64% Mortality at RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms in Loch Nevis - as sold by M&S as "responsibly sourced"?! (& ASC-certified as 'responsible')

Mortality data published earlier this week by Salmon Scotland lifts to lid on shocking death rates on salmon farms across Scotland – here's data for November 2022 which shows that it was the second worst month (after September 2022 when Salmon Scotland admitted that 2.8 million farmed salmon died) since mortality data was published in January 2018:

A closer look at specific sites shows that the worst salmon farm – as judged by cumulative mortality rate (the % fish which died during the harvest cycle at sea) – was RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms (exclusive supplier to M&S) in Loch Nevis with a staggering 64% mortality (i.e. two out of every three farmed salmon dying):

Salmon farms exceeding 10% weekly mortality – headed by another RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms site in Charlotte Bay off Kerrera near Oban with 50.2% mortality (i.e. half the farmed salmon dying in a single week); RSPCA Assured Bakkafrost reporting 44% mortality at East Tarbert Bay and 32% mortality at Druimyeon Bay off the Isle of Gigha; and RSPCA Assured Mowi reporting 47% mortality at Bagh Dail Nan Cean and 30% mortality at Poll Na Gille in the Sound of Jura:

Despite such high death rates, Mowi's RSPCA Assured salmon farms at Poll Na Gille and Bagh Dail Nan Cean (Bay of the Dead Heads) in the Sound of Jura are being audited next week by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council:

Mortality data published by Salmon Scotland for October 2022 also revealed shocking death rates at salmon farms across Scotland with 74% mortality at Scottish Sea Farms in Loch Nevis:

REVEALED: 74% monthly mortality (that's 3 out of every 4 fish dying in the space of a single month) at RSPCA Assured @scotseafarms in Loch Nevis (Nevis B). Scottish Sea Farms is the exclusive supplier to @marksandspencer https://t.co/7PNQiIMPl0
WTF? @rspcaassured @ScotlandSalmon pic.twitter.com/0NxtnuiUby

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 7, 2022

Despite such high levels of mortality, RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms underwent an ASC audit in 2022 for their three Loch Nevis salmon farms:

Mortality data published on 9 November 2022 by Salmon Scotland detailed mortality data for September 2022 headed by RSPCA Assured Loch Duart in Loch Carnan with 55.9%:

The Worst of the Worst @ScotlandSalmon – headed by 55.9% mortality in September @LochDuartSalmon in Loch Carnan: that's over half the fish dying in 30 days!!https://t.co/kjNDyAMOzI
But don't worry, Loch Duart is @rspcaassured – nothing to see here! https://t.co/UzZDt5a2qZ #RSPCA pic.twitter.com/6KKtrNoIsq

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 9, 2022

Maths wizard Corin Smith of Inside Scottish Salmon Feedlots published (10 November 2022) a damning assessment of how the 'Scottish' salmon farming industry present mortality figures – estimating that a staggering three million salmon died inside RSPCA Assured feedlots in the month of September 2022 alone:

The figure of 2.8 million dead farmed salmon for September 2022 is sourced from a press release issued by Salmon Scotland (9 November 2022):

"Data @ScotlandSalmon for September shows survival fell to 95.3%; 2.4% down on the past 4-year average of 97.7% & equating to a loss of 2.8 million fish" https://t.co/8UrlImgqDu
How many million @rspcaassured salmon died in 2022 or would disclosure be 'commercially damaging'? pic.twitter.com/Jq0ELuSnsG

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 10, 2022

Back in 2013, the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (since renamed Salmon Scotland) successfully lobbied against publication of mortality numbers arguing that disclosure 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:

Exclusive: Scamon Scotland fleshes out the alarming death rates on fish farms using data published by @ScotlandSalmon @ScottishEPA & @marinescotland
Please stop greenwashing "responsibly sourced" Scottish salmon! @rspcaassured @ASC_aqua @SoilAssociation https://t.co/OAfRglN8zB pic.twitter.com/CM8g4dd5s9

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 26, 2022

All hail Bakkafrost Scotland (formerly The Scottish Salmon Company) – Scottish salmon's King of Death! https://t.co/Ju6L8xNZjw
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

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 26, 2022