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03/11/2021

52 million deaths in Norway - how many millions died on Scottish salmon farms in 2020?

 

 

 

 

 

Norway's Fisheries Minister admitted this week that the deaths of farmed salmon during 2020 - calculated at 52 million - is "far too high".

 

Norway blog March 2021 #1

Norway blog March 2021 #2

Norway blog March 2021 #3

 

 

Intrafish reported in 2018 that 53 million salmon died on Norway's disease-ridden farms in 2017:

 

Norway deaths 53 million in 2017 Intrafish 23 May 2018 Tweet

 

Norway deaths 53 million in 2017 Intrafish 23 May 2018 #1

 

Norway deaths 53 million in 2017 Intrafish 23 May 2018 #2

 

 

Intrafish reported in 2020 that nearly 53 million farmed salmon die in Norway during 2019 with a mortality rate of 16%.

 

Norway deaths 52 million 2019 #1

Norway deaths 52 million 2019 #2

 

The disclosure of specific mortality numbers on Norwegian salmon farms is particularly interesting since salmon farmers in Scotland - ca. 80% of which is controlled/owned by Norwegian investors including the Norwegian Government - successfully lobbied against disclosure in 2013 arguing that publication of mortality numbers would be 'commercially damaging'.

 

SSPO lobbying #1

 

 

SSPO commercially damaging Times Oct 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

In November 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch estimated that 42 million farmed salmon die annually on salmon farms in Scotland (from hatch as eggs to 'catch' in sea cages) with ca. 20 million deaths in hatcheries and ca. 20 million in the sea phase of production.

 

 

 

 

Whereas the mortality rate in Norwegian salmon farming was reported as 16% in 2019, the mortality rate in Scotland is much higher according to official Scottish Government statistics with 26.2% mortality in 2019.  The latest fish farm production survey published in October 2020 details survival rate ranges between a low of 71.8% (i.e. 28.2% mortality) in 2007 and a high of 85.4% (i.e. 14.6% mortality) in 2012.   The survival rate drastically differs between regions too with survival in in 2017 as low as 58.2% (i.e. 41.8% mortality) in the North West and as high as 80.8% (i.e. 19.2% mortality) in the South West:

 

42 blog #31

 

42 blog #33 42 blog #34

 

 

Meanwhile, salmon farmers in Scotland (including Norwegian-owned Scottish Sea Farms and Norwegian/Faroese-owned The Scottish Salmon Company) continue to avoid disclosure of the numbers of mortalities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Scottish Salmon Company sometimes struggle to remember how many many farmed salmon died even when inspected by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate.

 

 

 

 

Read more via:

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")!

 

 

 

Posted at 07:49 AM |

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