Open letter to the ASC: Please cancel all certification of Mowi's toxic Scottish salmon!

Open letter to the ASC: Please cancel all certification of Mowi's toxic Scottish salmon! https://t.co/N9MwDaN0kQ @ASC_aqua @MowiScotlandLtd @fms_scotland @SalmonTroutCons
Scottish salmon is farmed irresponsibly not responsibly! @rspcaassured @ASA_UK @sainsburys @Tesco @LidlGB pic.twitter.com/3L76as7mTY
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 6, 2022

From: Don Staniford <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Jan 6, 2022 at 4:15 PM
Subject: Please cancel all ASC certification of Mowi's toxic Scottish salmon!
To: <[email protected]>, Jack Cutforth <[email protected]>, Chris Ninnes <[email protected]>, Bertrand Charron <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>, <[email protected]>

Scottish Salmon Watch has serious concerns over the certification of toxic and disease-ridden Scottish salmon as "farmed responsibly" via the Aquaculture Stewardship Council. Surely the ASC is guilty of false advertising over your logo in relation to the certification of pharmed salmon?

If the ASC was being more honest with consumers it would use the advertising and marketing logo "farmed irresponsibly".

The ASC should be aware of complaints filed with advertising and trading standards in November 2021 against Mowi's "responsibly farmed" Scottish salmon sold via Sainsbury's and Tesco.

Irresponsibly Farmed Scottish Salmon - Complaints Filed Vs Supermarkets with Advertising & Trading Standards! @ASA_UK @CMAgovUK @TSScot @NTSscamsteam @wirraltsd @CEC_TS @GlasgowCC @SalmonScotland @ScotlandSalmon @Ecohustler @animal_concern @ClientEarth https://t.co/XjkuDA7WsB pic.twitter.com/d4dp6VURvU
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 22, 2021

In view of the ASC's certification of Mowi's toxic, lice-infested and mortality-laden salmon farms, perhaps you should seriously think about deleting "farmed responsibly" in your marketing and advertising before falling foul of the regulators?

Mowi's "responsibly farmed" Scottish salmon sold by @tesco & @sainsburys is subject of a complaint filed by campaigners with advertising & trading standards @ASA_UK @CMAgovUK @TSScot @SSC_seafood https://t.co/XjkuDA7WsB
Scottish salmon is irresponsibly farmed! @ScotlandSalmon pic.twitter.com/PzmQeFu5D3
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 22, 2021

Certifying salmon farms with mortality rates in excess of 20% makes a mockery of the ASC's salmon standards.

Exposed: Certification of 'responsibly' farmed @MowiScotlandLtd via the Aquaculture Stewardship Council @ASC_aqua permits mortality rates at salmon farms in excess of 36% (not to mention the use of cancer-causing chemicals & antibiotics)! https://t.co/HsXs18bIo6 @rspcaassured pic.twitter.com/XR0vxDDfrQ
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 13, 2021

Mortality data published online by the Scottish Government details 6.6 million mortalities reported via 359 'Mortality Event Reports' from Mowi alone between January 2019 and 11 October 2021 - including multiple cases involving toxic chemicals and antibiotics at sites already certified as "responsibly farmed" via the Aquaculture Stewardship Council or undergoing 'Initial Audit':

Sea lice data published online by the Scottish Government since March 2021 (data available until early December 2021) also reveals infestation at Mowi - including ASC certified sites and those salmon farms undergoing 'initial audit' - with a staggering 274 cases of Mowi fish farms exceeding 1 lice per fish. Here's the most lice-infested Mowi salmon farms headed by Caolas a Deas which is currently being audited for ASC certification and ASC-certified Loch Harport:

In December 2020, the ASC's CEO Chris Ninnes claimed on BBC Countyfile that only salmon farms with less than 1 lice per fish (as well as less than 10% mortality) would be suitable for ASC certification:

Watch Chris Ninnes, CEO of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, on @BBCCountryfile hammer the nail in the coffin of Scottish salmon by demanding less than 10% mortality on @ASC_aqua certified farms - 77% of salmon farms cannot meet the mortality standard! @SSPOsays @ScotlandMowi pic.twitter.com/TZzuKoIXWB
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 8, 2020

According to the Scottish Government's lice data (published online here), there were 69 cases of Mowi breaching 1 lice per fish at ASC-certified salmon farms (Linnhe, Leven, Marulaig Bay, Stulaigh, Gorsten, Harport, Rum and Invasion Bay) and salmon farms currently being audited by the ASC (Caolas a Deas West and East, Camus Glas, Alsh, Groatay, Grey Horse Channel, Duich, Greanem and Ardintoul). Here's the worst 40:

Data disclosed by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency reveals huge doses of the antibitotic Florfenicol by Mowi at Loch Duich (a site under 'initial audit' by the ASC) and at Ardgour in Loch Linnhe (a site already certified by the ASC); and the use of Oxytetracycline by Mowi's salmon farms at Ardgour in Loch Linnhe and Camus Glas (Mowi sites under 'initial audit') and Mowi's ASC-certified salmon farms at Gorsten, Invasion Bay and MacLeans Nose.

Norwegian giant @MowiScotlandLtd accounted for 57% of antibiotic use (Oxytetracycline & Florfenicol) between 2015 & 2019 with @GriegShetland accounting for 34% & @CookeScotland 8%. Zero antibiotic use was reported by @scotseafarms & @salmon_scottish @ScotlandSalmon @scotgov pic.twitter.com/wzt4TOq1fk
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 9, 2021

Here's the largest users of Aquatet (Oxytetracycline) between 2015 and 2019 - the list is dominated by Marine Harvest/Mowi (Marine Harvest changed their name to Mowi on 1 January 2019 due to "negative consumer perception") who is responsible for 22 out of the 23 doses:

Here's the largest users of Florocol (Florfenicol) between 2015 and 2019 - with Marine Harvest/Mowi responsible for 39 of the 71 reported doses followed by Grieg Seafood (15), Cooke (12), Kames (4) and Loch Duart (1). By far the biggest dose of Florfenicol was by Mowi in Loch Duich - a Special Area of Conservation, contentious site which Mowi claimed in 2019 would be closed down and a site being audited for ASC-certification:

How can the ASC justify certification of salmon farms using increasing doses of antibiotics?

Antibiotic use doubles on Scottish salmon farms in a year! 5.6 tonnes of Oxytetracycline & Florfenicol used in 2020 according to @vmdgovuk report published in November 2021 @ScotlandSalmon
Just say no to drugs, say no to Scottish pharmed salmon! @MowiScotlandLtd @GriegShetland pic.twitter.com/X4vB8A35GR
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 9, 2021

Scottish Salmon Watch understands that Mowi's Sconser Quarry and Maol Ban salmon farms were cancelled in November 2020 due to excessive use of antibiotics.

Here's the ASC's cancellation notice:

The use of the toxic chemicals Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin, Emamectin benzoate, Formaldehyde (Formalin) and Hydrogen peroxide on ASC-certified salmon farms and sites currently being audited for ASC-certification should be enough to blow ASC certification out of the water.

Revealed: Mowi's toxic salmon - farms currently being audited @ASC_aqua as "responsibly farmed" have reported over a dozen doses of lobster-killing Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos & Emamectin benzoate since 2019! @MowiScotlandLtd @rspcaassured @ScotlandSalmon https://t.co/cxEj1GFxlh pic.twitter.com/My2mwNlmBg
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 6, 2022

Scottish Salmon Watch has number-crunched published data on toxic chemical use by Mowi since 1 January 2019 and the worst Mowi salmon farms in terms of the use of the shellfish-killing chemicals Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate is Caolas a Deas West and East (both currently being audited via the ASC) with 18 doses of toxic chemicals (data up to June 2021).

In July 2021, Mowi's Caolas a Deas West salmon farm in Loch Shell reported two more doses of Azamethiphos (950g) and Deltamethrin (40g) and Mowi's Caolas a Deas East salmon farm reported two more doses of Azamethiphos (2750g) and Deltamethrin (40g).

Mowi has an appalling track record of chemical pollution in Loch Shell. In 2013, The Guardian reported (when Mowi was named Marine Harvest):

In September 2021 (the latest data available), another 510 grams of Azamethiphos was used by Mowi at Caolas a Deas East in Loch Shell and another 570 grams at Caolas a Deas West:

Other Mowi salmon farms reporting over a dozen doses of toxic chemicals between January 2019 and June 2021 include the ASC-certified MacLeans Nose in Loch Sunart (17), ASC audited Grey Horse Channel (16), ASC-certified Invasion Bay in Loch Sunart (13), and ASC audited Camus Glas in Loch Sunart (13):

Other Mowi salmon farms reporting 12 doses of toxic chemicals between January 2019 and June 2021 include Groatay and Ardintoul - both currently audited for ASC certification:

Mowi's Groatay salmon farm reported another dose of Emamectin benzoate in July 2021; another dose of Azamethiphos in August 2021 and doses of both Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate in September 2021.

Mowi's Stulaigh salmon farm is already certified by the ASC despite using 10 doses of toxic chemicals between September 2019 and May 2021:

In October 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch forced the disclosure of gruesome photos from Mowi's Stulaigh salmon farm in Loch Eynort despite objections from Mowi:

Far from reducing the use of toxic chemicals as demanded by the ASC Salmon Standard v1.3 (July 2019), the latest data published by Scotland's Aquaculture shows that the use of toxic chemicals has increased at Mowi salmon farms. During 2021 (data only up to September 2021 - i.e. missing for Q4) Mowi used more Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate than in 2020 - with treble the amount of lobster-killing Deltamethrin used by Mowi in 2021 compared to 2020! If you focus on ASC-certified Mowi salmon farms (Linnhe/Ardgour, Gorsten, Leven, Marulaig Bay, Rum, Harport, Stulaigh, MacLeans Nose and Invasion Bay) or Mowi salmon farms undergoing an 'initial audit' for ASC certification (Camus Glas, Caolas a Deas West & East, Alsh/Sron, Duich, Ardintoul, Groatay, Greanem and Grey Horse Channel) then a picture of increasing not decreasing toxic chemical use emerges. For example, Mowi's Camus Glas salmon farm used 66% more Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate in 2021 than in 2020 even though data for the last three months of 2021 is not yet available:

Mowi's Caolas a Deas East salmon farm in Loch Shell has used more double the amount of Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate in the first nine months of 2021 than in the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined!

Mowi's Duich salmon farm - located in a 'Special Area of Conservation' - used the lobster-killing chemical Deltamethrin in 2021 but not in 2020 or 2019:

Mowi's Grey Horse Channel salmon farm has used more Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate in the first nine months of 2021 than in the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined:

Mowi's Groatay salmon farm has used 49% more Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate in the first nine months of 2021 (17,115 grams) than in the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined (11,466 grams):

Mowi's ASC-certified salmon farm off the Isle of Rum used four times more Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined!

Mowi's ASC-certified MacLeans Nose salmon farm in Loch Sunart used more Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin in the first nine months of 2021 (21,391 grams) compared to the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined (19,849 grams):

Mowi's ASC-certified Marulaig Bay salmon farm in South Uist used four times more Azamethiphos in the first nine months of 2021 than in the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined:

Mowi's ASC-certified Stulaigh salmon farm used four times more Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate during the first nine months of 2021 (10,900 grams) compared to the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined (2,458 grams):

The chemicals data presented above is just the tip of the iceberg. Read the smallprint in the Scotland's Aquaculture dataset and you will see that it does NOT include toxic chemical use via wellboats. The data therefore ignores ALL use of Hydrogen Peroxide as well as use of Azamethiphos and Deltamethrin via wellboats:

Data was disclosed in November 2019 by the Scottish Government via FOI-19-02442 - including well boat data disclosed via Dropbox on the use of lobster-killing Deltamethrin at Mowi's ASC-certified Gorsten salmon farm in Loch Linnhe:

Data on toxic chemical use by salmon farms via wellboats for 2019 was published by the Scottish Government in November 2020 (Salmosan Vet is the toxic organophosphate Azamethiphos) - including at ASC certified Rum and MacLeans Nose and ASC audited Loch Alsh, Camus Glas and Caolas a Deas West and East:

Another FOI disclosure by the Scottish Government in November 2019 (191018-HydrogenPeroxide-18) detailed use of Hydrogen peroxide in 2018 - here's Mowi salmon farms ranked in order of highest use (headed by Marulaig Bay which is certified as "responsibly farmed" by the ASC and followed by Groatay and Grey Horse Channel which are both undergoing an 'initial audit' for ASC certification):

Site specific data on the carcinogenic chemical Formaldehyde (Formalin) use is not published via Scotland's Aquaculture database and has only been made available via FOI. Scottish Salmon Watch reported in May 2020:

The Ferret reported in May 2020:

More than 22 tonnes of formaldehyde, which causes cancer, were poured into cages to disinfect salmon in Loch Ness, Loch Sheil, Loch Lochy and seven other lochs over nine months in 2019.https://t.co/qQ3vFdEiIA
— The Ferret (@FerretScot) May 24, 2020

A report on Formaldehyde use in Scottish salmon farming published by Fidra in May 2021 included data on the use by Mowi at ASC-certified salmon farms in Loch Lochy, Loch Shiel (Glenfinnan), Loch Garry and Loch Arkaig:

In view of the flood of toxic chemicals being used at ASC-certified and ASC audited salmon farms, what testing of chemical contaminants under salmon farms has been conducted at ASC-certified salmon farms and those currently undergoing an 'initial audit'? The most recently published testing of Mowi salmon farms by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency was back in February 2020:

Exceedances of the toxic chemical Emamectin benzoate - shown by peer-reviewed science to kill shellfish - in sediments under salmon farms have been reported at ASC-certified and ASC-audited salmon farms at Sron (Alsh), Camus Glas, Invasion Bay and Caolas a Deas East:

'Unsatisfactory' environmental monitoring surveys by SEPA have also been reported at ASC-certified salmon farms and salmon farms being audited for ASC certification:

The 'unsatisfactory' environmental monitoring surveys include Mowi's Portnalong salmon farm (this is understood to be the ASC-certified salmon farm named Harport):

Mowi's Groatay salmon farm - currently being audited for ASC certification - has also been rated as 'unsatisfactory':

Mowi's ASC-certified Invasion Bay salmon farm in Loch Sunart has also been rated by SEPA as 'unsatisfactory':

Mowi's Grey Horse Channel salmon farm - currently being audited for ASC certification - has also been assessed by SEPA as 'unsatisfactory':

The ASC should be aware that SEPA relaxed the rules on salmon farms in 2020 due to Cornonavirus and again in 2021 due to Brexit with the floodgates opened to toxic chemical use and environmental monitoring of salmon farms slipping through the regulatory net.

Moves by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to help the #salmon farming industry cope with #Brexit business losses are a "dereliction of duty", say campaigners.https://t.co/IoVSkN0pn5
— The Ferret (@FerretScot) February 3, 2021

Under the Cloak of #Coronavirus - SEPA open floodgates to lobster-killing chemicals! https://t.co/6AgXQXNlS2 @ScottishEPA Emamectin benzoate is so toxic to shellfish it should be banned not used at higher concentrations & at unlicensed sites @TerryAHearn @SSPOsays @marinescotland pic.twitter.com/4PVFfGl1NU
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 9, 2020

The latest salmon farm to be assessed by SEPA in terms of environmental monitoring surveys was in September 2020 with several Mowi salmon farms (including ASC-certified MacLeans Nose) surveyed in 2020 still "to be evaluated":

How does the ASC audit deal with 'unsatisfactory' environmental monitoring surveys and chemical contamination under salmon farms?

How can the ASC seriously justify the use of the banned neonicotinoid Imidacloprid - dubbed by Professor Dave Goulson of the University of Sussex as 'Novichok for insects' - on salmon farms?

Banned neonicotinoid Imidacloprid endorsed by @ASC_aqua as complying with "highest standards of sustainability" https://t.co/NPtMCfUo8N #Greenwashing #Toxic #Salmon @WeAreBenchmark @FerdOwner @MowiScotlandLtd
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 21, 2021

Anyone for Norwegian Salmon Marindaded in Banned Neonicotinoid Imidacloprid (don't worry it's ASC-approved)?! https://t.co/fn6TWu9qo4 #BMK08 #Ectosan #D10AquaticBlast @WeAreBenchmark @FerdOwner @ASC_aqua
Is toxic Norwegian salmon reaching consumers? @seafoodnorway @REMA1000 pic.twitter.com/BpytMop4U2
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) June 17, 2021

In conclusion, Scottish Salmon Watch calls on the ASC to cancel certification of all salmon farms in Scotland. This includes the 11 salmon farms currently being audited - including 9 Mowi salmon farms: