Dirty Scottish Salmon - millions of dead 'cleaner fish' are collateral damage in salmon farming's war on sea lice!

Dirty Scottish Salmon – millions of dead 'cleaner fish' are collateral damage in salmon farming's war on sea lice https://t.co/n8dkuzToct
Please stop the mass murder of wrasse & lumpsuckers on salmon farms! @APHAgovuk @marinescotland @CVOScotland @ProfCMDwyer @onekindtweet @ciwf pic.twitter.com/BWWVBuEFSm

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 12, 2022

'Case Information' published by the Scottish Government (15 November 2022) contains yet more alarming data on the depth of mass mortalities of 'cleaner fish' (lumpfish and wrasse) on salmon farms across Scotland. Here's a report published by the Fish Health Inspectorate relating to a visit to Mowi's ASC-certified and RSPCA Assured salmon farm at Stulaigh in South Uist in September 2022 – detailing 59,250 lumpfish morts (64% mortality):

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report for Mowi's RSPCA Assured Soay salmon farm in June 2022 – detailing over 30,000 cleaner fish morts at up to 74.4% mortality:

A letter from the Scottish Government to Mowi dated 23 June 2022 reported that "lumpfish mortality records were not maintained correctly":

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report for The Scottish Salmon Company's Quarry Point salmon farm in June 2022 (The Scottish Salmon Company was renamed Bakkafrost Scotland in June 2022) – detailing over 20,000 lumpfish morts at up to 86.1% mortality:

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report for The Scottish Salmon Company's Ardcastle salmon farm in June 2022 (The Scottish Salmon Company was renamed Bakkafrost Scotland in June 2022) – detailing over 20,000 lumpfish morts at up to 93.9% mortality:

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report for Mowi's RSPCA Assured Torridon salmon farm in May 2022 – detailing over 20,000 lumpfish morts which were recorded as "without diagnosis" but should have been recorded as "post treatment mortalities":

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report for Mowi's RSPCA Assured Eilean Grianain salmon farm in May 2022 – detailing 14.9% and 13.4% mortality of cleanerfish (since there were 103,193 lumpfish recorded on site that equates for ca. 15,000 morts) and disease problems in lumpfish:

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report in May 2022 for the RSPCA Assured Tarbert South salmon farm operated The Scottish Salmon Company (renamed Bakkafrost Scotland in June 2022) – detailing 67% mortality of cleaner fish since input (25,308 lumpsucker; 2,227 Ballan wrasse and 6,093 mixed species wrasse) and 11,500 morts attributed to “black losses”:

This Fish Health Inspectorate report in March 2022 for Mowi's ASC-certified and RSPCA Assured salmon farm at Ardgour in Loch Linnhe details the use of the antibiotic Florfenicol (Florocol) to treat Furunculosis in cleaner fish (wrasse):

REVEALED: Antibiotic use on salmon farms in Scotland has increased 9-fold since 2018 – leaping from 1 tonne (mostly Oxytetracycline) to 8.9 tonnes! Please boycott Scottish salmon @MowiScotlandLtd @CookeScotland @sainsburys @asda @Tesco @waitrose @rspcaassured @ScotlandSalmon pic.twitter.com/ilAiEue4S7

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 4, 2022

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report for The Scottish Salmon Company's Plocrapol salmon farm in February 2022 (The Scottish Salmon Company was renamed Bakkafrost Scotland in June 2022) – detailing 100% lumpfish mortality described as "black loss" with 32,258 morts:

A Fish Health Inspectorate report in February 2022 for Mowi's RSPCA Assured salmon farm in Loch Greshornish detailed 44,000 wrasse morts as staff "did not have the equipment to remove cleanerfish during Fresh Water treatments" (an issue "raised with FHI senior management"):

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report for March 2022 relating to a salmon farm operated by RSPCA Assured Norskott Havbruk (Scottish Sea Farms) at Fiunary in the Sound of Mull – detailing 24% mortality (6,150 morts) in wild caught wrasse at the site:

When $camon $cotland visited Fiunary salmon farm in July 2022 were found mass mortalities piled up on the deck of a workboat:

Lice-infested fish littered the cages:

A Fish Health Inspectorate report for Mowi's RSPCA Assured Seaforth salmon farm in January 2022 detailed 100% cleanerfish mortality “as a result of freshwater and mechanical delousing treatments” and reported that “attempts were made prior to the treatments to remove fish with a brailer”:

Here's a Fish Health Inspectorate report for Mowi's RSPCA Assured salmon farm at Poll Na Gille in the Sound of Jura in June 2022:

When Scottish Salmon Watch secretly filmed in July 2021 at Mowi's Poll Na Gille salmon farm – assessed by OneKind in 2018 as "the worst" in Scotland – we found dead lumpfish on the surface:

Cleaner Fish – Dead in the Water at Lice-Infested @rspcaassured Mowi Scotland! https://t.co/ixqUarQb2I @MowiScotlandLtd @SRey_Planellas @fishfarmermag @scotseafarms @csar_ace @onekindtweet @APHAgovuk @SSPCA_Kirsteen #Boycott #Dirty #LiceInfested #Scottish #Salmon pic.twitter.com/ih9h9TdVTX

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 27, 2021

Dirty Rotten Salmon Farmers! Mowi's @rspcaassured salmon farm at Poll Na Gille near Oban is so lice-infested that 'cleaner fish' (lumpsuckers) are struggling to clean house https://t.co/orKMdiDAf4 @MowiScotlandLtd is dead in the water! @SSPOsays

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 27, 2021

This is not the first time dead cleaner fish have been found at Mowi's Poll Na Gille salmon farm – or at Mowi's neighbouring 'Bay of the Dead Heads' (Bagh Dail Nan Ceann) and Port Na Cro salmon farms (all certified as 'welfare friendly' via RSPCA Assured). A Fish Health Inspection report in September 2019 for Mowi's Poll Na Gille salmon farm found 89.7% mortality in the cleaner fish stock:

A Fish Health Inspectorate report in June 2019 reported "craters disease" in the lumpfish at Mowi's 'Bay of the Dead Heads' (Bagh Dail Nan Cean) salmon farm:

A Fish Health report for @MowiScotlandLtd's Bagh Dail nan Ceann salmon farm in June 2019 cited Amoebic Gill Disease in farmed salmon & craters disease in lumpfish. "Issues with mortality increasing with the warmer weather" said @marinescotland https://t.co/UrevkN6lSm @SSPOsays pic.twitter.com/m45QKPtQHs

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 21, 2019

A Fish Health Inspectorate report in June 2019 reported 10,000 dead lumpfish at Mowi's Port Na Cro salmon farm due to fungus "attributed to the warmer weather":

A Fish Health Inspectorate report in August 2019 reported mass mortalities and disease problems in cleaner fish at Mowi's 'Bay of the Dead Heads' salmon farm.

The inspection by Marine Scotland and the Animal & Plant Health Agency was triggered by a welfare complaint filed by Scottish Salmon Watch in July 2019:

The Ferret reported in November 2019:

APHA's letter to Mowi in September 2019 was obtained via Freedom of Information and published by Scottish Salmon Watch in April 2020:

$camon $cotland reported in March 2022:

A FOI disclosure @APHAgovuk has exposed 100% mortality of cleaner fish – and over half a million dead salmon – at The Scottish Salmon Company's Taranaish salmon farm near Breasclete in Loch Roag on the Isle of Lewis @salmon_scottish @ScotlandSalmon https://t.co/kPQzvvpvVH @WHFP1 pic.twitter.com/9pDjpC9NY6

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 18, 2022

Here's the Fish Health Inspectorate's report on Taranaish salmon farm detailing the inspection on 7 December 2021 (Additional case 20210553) – including over 7,000 ballan wrasse mortalities and 100% mortality (i.e. all the wrasse died) by Week 45 (sadly there are no photos of the dead ballan wrasse):

Given 100% mortality in cleaner fish & half a million+ farmed salmon morts since October, maybe the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission should visit @salmon_scottish in Loch Roag? Here's photos from a visit @APHAgovuk & @marinescotland in December@Folketrygdfond @ScotlandSalmon https://t.co/l2hv2yEk02 pic.twitter.com/vQPNlNZKBU

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 18, 2022

$camon $cotland reported in February 2022:

EXPOSED: Salmon Scotland's Dirty Trade in Cleaner Fish https://t.co/Rt1GYWAoxV
Scottish salmon farming – along with millions of cleaner fish – is dead in the water! @ScotlandSalmon @MowiScotlandLtd @scotseafarms @marinescotland @onekindtweet @mcsuk @TheOpenSeas @ciwf @scotgp pic.twitter.com/xzuCm6fycp

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 1, 2022

Scottish Salmon Watch reported in January 2020:

First official photos of lumpfish on salmon farms published by @marinescotland Infected with Aeromonas salmonicida (Furunculosis), Vibrio & Shewanella @MowiScotlandLtd https://t.co/qr0tO3BMVR 17,000 dead leading to treatment with antibiotic (Aquatet/Oxytetracycline) @APHAgovuk pic.twitter.com/nYXDBnWfkx

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 27, 2020

A report by OneKind published in December 2018 hightlighted the welfare abuse of cleaner fish on salmon farms.

The Ferret reported in December 2018: