Green Around the Gills : 8 September 2022

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8 September 2022

09/08/2022

Protests Continue Vs Cooke's Salmon Farming Expansion Off Orkney - appeal vs East Moclett in the pipeline!

The battle goes on vs Cooke Aquaculture's 'organic' expansion off Orkney @RutterfordArt
"I find it particularly distressing that the planning process has been handled in such an underhand way. There has been a duplicitous lack of transparency" #Appeal @OrkneyCouncil @amy_may pic.twitter.com/X0ckYOw1cw
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

Commenting after the decision by Orkney Islands Council earlier this afternoon (8 September 2022) to grant approval to what will be Scotland's largest salmon farm off the island of Papa Westray, No East Moclett Group told $camon $cotland:

"No East Moclett Group is considering our options and will be filing an appeal subject to legal opinion. No means no - the population of Papay are fed up of having to fight off salmon farm developers from encroaching into their precious inshore waters" https://t.co/LgaNEHGVY1 pic.twitter.com/MqtdiCTJbe
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

"Granting approval without proper consultation or community support is an affront to local democracy. In ignoring blanket opposition, OIC and Cooke have treated islanders on Papa Westray with sheer contempt. No East Moclett Group is considering our options and will be filing an appeal subject to legal opinion. No means no - the population of Papay are fed up of having to fight off salmon farm developers from encroaching into their precious inshore waters. Enough is enough - allowing further expansion of 'organic' salmon farming in Orkney is a threat to the marine environment and tourism. Today's decision is just the beginning of our fight against Cooke and the council's unreasonable approval of Scotland's largest salmon farm".

"Granting approval without proper consultation or community support is an affront to local democracy. In ignoring blanket opposition, @OrkneyCouncil & @CookeScotland have treated islanders on Papay with sheer contempt" (No East Moclett Group)https://t.co/LgaNEHGo8t @amy_may pic.twitter.com/rFKLJqjJNm
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

"Enough is enough - allowing further expansion of 'organic' salmon farming in Orkney is a threat to the marine environment & tourism. This is just the beginning of our fight vs Cooke & the council's unreasonable approval of Scotland's largest salmon farm" https://t.co/LgaNEHGo8t pic.twitter.com/jdDjYNItj7
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 9, 2022

Here's audio of objections raised with Orkney Islands Council during the planning committee meeting on 8 September 2022 - when Cooke Aquaculture were granted approval to Scotland's largest 'organic' salmon farm despite overwhelming opposition locally on Papa Westray:

Poor decision making yet again by @OrkneyIslandsCouncil. A death knell served to the Papay #Marine Protected Area by approving yet another fish farm to be built in an environmentally sensitive area. #plasticpollution #Seagrass #kelpforest #biodiversity #Ecosystemservices
— Dr Joanne Porter #WorkingToContract (@JoanneSPorter) September 8, 2022

An application for a salmon farm off east Moclett, Papa Westray has been met with approval by #Orkney islands planning committee.

Hearing from 4 of the dozens of objectors and the applicant, the committee gave it the thumbs-up with no movement to refuse put forward.
— Andrew Stewart LDR (@ARMstew) September 8, 2022

Chris Rutterford - one of the UK's top mural artists - wrote to Orkney Islands Council in March 2022:

Cooke's salmon farm "will be massively detrimental for the island & will have nothing but a negative impact for all residents throughout the community not to mention the environment. This cannot be allowed to happen" (artist Chris Rutterford) @OrkneyCouncil @CookeScotland pic.twitter.com/ZcwlgDT760
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

The Orcadian reported (8 September 2022):

Disgraceful! Disgusting and utterly disrespectful! https://t.co/Nz0ukoLlA2
— Kate Chatto (@KateChatto1) September 9, 2022

Salmon Business reported (8 September 2022):

Organic Scamon: here's what Cooke Aquaculture's salmon from Westray on Orkney look like (as inspected by @marinescotland in May) @The_Orcadian @bbcorkney @OrkneyCouncil
Why does the @SoilAssociation certify salmon farms as 'organic'? @SoilAssocScot @CookeScotland @cookeseafood pic.twitter.com/7FTcnt01zG
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 24, 2022

Fish Farming Expert reported (8 September 2022):

Intrafish reported (8 September 2022):

Undercurrent News reported (8 September 2022):

MSPs steered away from disease-ridden Scottish salmon!

Just a thought - why don't MSPs visit salmon farms with mortality & disease problems? @ScotlandSalmon https://t.co/kjNDyAMgKa
If over half the livestock in a field were dying then the public would be outraged! @SP_NetZero @ArianeBurgessHI @fincarson @jenni_minto @LabourMercedes https://t.co/im6gT6DCpV pic.twitter.com/McYDxohAjR
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

Here's an email sent to MSPs scheduled to visit a salmon farm operated by Norskott Havbruk (Scottish Sea Farms) at Dunstaffnage near Oban on Sunday (11 September) or Monday (12 September):

From: Don Staniford <[email protected]>
Date: Thu, Sep 8, 2022 at 12:57 PM
Subject: MSP visit to Dunstaffnage salmon farm - why not peek inside Loch Creran?
To: <rural.committee@parliament.scot>, Burgess A (Ariane), MSP <Ariane.Burgess.msp@parliament.scot>, MSP <Rachael.Hamilton.msp@parliament.scot>, Carson F (Finlay), MSP <Finlay.Carson.msp@parliament.scot>, <Jenni.Minto.msp@parliament.scot>, <Beatrice.Wishart.msp@parliament.scot>, <Mercedes.Villalba.msp@parliament.scot>
Cc: Gougeon M (Mairi), MSP <Mairi.Gougeon.msp@parliament.scot>, Ruskell M (Mark), MSP <Mark.Ruskell.msp@parliament.scot>, MSP <Patrick.Harvie.msp@parliament.scot>, MSP <Ross.Greer.msp@parliament.scot>, Johnstone A (Alison), MSP <Alison.Johnstone.msp@parliament.scot>, <[email protected]>, <netzero.committee@parliament.scot>, <directormarinescotland@gov.scot>, <[email protected]>, Cathy Dwyer <[email protected]>, <Maggie.Chapman.msp@parliament.scot>, Fergus Ewing <Fergus.Ewing.msp@scottish.parliament.uk>, Forbes K (Kate), MSP <Kate.Forbes.msp@parliament.scot>, <Mairi.McAllan.msp@parliament.scot>, Mountain E (Edward), MSP <Edward.Mountain.msp@parliament.scot>, MSP <Alex.Rowley.msp@parliament.scot>, Beamish C (Claudia), MSP <Claudia.Beamish.msp@parliament.scot>, MSP <Maree.Todd.msp@parliament.scot>, Cameron D (Donald), MSP <Donald.Cameron.msp@parliament.scot>

I was reading that MSPs are scheduled to the Barcaldine hatchery and the Dunstaffnage salmon farm operated by Scottish Sea Farms: https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/scottish-parliament-scottish-sea-farms/msps-to-see-salmon-farming-up-close/1427183

During your visit why don't you take a boat trip from Barcaldine - Scottish Sea Farms have a boat there which can take you out to the site - to the Loch Creran salmon farm?

It's much closer than driving down to Dunstaffnage and then taking a boat out from there.

$camon $cotland kayaked out to the Loch Creran salmon farm in July (as well as visiting other Scottish Sea Farms sites in the Sound of Mull) and we were shocked to discover dead and diseased salmon at the RSPCA Assured site. You can watch video footage and see photos via:

Video Exclusive: Secret Filming Exposes Horrific Welfare Abuse Inside RSPCA Assured Scottish Salmon Farms

Photos of Welfare Abuse at RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms

A summary of video footage shot in Loch Creran two months ago is online via:

Secret Filming at Scottish Sea Farms 8 July 2022 Creran in Loch Creran

BBC Countryfile featured the RSPCA Assured salmon farm in Loch Creran in December 2020 - and once more found shocking welfare abuse:

BBC Countryfile features lice-infested RSPCA Assured salmon!

If you look at the latest biomass data published by SEPA via Scotland's Aquaculture, you will see that the Dunstaffnage salmon farm was empty of fish in December 2021 (the latest data available): http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/fish_farms_monthly_biomass_and_treatment_reports_record.aspx?monthly_data_id=4692883

If you look at Salmon Scotland's data then you will see that the Dunstaffnage salmon farm was only stocked in May 2022: https://www.salmonscotland.co.uk/sites/default/files/2022-07/may_2022.pdf (note that Loch Creran salmon farm reported 6.5% mortality in the month of May 2022)

Loch Creran salmon farm reported 17.9% monthly mortality in July 2022 alone (compared to 0.2% for Dunstaffnage salmon farm and 7.6% mortality at Lismore East): https://www.salmonscotland.co.uk/sites/default/files/2022-09/july_2022.pdf

To put the above mortality rate into perspective, 17.9% mortality represents one in six farmed salmon dying in a single month. If this rate of death was happening on land in a sheep farm or one in six cows in a field were dying then the public would be outraged.

Suffice to say that it would be more environmentally friendly - meaning less travel - if the RECC visited Loch Creran salmon farm rather than Dunstaffnage.

Obviously, Scottish Sea Farms and Salmon Scotland want to steer you away from disease and mortality problems. Speaking of which, MSPs should take a close look at the mortality data published recently by Salmon Scotland for July 2022 which includes the following salmon farms which reported alarming death rates:

Just to make it simple for people, like me who may have been in the remedial Maths class at school, a cumulative mortality of 59.5% (as reported by Mowi at RSPCA Assured Greshornish salmon farm) means that if 1 million farmed salmon were stocked on the site in March 2021 then only ca. 400,000 made it out alive (i.e. 6 out of every fish died).

Read and weep at the latest mortality data for July 2022 (as reported by salmon farming companies themselves) via: https://www.salmonscotland.co.uk/sites/default/files/2022-09/july_2022.pdf

If you look at the mortality data for June 2022 then you have 55.9% cumulative mortality at Mowi's RSPCA Assured and ASC-certified Greanem salmon farm and 30.6% cumulative mortality at Bakkafrost's Portree salmon farm: https://www.salmonscotland.co.uk/sites/default/files/2022-08/june_2022.pdf

You may have read the recent BBC report on how toxic gases are leaking from Bakkafrost's salmon farm off Portee:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjl7kkr0r12o

You may even have read $camon $cotland's blog last month on mortality problems at Mowi:

56% Mortality at RSPCA Assured Mowi (but don't worry, it's certified as "farmed responsibly" by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council)!

If you cannot visit a disease-ridden salmon farm for yourself - bear in mind that salmon farming companies may only offer you the red carpet treatment to pristine sites where fish have just been stocked (farms in the second year of production are the ones to target) - then here's some video footage from Mowi's RSPCA Assured Greshornish salmon farm: https://vimeo.com/441103390

Undercover video footage shot by investigators at CIWF was also published in March 2021:

https://theferret.scot/suffering-endemic-scottish-salmon-farms-video/

Photos of welfare abuse inside salmon farms are available via:

https://ciwf.assetbank-server.com/assetbank-ciwf/images/assetbox/acacf722-717d-46b8-a03e-05473c23360c/assetbox.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2020/02/photo-dossier-of-diseased-deformed-abused-scottish-salmon.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2022/08/cookes-organic-scamon-exposed-by-gruesome-photos-from-orkney-.html

Instead of choosing to look the other way - and going along with what the nice lady at Scottish Sea Farms or lovely man at Mowi and Bakkafrost tells you - don't MSPs have a duty to investigate the issue more fully?

The RECC visit to Dunstaffnage salmon farm is rather like a serial killer showing you around his lovely new house which has just been cleaned but failing to show you all the dead bodies piled up in his house of death next door.

Surely the RECC visit is an opportunity to ask critical questions of the disease-ridden salmon farming industry rather than be duped by their sick/slick PR game?

Please note my Tweets on this via:

https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1567835798942236673

https://twitter.com/TheGAAIA/status/1567462431256973313

If you would like to visit a salmon farm with disease and mortality problems - perhaps in a kayak early in the morning before Tavish Scott has even eaten his listeria-contaminated smoked salmon bagel - please let me know. I am on 07771 541826.

A simple rule: the salmon farms which the industry is willing to show you and allow you to visit are NOT the ones which warrant investigation. However, you may pick up a police escort for daring to go close to disease-ridden salmon cages:

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2020/07/policing-scottish-salmon-police-scotland-acting-as-private-security-for-scottish-sea-farms.html

https://donstaniford.typepad.com/my-blog/2020/10/police-scotland-apologises-for-wrongly-protecting-scottish-sea-farms-from-video-surveillance.html

For more background please read:

Whitewashing Welfare Abuse of Scottish Salmon (as sponsored via RSPCA, SSPCA & APHA)

Closing the Net on Welfare Abuse on Salmon Farms - Scottish Veterinary Service replaces APHAd

Best fishes,

Don Staniford

Director, $camon $cotland

MSPs to see salmon farming up close - if you're visiting Barcaldine then why not visit the disease-ridden salmon feedlot in Loch Creran? @scotseafarms @fincarson @SP_RuralAffairs @ArianeBurgessHI @BeatriceWishart @Rachael2Win @jenni_minto @LabourMercedes https://t.co/cTLxlir52X pic.twitter.com/zzpNGBfXvW
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 7, 2022

Video Exclusive: Secret Filming Exposes Horrific Welfare Abuse Inside RSPCA Assured Scottish Salmon Farms! https://t.co/PHFsqdRJ7i @rspcaassured @scotseafarms @marksandspencer @ScottishSPCA @APHAgovuk @ProfCMDwyer @LynneUSneddon @ciwf @Animallawyersuk @vivacampaigns @Ecohustler pic.twitter.com/RLJYPfe1w8
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 11, 2022

$camon $cotland reported last month (23 August 2022):

REVEALED: Mortality rates at feedlots across Scotland are leaping like a lice-infested salmon - with a staggering 55.9% (i.e. more than half of the fish dying) @MowiScotlandLtd @rspcaassured @ASC_aqua Greanem in North Uist https://t.co/kjNDyAMgKa @ScotlandSalmon @tavishscott pic.twitter.com/4893yS4LQ2
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 23, 2022

Scottish Salmon Watch reported in December 2021:

Named & Shamed @ScotlandSalmon - the salmon farms with the worst mortality. Headed by @scotseafarms with 41.3% mortality in Loch Kishorn followed by 32.8% mortality in Loch Spelve (where ISA was reported in May) & @salmon_scottish & @LochDuartSalmon sites https://t.co/rKHGuzMb37 pic.twitter.com/Atboh6H6ds
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 10, 2021

Mega Media Splash Vs Cooke's Super-Sized Salmon Farm Off Orkney - The Scotsman, The Herald, The National, Daily Telegraph & even Fish Farmer!!

“If local democracy counts for anything, Orkney Islands Council has no other choice but to say no to East Moclett salmon farm” @TheScotsman https://t.co/3KvDJox5xq
Will @OrkneyCouncil listen to Papa Westray & refuse approval? @KristopherLeask @JohnRossScott @KirstyCooncil
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

Papa Westray's protest against plans by Canadian giant Cooke Aquaculture for what would be Scotland's largest salmon farm - to be greenwashed as 'organic' via the Soil Association - at East Moclett in North Sound in the far North of the Orkney Islands is making waves in the media with news coverage in The Daily Telegraph, The Herald, The National, The Scotsman and even Fish Farmer. The National reported with a front page by-line (8 September 2022):

Jonathan Ford of No East Moclett Group @ScotNational: "Folk on Papay remain defiant & will do so beyond decision day. We don’t want industrial farming of our seas. Island communities can survive & prosper without destroying the very environment which makes them what they are" pic.twitter.com/Twkfpne2Xs
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

Download front page as a Jpeg online here and the newspaper article as a Jpeg online here

Front page splash in today's National newspaper - with protestors on Papay sharing centre stage with the Prime Minister & First Minister https://t.co/06aLl0F1xM
Will @OrkneyCouncil ignore public opinion & approve @CookeScotland's mega salmon farm? @ArianeBurgessHI @amy_may pic.twitter.com/gcF9KqSX1Z
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

The Scotsman reported (8 September 2022):

The Scotsman: "A Scottish author whose book is currently being made into a film in Orkney has joined locals in the islands to protest against what will be Scotland’s biggest salmon farm if it goes ahead" @TheScotsman @amy_may @Ilonaamos @ArianeBurgessHI https://t.co/3KvDJox5xq
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

Download newspaper version as a Jpeg online here

Activist Don Staniford @TheScotsman: "Salmon cages are spreading around the Highlands & Islands like a malignant cancer and must be eradicated, not accelerated. Cooke’s reckless expansion must be stopped dead in its tracks" https://t.co/3KvDJox5xq @OrkneyCouncil @CookeScotland
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

The Herald reported (8 September 2022):

"Papay has been a living community for over 6000 years without resorting to wholesale destruction of its local environment. Why change that now" @PapayRanger @heraldscotland @CookeScotland @cookeseafood @OrkneyCouncil @amy_may @KateChatto1 @orkneycom https://t.co/OOI6bTaPOT pic.twitter.com/rGnAmfZfxs
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 8, 2022

Here's the newspaper version:

Download newspaper version as a Jpeg online here

Fish Farming Expert reported (8 September 2022):

Fish Farmer reported (7 September 2022):

A group objecting to Cooke’s proposal for a new offshore salmon farm in the north of Orkney has staged a protest on the island of Papa Westray - the No East Moclett group claims that the proposed farm will be a disaster for the environment @fishfarmermag https://t.co/MESm9riBsb
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 7, 2022

The Daily Telegraph reported (7 September 2022):

I'm quoted here adding my voice to islanders' objections to a massive new fish farm off Papay. In addition to these concerns is its proximity to a Marine Protected Area. https://t.co/hllNRWvqsS
— Amy Liptrot (@amy_may) September 7, 2022

Download high resolution photos online here (please credit 'No East Moclett Group'):

No Way To Salmon Farm Off Papa Westray - protestors in the far north of the Orkney Islands tell Canadian giant Cooke to fish off! https://t.co/WULE0dsD5s @CookeScotland @cookeseafood @ScotlandSalmon
Will @OrkneyCouncil listen to the people of Papay? @Liam4Orkney @bbcorkney pic.twitter.com/IIjnxyz5Zi
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 7, 2022

A media advisory provides more background online here

Devastation!
Nobody is listening to over 120 valid objections - dumbed down to 82 for no better reason than to diminish the feelings of the Papay folk. This is industrial and toxic in an, as yet, pristine marine environment! Constant faecal effluent equal to 49,500 humans! https://t.co/kHvDfeDblR
— Kate Chatto (@KateChatto1) September 7, 2022

Green Around the Gills

Disease-ridden salmon farming is a sickness spreading all over the globe!

8 September 2022

09/08/2022

Protests Continue Vs Cooke's Salmon Farming Expansion Off Orkney - appeal vs East Moclett in the pipeline!

MSPs steered away from disease-ridden Scottish salmon!

Mega Media Splash Vs Cooke's Super-Sized Salmon Farm Off Orkney - The Scotsman, The Herald, The National, Daily Telegraph & even Fish Farmer!!

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