Organic Scamon - The Soil Association's List of Shame! https://t.co/1IVXbipCco @SoilAssociation @SoilAssocScot @MowiScotlandLtd @CookeScotland
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 24, 2022
Find out which salmon farms are being greenwashed as "organic" - shame on the Soil Association for watering down their principles! pic.twitter.com/zUninjDAYy
Organic Scamon – the List of Shame!
- Soil Association Certified Salmon Farms & Salmon Farming Businesses (as of 23/3/2022)
Note that this list is sourced from the Soil Association’s ‘Organic Certificate Checker’ and may not be a complete list (the Soil Association has so far refused to provide a full list) - download as a PDF online here
Soil Association Producer Aquaculture On Growing Sites:
- Marine Salmon Farms:
Mowi Scotland Limited - Invasion Bay (Loch Sunart)
Mowi Scotland Limited – Leven (Callert)
Mowi Scotland Limited - Loch Harport (Portnalong)
Mowi Scotland Limited – Sconser (Isle of Skye)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland - Bay of Holland (Orkney)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland - East of Skelwick (Orkney)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland – Hoy (Orkney)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland - Mill Bay (Orkney)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland - South Cava (Orkney)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland – Turness (Orkney)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Ltd - Bay of Vady (Orkney)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Ltd – Westray
Organic Sea Harvest Ltd – Culnacnoc (Skye)
Organic Sea Harvest Ltd – Invertote (Skye)
Rysa Salmon Farm* – Lyness (Hoy, Orkney)
* unclear if it is a freshwater or a marine salmon farm (it looks like a marine site)
- Freshwater Salmon Farms:
Mowi Scotland Limited - Loch Arkaig (Lochaber)
Mowi Scotland Limited - Loch Garry (Lochaber)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland - Loch Garasdale (Argyll)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland - Loch Shin (Sutherland)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Ltd - Quoys Hatchery (Orkney)
EU Producer Aquaculture On Growing Sites:
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland – Turness (Orkney)
Soil Association Producer Aquaculture Hatcheries:
Mowi Scotland Limited - Inverpolly Hatchery (Sutherland)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland - Cairndow Hatchery (Argyll)
Highland Salmon Company Ltd - Wester Fearn Fish Farm (Ardgay, Ross-shire)
Soil Association: Feed Processor:
Mowi Scotland Ltd (Mowi Feed Plant, Kyleakin)
Soil Association Food Processor:
Mowi Scotland Ltd - Blar Mhor (Fort William)
Mowi Scotland Ltd - Registered Head Office (Rosyth)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland - Yell Packing Station (Shetland)
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Ltd - Orkney Packing Station (Kirkwall)
Aquascot Ltd (Alness, Ross and Cromarty)
Scottish Sea Farms Ltd (South Shian, Argyll)
Loch Duart Ltd (Dingwall, Ross and Cromarty)
Organic Sea Harvest Sales Ltd – Invergordon (Ross and Cromarty)
SB Smoked Salmon Ltd Trading as Smokin Brothers - Daylesford Organic (Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire)
St James Salmon Farms & Smokehouse Ltd – Annan (Dumfries & Galloway)
French AB Logo:
Mowi Scotland Ltd - Blar Mhor (Fort William)
Mowi Scotland Ltd - Registered Head Office (Rosyth)
EU Organic Wholesaler:
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland Ltd – Sales (Belshill, Strathclyde)
EU Organic Processor:
Aquascot Ltd (Alness, Ross and Cromarty)
Download a list of the salmon farms (including marine and freshwater), hatcheries, processing plants and salmon farming companies certified as "organic" by the Soil Association (as of 23 February 2022) online here
The supplier list does not specify salmon farms which may have had their 'organic' certification status suspended, withdrawn or cancelled (unlike the Aquaculture Stewardship Council which provides this information online - including Mowi certifications cancelled due to exceedances of antibiotics use, escape & "administrative reasons").
.
Which salmon farms have had their 'organic' certification suspended, withdrawn or cancelled? @SoilAssociation @SoilAssocScot
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 24, 2022
Did lice infestation at Mowi's Loch Harport salmon farm lead to 'organic' status being pulled? @MowiScotlandLtd @SalmonTroutCons https://t.co/1IVXbipCco https://t.co/AF3VqSKzBO pic.twitter.com/TElwGMaXUr
Note that you need the name of the company or farm to use the search function so unless you know the names of all the companies farming salmon 'organically' then some sites may slip through the net. If you search for the following companies here's what comes up via the 'Organic Certificate Checker':
The public can make a 'supplier list request' via an online form but it requires signing a waiver including: "1. The List supplied will be used only once and will not be copied or re-mailed without express permission. 2. The list will be used for this request only and only for the purpose specified. 3. The list will not be passed onto third parties". And the Soil Association points out: "Please be aware, due to the ongoing changing nature of the data we hold, the list supplied may not be completely exhaustive".
Last week (16 February 2022), Scamon Scotland requested a list of all salmon farms certified as "organic" from the Soil Association following a complaint filed with Trading Standards against Soil Association-certified 'organic' salmon sold by Ocado and Sainsbury's:
"Complaints against ‘organic’ Scottish salmon will only increase as the industry – especially Norwegian behemoth Mowi – target increased production of ‘organic’ salmon in a desperate attempt to greenwash their toxic business" https://t.co/DZVQ9cEB83@SoilAssociation @rspcaassured pic.twitter.com/XaYmcY4H20
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 16, 2022
From: Ian Ayling <iayling@soilassociation.org>
Date: Wed, 16 Feb 2022, 15:34
Subject: RE: Complaint vs Soil Association certified 'organic' Scottish salmon sold by Ocado & Sainsbury's
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Hello Don
Thank you for drawing this trading and advertising standards complaint to our attention
I noted that you are keen to get a list of Soil Association certified salmon farms in Scotland
If you can click through this link and complete your request then we have a way to share this information with you
https://www.soilassociation.org/certification/find-a-licensee/organic-certificate-checker/
We both know we don’t agree with each other on the level of change that you want to see in farming salmon. We remain committed to working hard to make the practices the best they can be
Kind regards
Ian
From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Sent: 16 February 2022 12:28
To: Ian Ayling <iayling@soilassociation.org>
Cc: Helen Browning <HBrowning@soilassociation.org>; Soil Association Certification <cert@soilassociation.org>; Contact <contact@soilassociation.org>
Subject: Complaint vs Soil Association certified 'organic' Scottish salmon sold by Ocado & Sainsbury's
Please note a complaint filed this morning: Complaint vs Ocado & Sainsbury's 'Organic' Scottish Salmon "Farmed Responsibly" by Mowi Filed with Trading & Advertising Standards
If you would like to provide any substantive evidence to back up the Soil Association's claims that 'organic' salmon farming is 'responsible' please feel free to pass on.
Scamon Scotland (formerly Scottish Salmon Watch) politely asks for a list of all Soil Association certified 'organic' salmon farms in Scotland.
Please note that 'organic' salmon farming production has trebled over the last year (2020 to 2021): Scottish 'Organic' Scamon Leaps 181% - 4,462 tonnes to 12,528 tonnes from 2019 to 2020!
Fish Farming Expert reported in December 2021:
"Mowi Scotland’s Invasion Bay farm in Loch Sunart has received organic certification from the UK Soil Association. The site is Mowi Scotland’s fourth seawater farm to attain Soil Association certification in just over a year. Its Loch Leven site gained certification towards the end of last year, and the Sconser and Harport sites on Skye were certified in March and April 2021 respectively. The company is now working on additional sites to add to the organic portfolio": https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/mowi-scotland-growing-organically/
Mowi's Loch Ewe salmon farm was certified by the Soil Association in 2020: https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/first-salmon-harvested-at-mowi-scotland-organic-site/
And Fish Farming Expert reported in August 2021:
"Salmon farmer Cooke Aquaculture Scotland today announced that its newest seawater site, at Bay of Holland in Stronsay, Orkney has become its tenth site to achieve Soil Association organic certification": https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/cooke-scotland-unveils-10th-organic-salmon-farm/
In addition to Cooke's Bay of Holland, could you please list all the other salmon farms currently certified as 'organic' by the Soil Association?
The 'Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2020' - published by the Scottish Government on 30 September 2021 - details only nine 'organic' salmon farms:
As today's complaint includes: "Scamon Scotland recommends that the Soil Association withdraw from certifying salmon farms as ‘organic’".
This was Tweeted this morning via https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1493855621749391368
If the Soil Association is going to continue to certify salmon farms as 'organic' then perhaps you should change the packaging to reflect the reality of salmon farming?
Tweeted via https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1493833997406937090/photo/1
Best fishes,
Don
Complaint filed vs @Ocado & @sainsburys for deceptive marketing of "responsibly sourced" Scottish salmon with Trading Standards @CMAgovUK
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 16, 2022
Breach of the 'Green Claims Code' over marketing of @MowiScotlandLtd 'organic' salmon @SoilAssociation @SoilAssocScot https://t.co/DZVQ9cEB83 pic.twitter.com/9EvfLvCv8l
Today (24 February 2022), Scamon Scotland reiterated the request for a full list of all salmon farms and salmon farming businesses certified as 'organic' by the Soil Association as well asking for information on salmon farms which have had their 'organic' certification cancelled or withdrawn:
Date: Thu, Feb 24, 2022 at 9:27 AM
Subject: Full list of salmon farms certified as 'organic' by the Soil Association?
To: Ian Ayling <iayling@soilassociation.org>
Cc: Helen Browning <HBrowning@soilassociation.org>, <cert@soilassociation.org>, <contact@soilassociation.org>
Has organic certification for @MowiScotlandLtd been withdrawn by @SoilAssociation for their lice-infested Loch Harport salmon farm? @SoilAssocScot https://t.co/OJK52PoSgB
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 4, 2022
Read more via:
- Complaint vs Ocado & Sainsbury's 'Organic' Scottish Salmon "Farmed Responsibly" by Mowi Filed with Trading & Advertising Standards
- Mowi Challenged to Back Up 'Green Claims' (After Ocado Pass the Buck)!
- Mowi's "100% Scottish" Salmon Imported from Ireland - 100% 'Organic' Bullshit!
- Organic Scamon: Ocado Challenged Over Mowi's 'Responsibly' Farmed Salmon - 100% Bullshit not 100% Scottish!
- Mowi's Pure Bullshit (#1 in a regular series): "hardly any chemical treatments at all"
- Ocean Rebellion Protest at Sainsbury's Against 'Toxic' Scottish Salmon Farming!
- Victory: The Pished Fish Sobers Up to False Claims Over "Sustainable" Scottish Salmon!
- Scamon Alert: The Pished Fish Challenged Over "Sustainably Sourced" Scottish Salmon
- 70,000 Sign Petition Vs "Responsibly Sourced" Scottish Salmon Sold by Sainsbury's!
- Ocean Rebellion protest vs M&S's "responsibly sourced" Scottish salmon!
- Greenwashing 'Sustainable' Salmon - how supermarkets brand themselves as "responsible" via ClientEarth!
- Gotcha: Mowi's "Responsibly Farmed" Scottish Salmon Caught in Advertising Standards Net!
- Supermarkets Investigated by Competition and Markets Authority - "Responsibly Farmed/Sourced" Green Claims Questioned!
- Bullshit Called on M&S's "Responsibly Sourced" Scottish Salmon!
- Media Backgrounder: Irresponsibly Farmed Scottish Salmon
- Irresponsibly Farmed Scottish Salmon - Complaints Filed Vs Supermarkets with Advertising & Trading Standards!
- Scottish 'Organic' Scamon Leaps 181% - 4,462 tonnes to 12,528 tonnes from 2019 to 2020!
- 'Organic' Salmon Fit for the Queen? Not Even Fit for Her Dogs!
- Toxic Salmon Corrodes Soil Association's 'Organic' Principles
- Scottish salmon is so not organic!
- Organic Salmon Belongs in the Bin Not Your Shopping Basket!
- Norwegian Government Asked to Divest from 'Unethical' & 'Irresponsible' Scottish Salmon!
- Dutch TV slams "organic" salmon
- EXPOSED: Scottish 'Organic' Scamon
- Organic” farmed salmon – let’s get real
- Loch Duart drops "sustainable" claim after advertising ruling
- Organic Scamon - The Greenwashing of Toxic Farmed Salmon
- Why organic salmon is causing a nasty smell
- Concern over organic salmon farms
- "Organically Farmed Salmon Is An Oxymoron" (The Organic Standard, 2001)
Revealed: Mowi's "100% Scottish" Salmon Imported from Ireland! @MowiScotlandLtd
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 8, 2022
100% 'Organic' Bullshit! @SoilAssociation @SoilAssocScot @Ocado @ASA_UK @CMAgovUK @TheGrocer @JoannaBlythman https://t.co/OodTP3UEB5 pic.twitter.com/LTPYJ8hM0t
Addendum:
On 7 March 2022, Scamon Scotland requested further information and clarification on the 'organic' status of salmon farms in a letter sent to the Soil Association - download in full as a PDF online here
The 21 page letter ended with:
Date: Mon, Mar 7, 2022 at 2:52 PM
Subject: Re: FW: Full list of salmon farms certified as 'organic' by the Soil Association?
To: Ian Ayling <iayling@soilassociation.org>, Soil Association Certification <cert@soilassociation.org>, <contact@soilassociation.org>, Helen Browning <hbrowning@soilassociation.org>
Best fishes,
Don Staniford
Director, Scamon Scotland
Cooke change their 'organic' web-page from "all our sites are accredited by the Soil Association" to "all our organic sites are accredited by the Soil Association" (at 7 farms in Orkney) @SoilAssocScot @SoilAssociation https://t.co/4jvVMAD43i @cookeseafood @CookeScotland #Crook https://t.co/sxlrP9bn5Y pic.twitter.com/lokyLnFhBB
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 2, 2021