Biomass Breaches - when will SEPA revoke salmon farm licences?

"Chile’s environment agency revoked the permits for Nova Austral’s Aracena 10, Cockburn 14 & Cockburn 23 farms in July for overproduction by 25%, 15% & 30%" https://t.co/zxtmawFTUV
When will @ScottishEPA @marinescotland act vs biomass breaches? @scotseafarms @MowiScotlandLtd

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 2, 2022

Over 100,000 tonnes of illegal fish farming production has been officially reported in Scotland since 2002 – with Mowi (formerly called Marine Harvest) responsible for almost half of the biomass breaches/exceedances in terms of tonnage reported to the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA sets pollution limits on maximum permitted biomass for each fish farm in Scotland).

EXPOSED: Illegal salmon farming production in Scotland exceeds 100,000 tonnes – 978 breaches of biomass since 2002 with 9,192 tonnes exceeded in 2021 @ScottishEPA https://t.co/IhzPWhUNBT
Where's there Muck there's $almoney! @MowiScotlandLtd @ScotlandSalmon pic.twitter.com/ddlGso9jhL

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 3, 2022

Here's the 60 monthly biomass exceedances reported by fish farms to SEPA during 2021 totalling 9,192 tonnes of illegal production (data for Q1 2022 has still not been reported):

Here's the top 100 biomass exceedances since 2002 (from when data is available) totalling 102,207 tonnes of illegal production in 978 reported breaches – headed by Mowi's appositely named Muck salmon farm:

2021 is one of the worst years for overproduction by salmon farms in Scotland (data collated from Scotland's Aquaculture database of monthly returns submitted by salmon farming companies):

Mowi is by far and away the worst offender with their RSPCA Assured salmon farms at Poll Na Gille, Muck, Gorsten, Carradale and Bagh Dail Nan Ceann featuring prominently in the list of shame. Here's a sneaky peek inside Mowi's "responsibly sourced" disease-ridden operations (sourced from secret filming and leaked photos by whistleblowers) which have featured on Netflix's 'Seaspiracy' and on French TV:

This shocking leaked footage shows salmon being eaten alive by lice at a fish farm in Scotland! pic.twitter.com/EoUO3dv5ee

— seaspiracy (@seaspiracy) August 2, 2021

Here's what Mowi's @rspcaassured salmon looked like after 300,000 died in the Beast from the East in 2018 at their Carradale farm (the same site hit yesterday by Storm Ellen) https://t.co/hyztwncvhO Skinless Scottish salmon anyone? @MowiScotlandLtd @sainsburys @LidlGB @AldiUK pic.twitter.com/xjf3JM20jG

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 21, 2020

The Scottish Salmon Company (recently renamed Bakkafrost Scotland) is another serial offender with their Druimyeon Bay salmon farm off the Isle of Gigha guilty of repeated biomass breaches.

Thousands of rotting salmon ‘stink out’ village after mass death at farm.https://t.co/hOoOmXr0n7

— STV News (@STVNews) October 20, 2021

The Ferret reported in February 2021:

Moves by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to help the #salmon farming industry cope with #Brexit business losses are a "dereliction of duty", say campaigners.https://t.co/IoVSkN0pn5

— The Ferret (@FerretScot) February 3, 2021

The Ferret reported in April 2020:

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency has agreed to relax restrictions on the weight and duration of salmon in cages to help fish farms cope with #coronavirus staff shortages – but critics warn this will cause more pollution.https://t.co/qHtuhqSL0F

— The Ferret (@FerretScot) April 7, 2020