The ASC Runs Out of Greenwash: "Certification Not Awarded" at five salmon farms operated by Mowi & Scottish Sea Farms

The Aquaculture Stewardship Council – dubbed the 'Abominable Salmon Council' – has greenwashed so many salmon farms that it appears to be running out of green paint. 'Certification Not Awarded' reads entries for five salmon farms in Scotland on the ASC's web-site:

The ASC entry for Seaforth (Mowi) reads:

Mowi report 668,235 dead fish in 38 incidents in 2022 – including mass morts at Ardintoul, Seaforth, Grey Horse Channel & Greshornish due to Salmonid Rickettsial Septicaemia, Amoebic Gill Disease, Heart & Skeletal Muscle Inflammation & Pasteurella Skyensis https://t.co/DqDKfxGm84 pic.twitter.com/x8HNGfyTO1

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 9, 2022

The ASC entry for Noster (Mowi) reads:

The ASC entry for Westerbister (Scottish Sea Farms) reads:

LRQA – the certification body greenwashing salmon farms for the ASC – told $camon $cotland in November 2022 (in response to an email asking why information was not public):

From: LRQA ASC <asc-ca@lrqa.com>
Date: Wed, Nov 9, 2022 at 2:23 PM
Subject: FW: Dates salmon farms were "not awarded" ASC certification?
To: salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>

Hi Don,

A CAB must provide ASC with a reason for not awarding a certificate after an initial audit.

I have checked the ASC website records for these five farms and other farms and concur that the reasoning for certificates not being awarded is not publicly visible.

If ASC do not make this information public we cannot share it without permission. I would recommend getting in touch with certification@asc-aqua.org for further guidance.

Best Regards,

Lewis Warren

Aquaculture Scheme Coordinator | LRQA Edinburgh, United Kingdom

lewis.warren@lrqa.com | +44 121 817 4274

LRQA

6 Redheughs Rigg, South Gyle, Edinburgh EH12 9DQ

Visit www.lrqa.com or follow us on LinkedIn | Twitter

The ASC subsequently told $camon $cotland later in November 2022:

From: Certification <Certification@asc-aqua.org>
Date: Wed, Nov 23, 2022 at 2:19 PM
Subject: RE: Dates salmon farms were "not awarded" ASC certification?
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>, Certification <Certification@asc-aqua.org>
Cc: LRQA ASC <asc-ca@lrqa.com>

Hi Don

As advised in my earlier email the reasons for cancelled, withdrawn, suspended, certification not awarded certificates only became available on the website from May 2022 as we integrated a process on our system prior to this a Form 5 – Notice of the event was published on the website as is the case for ASC00127. This is why there is an actual document for ASC00127 but not for the other 4 farms. For the other 4 certificates the information is on the website itself and is not a separate document. See example for Noster below the information you are looking for is highlighted in yellow.

Best regards,

Elaine

In January 2022, Scottish Salmon Watch reported:

Certification of @MowiScotlandLtd salmon farms has been cancelled @ASC_aqua "Carradale was cancelled due to an escape event; Cairidh due to administrative reasons; Maol Ban & Sconser Quarry because they were projected to exceed the permitted antibiotic treatments number" pic.twitter.com/byKk6EYukC

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 6, 2022

Certification of four Mowi salmon farms via the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) has been cancelled. "Carradale was cancelled due to an escape event; Cairidh due to administrative reasons; Maol Ban and Sconser Quarry because they were projected to exceed the permitted antibiotic treatments number of the Salmon Standard," explained the ASC's Jack Cutforth in an email dated 17 December 2021.

ASC certification of Mowi's Carradale salmon farm was cancelled following the mass escape of 49,000 farmed salmon in August 2020:

The ASC cancellation notice reads:

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:

Mowi's Cairidh salmon farm in Loch Ainort on the Isle of Skye was cancelled due to administrative reasons:

Here's the ASC cancellation notice:

In January 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch revealed that Mowi's Cairidh salmon farm in Loch Ainort was the source of roadspill onto the A86 in September 2019:

Here's a quaint video from the Highlands of Scotland with Scottish salmon leaping out of the haulage truck onto the A86. What a lovely sight & smell for tourists driving through the slick of diseased fish! https://t.co/RvKXv3GDD8 @st_alliance @12distilleries @lagganwolftrax pic.twitter.com/8nM8HGDE2J

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 14, 2019

Here's correspondence with the ASC:

From: Jack Cutforth <Jack.Cutforth@asc-aqua.org>
Date: Fri, Dec 17, 2021 at 4:23 PM
Subject: Re: ASC support for 20%+ mortality?
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>

Hi Don, if you go to Find a Farm and click on the farm in question, scroll down to the ‘Associated Document(s)’ section. Here, if the certification has been cancelled there will be a Cancellation/Suspension/Withdrawn notice. To view it you need to click on the ‘Available in English’ link on the right – see the screenshot below.

Let me know if that’s still not working.

Thanks,

Jack

From: Jack Cutforth <Jack.Cutforth@asc-aqua.org>
Date: Fri, Dec 17, 2021 at 11:18 AM
Subject: Re: ASC support for 20%+ mortality?
To: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>, Bertrand Charron <Bertrand.Charron@asc-aqua.org>
Cc: Chris Ninnes <Chris.Ninnes@asc-aqua.org>

Hi Don,

I’m afraid it is not correct to describe what Chris said as being a ‘policy pledge’ that ASC certification would be ‘ruled out’ with more than 10% mortality. The ASC Salmon Standard does require mortality from viral disease to be 10% or below, but non disease-related conditions such as natural algal blooms may also lead to mortalities. The overarching principle set out in criterion 5.1 of the standard is that mortalities of all types must be minimised and indicator 5.1.7 of the standard requires a farm specific mortality reduction program. If there is any doubt over ASC’s policy on mortalities or any other aspect of our standards, they have always been available to view in full online and we are always happy to clarify any questions.

Likewise, our commitment to transparency means you can find out the reason for any cancelled certification by using the Find a Farm feature on the ASC website – they are listed in a cancellation/suspension/withdrawn notice document. Those forms show that Carradale was cancelled due to an escape event; Cairidh due to administrative reasons; Maol Ban and Sconser Quarry because they were projected to exceed the permitted antibiotic treatments number of the Salmon Standard. Let me know if you need help finding these forms.

ASC’s requirements on antibiotics can be found in criterion 5.2 of the Salmon Standard. In addition to the limit of three antibiotic treatments per production cycle (with each treatment being a reduced antibiotic load to the one before), all therapeutic treatments (including antibiotics) must be licensed and prescribed by a vet who will also set the required withdrawal period for residues to clear before harvesting is permitted; antibiotics cannot be used preventatively; and antibiotics listed by the World Health Organisation as critically important for human medicine cannot be used at all. That is not an exhaustive list of the requirements, all of which can be found in criterion 5.2.

I don’t have all the details but it looks like the antibiotics you’ve mentioned there are not banned or listed as critically important by the WHO. There is a contractual clause in the Certification and Accreditation Requirements (CAR) that a farm must inform their auditing body (Conformity Assessment Body or CAB) of any medicines administered at a certified site (this is 4.9.4.12 in the CAR). This means that if medicinal treatments do contravene any of ASC requirements the CAB will investigate and decide what further action is required. As the standard setter, the ASC does not determine if any site does or does not meet the standard, this is entirely the responsibility of the accredited CAB.

Thanks,

Jack

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