The breaking news that EU antitrust regulators have raided the Norwegian-owned salmon farming companies Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest), Scottish Sea Farms and Grieg Seafood "in a suspected cartel inquiry" will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with how the rigged game of Salmonopoly is played.
Intrafish reported (19 February):
BBC News reported (19 February):
Here's the EU's press statement (19 February):
The EC said the investigation was being brought under competition rules of Article 101 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union – the EU antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices.
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EU authorities raid Mowi, Scottish Sea Farms, Grieg UK operations
Two Mowi plants are under investigation after being raided by EU competition authorities
Grieg Seafood raided by EU inspectors
Salmon farms raided as part of EU competition probe
The EU investigation could cost the salmon farming industry megabucks. "Companies found guilty of breaching EU antitrust rules can be fined up to 10 percent of their global turnover," reported Reuters (19 February 2019).
Given their huge size, the salmon giants face mammoth fines.
Mowi (formerly Marine Harvest) is predicted to have a branded turnover of one billion Euros by 2025.
Scottish Sea Farms reported a turnover of £200 million in 2018:
Undercurrent News reported (20 February):
Including:
Mowi's largest shareholder is Norway's richest man John Fredriksen (living as a tax exile in Cyprus) who is worth $11 billion according to Forbes.
"Fredriksen would spend four months in a Norwegian jail while under investigation for alleged insurance fraud in 1986," reported Bloomberg. "He denied the charges and later settled out of court."
Watch John Fredriksen – nicknamed 'Big Wolf' – in the award-winning film 'Salmonopoly':
Intrafish reported (20 February):
"The jig is up on Norway's rigged game of Salmonopoly," said Don Staniford, Director of Scottish Salmon Watch. "Scottish salmon is controlled by a cabal of foreign-owned companies who it seems have been acting like a cartel. Salmon farming is a crime against nature and farmed salmon must be avoided like the plague."
