass muster with the ASC's 10% mortality standard and a staggering 74 would fail - that's a pass rate of just 23% with 77% of salmon farms failing to meet the ASC standard.
If you focus on the 28 Mowi salmon farms which harvested out over the last year (SSPO data for November 2019 to October 2020) only one salmon farm (Sconser Quarry) reported cumulative mortality at less than 10% - with an average mortality rate of 24.4% (that's a quarter of all Mowi's farmed salmon dying a horrible death).
Anyone who has visited Mowi's salmon farms will recognise the stench of mortality.
Chris Ninnes (CEO of the ASC) will have been inundated with phone calls today by irate salmon farmers and lobbyists shocked at his comments.
As of today (7 December 2020), here's the salmon farms in Scotland currently certified, cancelled or under assessment by the ASC (all Mowi):
Mowi's Stulaigh salmon farm in Loch Eynort is currently undertaking an "initial audit" but this is a salmon farm with a mortality rate of 36.8% (the second highest of all Mowi salmon farms over the last year) and will a history of welfare abuse and infectious diseases.
No wonder Mowi did not want the public seeing photos!
Read more via "EXPOSED: Photo Disclosures Opens Floodgates to More Diseased & Deformed Scottish Salmon"
In 2013, WWF and Marine Harvest (who changed their name to Mowi in 2019 due to "negative consumer perception" in the name Marine Harvest) issued a joint press release pledging to be 100% ASC-certified by 2020.
In 2016, Marine Harvest pledged to have 100% of their salmon farms ASC-certified by 2020.
In May 2020, Mowi quietly moved the goalposts from 2020 to 2025.
Read more via:
BBC Countryfile features lice-infested RSPCA Assured salmon!
Alexa, how many salmon die each year on Scottish salmon farms? 42 million* (but we don't know for sure as the answer is deemed "commercially damaging")!
Dead in the Water - New Data Reveals Mass Mortalities & Disease on Scottish Salmon Farms
Anyone for ASC-Certified Scottish Salmon Doused in Carcinogenic Formaldehyde?
ASC-Certified Shellfish Killers (not to mention seals, diseases, lice, pollution etc)
EXPOSED: Scottish Salmon's Sustainability Scam
WWF Greenwashes Marine Harvest
The Abominable Salmon Council - Buyer Beware!
Pepé Le Pew Loves Farmed Salmon!
Addendum:
From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Dec 7, 2020 at 2:06 PM
Subject: Glenfinnan certification now rescinded?
To: Bertrand Charron <Bertrand.Charron@asc-aqua.org>, Info <info@asc-aqua.org>, Chris Ninnes <chris.ninnes@asc-aqua.org>
In view of Mowi's mortality rate at 20% at their ASC-certified Glenfinnan salmon farm, when will the ASC be rescinding certification?
Thanks,
Don Staniford
Director, Scottish Salmon Watch
Scottish Salmon Watch also notes that other Mowi salmon farms with an appalling track record of disease and mass mortalities are currently undergoing an initial audit. Note via
https://www.asc-aqua.org/find-a-farm/
Data published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate in August 2019 shows that Mowi's Cairidh salmon farm in Loch Ainort reported 11,433 mortalities in August 2019 out of a reported stock of 18,155 (although the Case Information also refers to 206,000 fish transferred from Mowi's Rum salmon farm):
https://www2.gov.scot/Resource/0054/00549126.pdf (start at p103).
Such information strongly suggests that mortality rates at Mowi's Cairidh salmon farm (especially if you account for mortalities at Rum when the fish were on site there) were far in excess of 10%. In fact, mortality data reported by the SSPO in October 2019 details 18.3% mortality at Cairdih and 17.8% at Gorsten (another Mowi salmon farm under initial assessment by the ASC):
https://www.scottishsalmon.co.uk/reports
Suffice to say that Scottish Salmon Watch encourages the ASC to review the mortality data published by the SSPO as well as Mowi in particular. If the ASC adopts a 10% mortality threshold (Scottish Salmon Watch would advocate much lower) for certification then Mowi's Gorsten salmon farm and Mowi's Cairidh salmon farm would be ruled out.
Best fishes,
Don
From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Tue, Dec 8, 2020 at 8:11 AM
Subject: Mowi's Stulaigh - 36.8% mortality with welfare abuse
To: Chris Ninnes <chris.ninnes@asc-aqua.org>, Bertrand Charron <Bertrand.Charron@asc-aqua.org>, Info <info@asc-aqua.org>
How can the ASC seriously consider certifying Mowi's Stulaigh salmon farm?
Best fishes,
Don
From: Bertrand Charron <Bertrand.Charron@asc-aqua.org>
Date: Tue, Dec 8, 2020 at 2:30 PM
Subject: RE: Glenfinnan certification now rescinded?
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Hi Don,
Thank you for your interest in, and support of, the ASC !
Please find below elements of reply to your question:
è « In view of Mowi's mortality rate at 20% at their ASC-certified Glenfinnan salmon farm, when will the ASC be rescinding certification? »
Firstly, it is important to stress that in order to maintain its independent position the ASC is not the one which ‘grants’ or ‘rescinds’ certification. Certificates are issued by an independent conformity assessment body (CAB). The CAB, or certifier, carries out the assessment of the farms and decides whether they meet the necessary requirements to become ASC certified, and also carries out ongoing ‘surveillance audits’ during the certification period to ensure ongoing compliance. This practice is referred to as third party certification and it is widely recognised as the highest level of independent assessment. ASC manages the Programme and is the ‘standard setter’; and all audit reports are transparently made available to the public via the ASC website. ASC thus does not generally comment on the specific performance of individual farms.
Regarding your comment regarding specific mortality rates, please do note that the ASC Salmon Standard sets several requirements, notably as per indicators 5.1.5, 5.1.6 and 5.1.7 [see excerpt below]. The ‘10%’ maximum mortality rate in a farm’s most recent production cycle refers to “viral disease-related mortality”* [5.1.5] and not to overall mortalities if other non-viral causes have been explained/specified. The latter could include predators, bacterial, algal-bloom, stress –related etc. mortalities. [* “Viral disease-related mortality count shall include unspecified and unexplained mortality as it could be related to viral disease.”]
Furthermore, and in all cases, ASC-certified salmon farms have to demonstrate to auditors (as per 5.1.7) that they have a “farm-specific mortalities reduction programme that includes defined annual targets for reductions in mortalities and reductions in unexplained mortalities”.
Should you want to learn more about the ASC Salmon Standard and its precise/specific requirements, I would kindly suggest that you read in full the document which can be found here: https://www.asc-aqua.org/what-we-do/our-standards/farm-standards/the-salmon-standard/
Best regards,
Bertrand Charron
Science & Sustainability Communications Manager
E: Bertrand.Charron@asc-aqua.org
Web: www.asc-aqua.org
On Twitter: @ASC_aqua
Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC)
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