In 2013 the $almafia @ScotlandSalmon lobbied @ScottishEPA not to publish mortality numbers saying disclosure was commercially damaging. Now @scotgov reports 15 million morts in 2022 but the data is missing millions. Publish or perish, Tavish! @tavishscott https://t.co/MNSvdNHbLu pic.twitter.com/xHw3Sjsp9N
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 19, 2023
Data published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate - detailing a doubling of deaths on salmon farms in Scotland during 2022 - is all over the news like a bad case of Salmon Gill Poxvirus, Amoebic Gill Disease, Cardiomyopathy Syndrome or Pasteurella Skyensis plaguing farmed salmon.
@afftheclyde22 #scottishgovernment reports 15 million salmon died in Scottish fish farms in 2022. This is under the voluntary reporting scheme for #fishfarms, no doubt there are many more unreported mortalities. Take #scottishsalmon #OffTheMenu ♬ original sound - afftheclyde
A decade ago in 2013, the $almafia lobbied against full disclosure of mort numbers which the salmon farming industry argued would be 'commercially damaging'. Hence the public simply do not know how many farmed salmon die each year on salmon farms - a figure of 15 million dead salmon in 2022 is therefore not the full story by any means.
The Observer reported (15 January 2023):
Tik-Tok - the bad news about Scottish salmon farming just keeps on exploding! @AFFtheClyde @tavishscott @ScotlandSalmon @animal_equality @WildFishCons @ciwf @onekindtweet https://t.co/QKD758wrql
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 19, 2023
The Times reported (17 January 2023):
The Scotsman reported (16 January 2023):
Salmon farming "has the audacity to boast of its fish ‘survival rates’ as though it is somehow acceptable for millions of individual fish to die each year from violent lice treatments or rough weather" said Abigail Penny @animal_equality @TheScotsman https://t.co/RNA8gWTzel
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 18, 2023
The Daily Record reported (18 January 2023):
Opposition MSPs hit out at "alarming" and "horrendous" stats after the mortality rate on fish farms nearly doubled in a yearhttps://t.co/xAI4B8QZsI
— The Daily Record (@Daily_Record) January 18, 2023
Intrafish reported (19 January 2023):
It is important to note that the Scottish Government's mortality data - as published by the Fish Health Inspectorate - "is not a comprehensive record of fish farm mortality but only details situations where the mortality reporting thresholds have been reached and where this information has been reported to Marine Scotland by the industry or where information has been obtained through FHI surveillance":
The second Excel document - 'Mortality notification form and guidance' - details the thresholds for reporting of mortalities:
i..e if below 1.5% mortality in fish less than 750g there is no need to report mort numbers
i.e. if below 1% mortality in fish more than 750g there is no need to report morts numbers
i.e. if below 6% mortality in eggs to first feed fish there is no need to report morts numbers
i.e. if below 3% mortality in 1st feed fish to 5g there is no need to report morts numbers
i.e. if below 1.5% mortality in 5g fish to smolting fish there is no need to report morts numbers
In other words, vast quantities of mortalities on salmon farms like those dumped illegally at Whiteshore Cockles in North Uist go unreported and unrecorded in the Scottish Government's mortality data.
In terms of the mortality data that the public is allowed to see (as published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate on 9 January 2023), here's the largest mass mortalities reported in sea cages during 2022 (the Scottish Government states that data is up to the end of November 2022 but some data up to 13 December 2022 is published - and note that of 3,600+ 'Mortality Event Reports' since 2015 ca. 10% of cases fail to disclose information on the exact numbers of morts with Scottish Sea Farms notoriously secretive). Norwegian giant Mowi heads the list of death with mass mortalities at the aptly named 'Bay of the Dead Heads' (Bagh Dail Nan Ceann) salmon farm in the Sound of Jura (located within the Argyll Hope Spot):
Faroese-based Bakkafrost Scotland (The Scottish Salmon Company) - whose largest shareholder is the Norwegian Government (as represented by Folketrygdfondet) - accounted for the most mortalities reported in 2022 (data up to the end of November 2022) with 6.2 million morts via 292 'Mortality Event Reports' followed by Norwegian giant Mowi with 4.9 million morts via 215 'Mortality Event Reports'; Norwegian-owned Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) with 2.2 million morts via 216 'Mortality Event Reports'; US-owned Loch Duart with 637,842 morts via 45 'Mortality Event Reports'; Canadian-owned Cooke Aquaculture with 411,076 morts via 42 'Mortality Event Reports' and Wester Ross Fisheries (bought by Mowi in June 2022) with 98,106 morts via 20 'Mortality Event Reports'.
All hail Bakkafrost Scotland (formerly The Scottish Salmon Company) - Scottish salmon's King of Death! https://t.co/Ju6L8xNZjw
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 26, 2022
How can 82.1% mortality (that's 4 in every 5 fish dying a cruel death) be branded "responsibly sourced"? @rspcaassured @ScotlandSalmon @Folketrygdfond pic.twitter.com/zc4OuDlw2x
Here's the largest 'Mortality Event Reports' since data was made available in 2015 (as published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate on 9 January 2023) - headed by freshwater salmon farms:
In fact, comprehensive mortality data has not been available since 2012 after lobbying by Salmon Scotland (when called the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation) who persuaded the Scottish Environment Protection Agency that disclosure of the number of deaths on salmon farms would be commercially damaging.
If you're looking for data on numbers of @rspcaassured dead farmed salmon in Scotland they don't exist - in 2013 @SSPOsays lobbied @ScottishEPA not to disclose mortalities as it was deemed commercially damaging! https://t.co/cDEyvS04dO @strathearnrose @salmon_scottish @scotgp pic.twitter.com/FICRbrpGXJ
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 2, 2020
$camon $cotland reported in September 2022:
How may farmed salmon died in Scotland last year?
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 29, 2022
We don't know because @ScottishEPA stopped publishing the data in 2013 after @ScotlandSalmon lobbied vs disclosure arguing publication would be 'commercially damaging'. But based on previous data it could be 22 million morts! pic.twitter.com/7b7YeE00Xw
$camon $cotland reported in November 2022:
Calling Albert Einstein: Scottish Salmon's 30,000+ Tonne Black Hole Spawns Maths Challenge! https://t.co/2h6ob330lL @marinescotland @ScotlandSalmon @scotseafarms @TavishScott @MowiScotlandLtd @GriegShetland @MairiGougeon @rspcaassured @ASC_aqua @scotgp pic.twitter.com/jjjKekhjhB
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 10, 2022
In November 2022, Salmon Scotland published mortality numbers for the first time in a decade when they admitted that 2.8 million farmed salmon had died in September 2022:
Mortality data published by Salmon Scotland for November 2022 reveals that mortalities were just as bad as in September 2022:
Watch gruesome video footage shot inside salmon farming operations across Scotland during 2022 - as published by Dale Vince of Ecotricity in December 2022:
The Daily Expess reported (15 December 2022):
Thanks for all of your questions and comments - here's a list of all the places you can buy this salmon - if you still like the look of it. https://t.co/lwcyGyCgiw pic.twitter.com/F0YOONcFlA
— Dale Vince (@DaleVince) December 15, 2022
Read more:
Daily Record: "Scottish salmon farms' death toll of 15 million sparks MSP calls for urgent inquest"
The Ferret: "‘Illegal’ dumping of dead fish in Outer Hebrides continues despite ban vow"
The Times: "Number of dead salmon at Scottish fish farms rises to 15 million"
The Observer: "Scottish salmon farms facing boycott call as fish deaths double"
74% Mortality Reported by RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms (Supplier to M&S) in Loch Nevis!
Remembrance Day Plea for the Millions of Farmed Salmon Killed in Scotland Every Year
3 million Scottish Salmon Die Inside RSPCA Assured Feedlots in September?!
8,000 tonne shortfall for Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) due to "biological challenges"!
Record Death Rates Plagues Salmon Farms Across Scotland!
Annus Horribilis Salmonis: Mowi's "Troublesome Year" in Scotland - 22% fall in production!
Bakkafrost's Scottish Salmon Nightmare Gets Worse with 10,000 Tonne Black Hole in Scotland!
Death Stalks Scottish Salmon - Rising Mortalities Plague RSPCA Assured & ASC-Certified Sites!
21% Mortality at Mowi's ASC-Certified & RSPCA Assured Marulaig Bay & Rum in ONE WEEK!!!
RSPCA Assured Scottish Salmon Infested with 50 Lice, Poxvirus, Necrosis, Lesions & Myocarditis!
Greenwashing by the ASC - you can't polish a turd but you can roll it in glitter!
New Survey Lifts Lid on Falling Production & Rising Mortalities on 'Scottish' Salmon Farms!
Death Rates Soar at Salmon Farms (according to data published by Salmon Scotland)
Press Release: "Year of the Dead Salmon: Scottish Salmon Plagued by Mass Mortality Problems"
Media Backgrounder: Year of the Dead Salmon - Bakkafrost Scotland is the King of Death!
Exposed: 10 Million Morts at RSPCA Assured Mowi Since 2019!
Mowi's "Woes in Scotland" - Disease & Deaths Cause £5.6 Million Losses!
Over 80% Mortality at The Scottish Salmon Company!!!
ASC-Certified/Audited Mass Mortalities Pile Up at Lousy Mowi & Scottish Sea Farms!
New Mortality Data for Disease-Ridden Scottish Salmon - 700,000+ in the first two weeks of December!
Mass mortalities at ASC-certified Mowi!
Dead in the Water - Scottish Salmon's Mortality Mountain Piles Ever Higher in 2021!
Mass Mortalities - 66% in one month at The Scottish Salmon Company on the Isle of Gigha!
Lousy 'Scottish' Salmon - the most lice-infested salmon farms named & shamed!
STV News: "Thousands of rotting salmon ‘stink out’ village after mass death at farm"
X-Rated Video: 90% Mortality at The Faroese/Norwegian 'Scottish' Salmon Company?!
Video Nasties of Dead Farmed Salmon Pile Up All Over the World!
Demand for moratorium on new fish farms after mortality rates revealed
"The shocking death rates on Scotland's salmon farms revealed"
Rest Assured - the RSPCA has been captured, co-opted & corrupted by the Salmafia
The Times: "Fish graveyard ‘severely hampers’ life for islanders, officials claim"
Update: Mortality Rate Over 36% At RSPCA Assured Scottish Salmon!
Mowi's 'Healthy' RSPCA Assured & ASC-Certified Salmon Farm at Gorsten (as featured in Seaspiracy)
Mowi Moves Goalposts on ASC Certification
ASC-Certified Scottish Salmon Dead in the Water!
Anyone for ASC-Certified Scottish Salmon Doused in Carcinogenic Formaldehyde?
Revealed: Burned, Buried & Ensiled Scottish Salmon
Update: 25 Million Mass Mortalities on Scottish Salmon Farms
52 million deaths in Norway - how many millions died on Scottish salmon farms in 2020?
The Case Against Scottish Salmon - An Update on Diseases & Mass Mortalities!
2.2 Million Missing Mortalities at Scottish Sea Farms?
Mass Mortalities Continue to Plague Scottish Salmon
Over One Million Morts for Scottish Salmon in September 2020!
Survival of the Unhealthiest Scottish Salmon - New data reveals shocking mortality rates!
Dead in the Water - New Data Reveals Mass Mortalities & Disease on Scottish Salmon Farms
The Ferret: "Farmed salmon deaths from disease reach record high"
The Killing Farms - Scottish Salmon's Horror Story Continues!
Anti-salmon farming campaigner Don Staniford has claimed the true mortality rate could be as high as 25 per cent, saying: “If ramblers saw one in four cows or sheep dead in a field they’d be horrified” @Daily_Record https://t.co/PAuoq6OTtV @tavishscott @ScotlandSalmon @the_gsfr pic.twitter.com/rcgkROI863
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 18, 2023
Video Nasties of Dead Farmed Salmon Pile Up All Over the World! https://t.co/J2Y7MiNXnE @ClayoquotAction @CermaqCan @ClayoquotFriend @claybiotrust @CCUNESCO @BCSalmonFarmers @Cermaq @WesterlyNews
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 14, 2021