RSPCA Assured Mowi Plagued by Mass Mortalities & Infectious Diseases on Skye

The latest 'Case Information' on diseases at salmon farms published earlier this month by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate makes for grim reading for Norwegian giant Mowi (formerly called Marine Harvest – they changed their name in 2019 due to "negative consumer perception").

Mmmmm, any takers for yummy RSPCA Assured salmon infected with Enteric Redmouth (ERM) Disease, Salmon Gill Poxvirus, Amoebic Gill Disease and treated with antibiotics (Mowi salmon is sold via Sainsbury's, Lidl and Aldi and is farmed according to the RSPCA Assured salmon welfare standard)?

Photos of Mowi's Loch Greshornish farmed salmon (published online by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate) certainly do not ooze a picture of health or high welfare standards.

Readers might be surprised to discover that Mowi (Scotland's largest salmon farming company – called Marine Harvest until 1 January 2019 when they changed their name despite objections from the Mowinckel family) is certified as 'welfare-friendly' by RSPCA Assured.

The welfare nightmare of Mowi's salmon farms should have consumers reaching for the sick bag not their shopping bag.

Mowi is shamefully endorsed and supported by Scottish Ministers such as Fergus Ewing and Kate Forbes who gorge themselves on Mowi salmon.

Mowi is owned/controlled by Norway's richest man John Fredriksen (dubbed 'The Viking Raider' by Forbes) who recently featured at #20 on The Sunday Times 2020 'Rich List' worth £6.63 billion and is #141 on the Forbes billionaires list worth $10.1 billion (he lives as a tax exile in Cyprus but also lives in London in a £100 house in Chelsea):

Fredriksen's billions have been made on the back of shipping as well as salmon farming.

Will Mowi's owner (nicknamed 'Big Wolf' and 'McFreddy') be gorging himself on disease-ridden salmon from Loch Greshornish? Here's more information reported by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate from their inspection in March 2020:

Mowi has a history of problems with Enteric Redmouth (ERM) Disease which is caused by Yersinia ruckeri. Yersiniaceae are a family of Gram-negative bacteria that includes some familiar pathogens. For example, the type genus Yersinia includes Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of the Bubonic 'Black Death' plague.

Read more about diseases on salmon farms via "Fish Farmageddon: The Infectious Salmon Aquacalypse"

The Scottish Government report:

According to the FHI 'Case Information', Mowi sourced their Loch Greshornish salmon from their hatchery in Lochailort (opened by the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, in 2013) which sourced salmon eggs imported from AquaGen in Norway and Mowi Norway. A scientific paper published in 2015 suggested that ERM (Yersinia ruckeri) "could be transmitted vertically" (i.e. via infected eggs as was reportedly the case with Infectious Salmon Anaemia via infected eggs from AquaGen in Norway).

The Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate publishes information on diseases on salmon farms via 'Case Information' reported every month – online here

Information for April 2020 is expected to be published in June 2020 – the archive goes back to 2013 and is recommended reading on an empty stomach.

The Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate also publishes sea lice information and mortality information. Mortality data published on 4 May 2020 up to the end of March 2020 included:

Here's the top 20 biggest mass mortalities reported by salmon farms in March 2020:

Since June 2018, Mowi has officially reported to the Scottish Government 225,868 mass mortalities in 24 'Mortality Event Reports' at Loch Greshornish alone – with explained reasons for mortality including Yersinia, bath treatment, mechanical lice treatment (Thermolicer), Amoebic Gill Disease and Anaemia:

In 2016, The Sunday Herald & The Ferret reported on a mass mortality of 95,400 farmed salmon at Mowi's Loch Greshornish salmon farm due to a failed Thermolicer treatment.

The Daily Telegraph reported in November 2016:

In March 2020, Advocates for Animals challenged the Scottish Government on the lawfulness of the Thermolicer:

Another Mowi salmon farm 'inspected' by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate in late March 2020 was conducted via "Passive Surveillance Inspection" (i.e. over the telephone without any visit) due to the COVID-19.

Data published on 4 May 2020 by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate reveals that Mowi's RSPCA Assured Loch Seaforth salmon farm has reported 10 'Mortality Event Reports' since October 2018 involving 134,415 dead farmed salmon due to Anaemia, Pancreas Disease, "treated related mortality", "mechanical treatment", "compromised gill health", "piscireckettsia", "Amoebic Gill Disease" and "peroxide treatment":

Here's shocking images taken by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate when they have visited RSPCA Assured Mowi salmon farms:

In February 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch published a dossier of photos of diseased and deformed Scottish salmon – including many farmed by Mowi and certified via RSPCA Assured:

Last month Scottish Salmon Watch revealed that Mowi had failed to comply with welfare legislation at their 'Bay of the Dead Heads' salmon farm with mass mortalities of cleaner fish (lumpsuckers).