Wild Fish Trapped Inside Salmon Feedlots - the big catch with industrial aquaculture!

Leaked photos show rogue salmon industry’s wild fish bycatch @TasmanianTimes @TasmanianGreens @envirotas @BobBrownFndn https://t.co/9Tq0uioyGv
How many wild fish are caught, trapped & harvested in salmon farms in Scotland? @MairiGougeon @scotgov @ScotGovNetZero @ScotlandSalmon

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 8, 2021

The Tasmanian Times reported (8 December 2021):

Salmon farms blamed for wild fish deaths – Wild fish are being killed as a result of disease management processes at salmon farms, the Bob Brown Foundation has alleged @tasmercury @BobBrownFndn
WARNING: DISTRESSING IMAGES https://t.co/6WimzVp6Lx @TasmanianGreens @envirotas pic.twitter.com/YSiZD3NxDJ

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 9, 2021

In July 2021, Scottish Salmon Watch filmed a shoal of wild fish (understood to be herring) swimming inside a lice-infested Mowi salmon farm at Poll na Gille in the Sound of Jura:

In June 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch filmed wild fish swimming inside The Scottish Salmon Company's Lamlash Bay salmon farm on the Isle of Arran:

Here's video footage of wild fish (probably saithe, pollock or cod) swimming inside a salmon farm operated by Scottish Sea Farms at Scallastle Bay in the Sound of Mull in August 2018:

CBC News reported in June 2019:

Watershed Watch published a report in June 2019:

Sea Shepherd reported in June 2019:

Sea Shepherd Society reported in August 2017:

Scottish Salmon Watch today (8 December 2021) filed a Freedom of Information request with the Scottish Government for data on wild fish caught, trapped and harvested by salmon farms:

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Dec 8, 2021 at 10:22 AM
Subject: FOI re. wild fish caught, trapped and harvested by salmon farms since 14 June 2019
To: <CEU@gov.scot>

Please provide information on wild fish caught, trapped and harvested inside salmon farms since 14 June 2019.

Please include any emails, photos, videos, Cabinet Briefings, letters and any other information on the collection of data on wild fish caught, trapped and harvested by salmon farms since 14 June 2019.

Please note that in British Columbia this is called 'incidental by-catch' and data is reported by the salmon farming companies and published by the Government online here https://open.canada.ca/data/en/dataset/0bf04c4e-d2b0-4188-9053-08dc4a7a2b03

Please provide any information detailing why data on wild fish caught, trapped and harvested by salmon farms is not collected and published by the Scottish Government. For example, please detail any email correspondence with Mowi, Scottish Sea Farms, Salmon Scotland (SSPO) and any other parties.

As context a previous FOI request – FoI/19/01477- was replied to on 12 July 2019 by the Scottish Government including the statement that "the Scottish Government does not collect information on 'wild fish caught and harvested inside salmon farms':

Since FoI/19/0147, Scottish Salmon Watch has filmed further video evidence of wild fish swimming inside a salmon farm. Here's the footage from Mowi's Poll Na Gille salmon farm in July 2021: https://vimeo.com/576442385

The Tasmanian Times reported on this issue today via: https://tasmaniantimes.com/2021/12/salmon-industrys-wild-fish-bycatch/

Please consider this a formal request for information under the relevant FOI and Environmental Information regulations.

Please provide the information electronically.

Please provide a receipt.

Thanks,

Don Staniford

Director, Scottish Salmon Watch

In 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch filed a Freedom of Information request with the Scottish Government for information on wild fish caught/harvested in salmon farms but the Scottish Government claimed not to collect data:

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 14, 2019 at 2:29 PM
Subject: FOI re. wild fish caught/harvested in salmon farms
To: <ceu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk>
Cc: <Neil.Purvis@gov.scot>, <Helen.McGregor@gov.scot>

Please provide information on wild fish caught and harvested inside salmon farms.

This was the subject of a report published this week by Watershed Watch with media coverage in Canada:

https://twitter.com/WatershedWatch_/status/1138492278903779328

Report online via: https://www.watershed-watch.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/WWSS_Wild_Fish_Trapped_Incidental_Catch-June2019.pdf

Conservationists raise alarm over wild fish killed inside B.C. salmon farms

Please include any photos and provide access to any video footage.

Please include any data, results of testing of wild fish for infectious diseases, emails, letters and any other correspondence, Cabinet Briefings and other information on wild fish caught/harvested by salmon farms.

Please note that filming by Scottish Salmon Watch has found wild fish swimming inside salmon farms – here's a photo from Scottish Sea Farms's Scallastle Bay salmon farm in August 2018:

Video footage is online via https://vimeo.com/288054862 (from 7 minutes 15 seconds)

Scottish Salmon Watch also obtained further footage of wild fish swimming inside a salmon farm over the weekend. We will make this available as soon as my video editor is able to.

Please deal with this FOI request via the appropriate FOI and/or Environmental Information regulations.

Please provide a receipt.

Please provide the information electronically.

Best fishes,

Don

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jun 14, 2019 at 2:41 PM
Subject: Addendum: Re: FOI re. wild fish caught/harvested in salmon farms
To: <ceu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk>
Cc: <Neil.Purvis@gov.scot>, <Helen.McGregor@gov.scot>

Here's a photo taken over the weekend INSIDE a salmon farm in Scotland:

Video clip online via: https://vimeo.com/342269260

From: <Neil.Purvis@gov.scot>
Date: Fri, Jul 12, 2019 at 3:53 PM
Subject: RE: FOI re. wild fish caught/harvested in salmon farms
To: <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Cc: <Helen.McGregor@gov.scot>

Dear Don

With reference to your request from 14 June 2019 – FoI/19/01477, please find the attached response.

Kind regards,

Neil

Neil Purvis
Marine Scotland – Science
Scottish Government | Marine Laboratory, PO Box 101| 375, Victoria Road | Aberdeen AB11 9DB
Tel: +44 (0)131 244 3287
S/B: +44 (0)131 244 2500
Mob:+44 (0)777 5818 281
Fax: +44 (0)1224 295620
e: neil.purvis@gov.scot
w: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/marinescotland

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Jul 12, 2019 at 7:07 PM
Subject: Re: FOI re. wild fish caught/harvested in salmon farms
To: <Neil.Purvis@gov.scot>
Cc: <Helen.McGregor@gov.scot>

Thanks – re:

Please provide the information referred to above.

Please provide this information via the appropriate FOI and Environmental Information Regulations.

Please provide the information electronically.

Thanks,

Don

From: <Neil.Purvis@gov.scot>
Date: Wed, Jul 17, 2019 at 11:53 AM
Subject: RE: FOI re. wild fish caught/harvested in salmon farms – FoI/19/01715
To: <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Cc: <Helen.McGregor@gov.scot>

Dear Don

Thank you for your email of 12 July 2019 requesting information relating to wild fish sampling concerning aquatic animal disease.

The request has been registered and has the reference number – FoI/19/01715. Please quote this reference in any future correspondence concerning this request.

In order to identify and locate the information that you have asked for we need some further information from you. It is not clear from your request what information you are actually looking for. Could you please give this some careful consideration and specify exactly what information you require?

In our reply to FoI/19/01477, we mentioned that Marine Scotland holds some information relating to wild fish sampling concerning aquatic animal diseases and this relates to fish which have been caught both within and out with fish farm cages. This sampling is relevant to several different work areas which include, but are not necessarily limited to:

Sampling associated with statutory surveillance for aquatic animal disease

Sampling as part of epidemiology surveys conducted in response to outbreaks of listed disease. Marine Scotland holds information on at least five such surveys relating to Infectious Salmon Anaemia virus in 1998 and in 2009 and Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia virus in 1994, 2005 and 2012. Reports on the epidemiological surveys specified are published and actions taken including wild fish sampling are publicly available

Various research projects including sampling associated with Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis virus and Bacterial Kidney Disease. The outcomes and findings of such research are, in general, published upon completion

Wild salmonid sampling conducted within freshwater going back at least until the year 2000

Information on sampling of wild fish, where this has been undertaken during statutory surveillance, is published through FHI case sheets. As you know, we publish information relating to our statutory aquatic animal health surveillance activities on our website at https://www2.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Fish-Shellfish/FHI/CaseInformation Published information dates back to 2013.

If you are asking for different information to that which is currently published, then please tell us what information you are looking for. It would be extremely helpful if you could be explicit and specify exactly what information require with respect to this request and the above details provided.

It would also be beneficial if you could specify a time frame to which your request relates.

As I am unable to continue without this, I will put your request on hold until I hear back from you.

Regards,

Neil

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Wed, Jul 17, 2019 at 1:04 PM
Subject: Re: FOI re. wild fish caught/harvested in salmon farms – FoI/19/01715
To: <Neil.Purvis@gov.scot>
Cc: <Helen.McGregor@gov.scot>

Thanks – please:

a) Identify specifically where the information has already been published

and

b) provide information which has not been published.

I am in Edinburgh on Monday (22 July) if you need to discuss this in person.

Thanks,

Don

From: <Neil.Purvis@gov.scot>
Date: Sat, Jul 20, 2019 at 6:23 PM
Subject: RE: FOI re. wild fish caught/harvested in salmon farms – FoI/19/01715
To: <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Cc: <Helen.McGregor@gov.scot>

Dear Don

Thank you for your email in response to my message asking you to clarify your request under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs) below.

Unfortunately, your response does not provide the clarification I requested in my email of 17 July, because it simply repeats your original request. As I explained in my previous letter(s), I need to know specifically what information you would like from us. Under the exception at regulation 10(4)(c) of the EIRs, we may refuse your request if it is formulated in too general a manner; we have asked you to clarify your request; and have given you advice to assist you to provide that clarification. So in these circumstances, we are now refusing your request under regulation 10(4)(c).

As the exception is conditional we have applied the ‘public interest test’. This means we have, in all the circumstances of this case, considered if the public interest in disclosing information outweighs the public interest in applying the exception. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exception. While we recognise that there may be some public interest in information about wild fish sampling, this is outweighed by the public interest in ensuring the efficient and effective use of public resources. It would not be a good use of our limited resources to guess what information you require and to then spend time locating, retrieving and providing information which may not be what you are actually looking for.

However, if you wish to submit a new request which more clearly describes the information you are looking for, we would be able to consider your request and respond in accordance with the EIRs. If you need any further advice and assistance to rephrase your request, please contact me. You may also find it helpful to look at the Scottish Information Commissioner’s ‘Tips for requesting information under FOI and the EIRs’ on his website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Tipsforrequesters.aspx.

Your right to request a review

If you are unhappy with this response to your EIRs request, you may ask us to carry out an internal review of the response, by writing to Graham Black, Director Marine Scotland, Scottish Government, Victoria Quay, Area 1B South, Edinburgh, EH6 6QQ or email directormarinescotland@gov.scot. Your review request should explain why you are dissatisfied with this response, and should be made within 40 working days from the date when you received this letter. We will complete the review and tell you the result, within 20 working days from the date when we receive your review request.

If you are not satisfied with the result of the review, you then have the right to appeal to the Scottish Information Commissioner. More detailed information on your appeal rights is available on the Commissioner’s website at: http://www.itspublicknowledge.info/YourRights/Unhappywiththeresponse/AppealingtoCommissioner.aspx.

Regards,

Neil