Escape at ISA-Hit Laxar – why is 'Scottish' Salmon Still Importing Millions of Ova from Iceland? @RUVohf https://t.co/Cs7LjXG8jN @MFAIceland @MairiGougeon @marinescotland @ScotlandSalmon @MowiScotlandLtd @WeAreBenchmark @scotseafarms @HGSalmonUK @GriegShetland @salmon_scottish pic.twitter.com/RSHcqAOwvb
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 21, 2022
RUV in Iceland reported earlier today (21 January 2022) that ISA-hit Laxar has a hole in one of their salmon cages which is now being investigated by the Icelandic authorities for an escape:
RUV reported last month (13 December 2021) that Norwegian-owned Laxar was forced to slaughter farmed salmon infected with ISA:
Laxar slaughter all fish in a farming area in Reyðarfjörður due to Infectious Salmon Anaemia @RUVfrettir https://t.co/QoPxw85BEa
Were infected salmon eggs (ova) @WeAreBenchmark the source of ISA? Will Scotland block shipments of ova from Iceland? @marinescotland @ScotGovNetZero— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 14, 2021
Undercurrent News reported (14 December 2021):
Last month (2 December 2021), Scottish Salmon Watch wrote to Scottish Ministers calling for the borders to be closed to ova imports:
"We need to head off the accusations of disease in Icelandic eggs though suggest we don't address the accusation directly" said @scotgov @marinescotland @ScotGovNetZero employee in February 2020. Now that ISA is reported in Iceland will you be banning ova imports? @MairiGougeon pic.twitter.com/Wibvt32wnY
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 29, 2021
Despite the increasing risks and the lack of testing, a Freedom of Information reply from the Scottish Government last week (10 January 2022) claimed that the risk of importing ova from Iceland was not significant:
“Marine Scotland Science does not undertake routine testing on ova to screen for the presence of aquatic animal pathogens” admitted @scotgov in a FOI disclosure this week. 93 million salmon ova were imported into salmon farms in Scotland in 2020 & 2021!https://t.co/0CFJz9EkPO pic.twitter.com/xAcPOpHNgn
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 14, 2022
A letter from the Scottish Government dated 10 January 2022 included:
A media backgrounder published by Scottish Salmon Watch (14 January 2022) included:
EXPOSED: 'Scottish' Salmon's Import/Export Trade in Ova, Smolts & 'Cleaner Fish' @ScotlandSalmon
As the world closes borders to prevent the spread of #COVID19 why have millions of ova flooded into #Scotland from ISA-ridden #Iceland, #Ireland & #Norway? https://t.co/0CFJz9EkPO pic.twitter.com/sMs8JzwbiU— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 15, 2022
Data published by the Scottish Government in September 2021 via the 'Scottish Fish Farm Production Survey 2020' detailed imports of ova from Iceland flooding 'Scottish' salmon farms following the ban on ova imports from Norway due to ISA risks in 2019:
Game Ova for Iceland?
Last year, 'Scottish' salmon farming imported 42 million salmon eggs (ova) from Iceland – how many were infected with Infectious Salmon Anaemia? @scotgov @MairiGougeon @marinescotlandhttps://t.co/SupjI0ROMP @EFTAsecretariat @Iceland_Review #Iceland #ISA pic.twitter.com/VtJk2POf8m— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 27, 2021
Scottish Salmon Watch reported in November 2021:
Now that pathogenic Infectious Salmon Anaemia is suspected in Iceland will Scotland close the border to ova imports to stop the risk of disease transfer? @MairiGougeon @marinescotland @ScotlandSalmon @WeAreBenchmark @fms_scotland @SalmonTroutCons https://t.co/3d7SGEVAb5 https://t.co/HMxIA5pCD8
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 26, 2021
Intrafish reported (26 November 2021):
Salmon Business reported (26 November 2021) that the suspected case of ISA was at Norwegian-owned Laxar who is understood to source salmon eggs (ova) from Stofnfiskur (renamed Benchmark Genetics Iceland in January 2021):
Fish Farmer reported (29 November 2021):
Since June 2019 (after Norwegian ova were banned due to Infectious Salmon Anaemia), #Iceland has accounted for 68% of ova imports into #Scotland with #Norway accounting for less than 1%. Now that #ISA is in Iceland will ova imports be banned? @scotgov @MairiGougeon @MairiMcAllan pic.twitter.com/ppEROAmYDN
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 29, 2021
Now that Infectious Salmon Anaemia has been reported at Laxar in Iceland (a Norwegian-owned company which is sources ova from Stofnfiskur – rebranded Benchmark Genetics Iceland in January 2021) will Scotland now ban Icelandic ova imports and rely only on Irish ova imports?
Norwegian-owned Laxar – hit by Infectious Salmon Anaemia in #Iceland – sources salmon eggs (ova) from Stofnfiskur (Benchmark) @WeAreBenchmark
Since 2016, 'Scottish' salmon farms have imported 110.6 million ova from Stofnfiskur (Benchmark). Will @scotgov now close the border? pic.twitter.com/xOJO5tuUv2— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 29, 2021
Scottish Salmon Watch revealed last week (10 January 2020) that ISA was reported Landcatch's Ormsary Hatchery in Argyll:
Infectious Salmon Anaemia Reported at Landcatch’s Ormsary Hatchery in November – was ISA imported via infected salmon eggs (ova) from Iceland? @WeAreBenchmark @HGSalmonUK @BetterBreeding @marinescotland @ScotlandSalmon @obantimes @argyllshiread @salmon_scottish @LochDuartSalmon pic.twitter.com/dh5CD9J5tg
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 10, 2022
Hendrix's Ormsary Hatchery has imported over 26.7 million salmon eggs from Iceland, Norway & Ireland since 2016 – how many were infected with Infectious Salmon Anaemia? @marinescotland @MairiGougeon @WeAreBenchmark @BetterBreeding @HGSalmonUK @salmon_scottish @ScotlandSalmon pic.twitter.com/Hx9s03jOG6
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 10, 2022
Loch Duart, Organic Sea Harvest, Scottish Sea Farms & Scottish Salmon Co imported 14 million ova from Iceland & Norway via Landcatch's Ormsary Hatchery since 2016 – how many 'Scottish' farmed salmon have tested positive for ISA? @ScotlandSalmon @salmon_scottish @LochDuartSalmon pic.twitter.com/GFyS1BdUxY
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 10, 2022
Salmon farming in Iceland – as in Scotland – is in the news for all the wrong reasons. Fish Farmer reported yesterday (20 January 2022):
The North Atlantic Salmon Fund and Scottish Salmon Watch reported in September 2021:
Secret Filming Exposes Welfare Abuse Inside Salmon Cages in Iceland & Scotland – Go Pro cameras lift the lid on the horrors of factory fish farming! https://t.co/ve4uKy26l1
Campaigners are calling on open pen salmon farms to be closed down in the wake of horrific video footage pic.twitter.com/KLObWLqf1Y— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 18, 2021
Scottish Salmon Watch reported in August 2021:
Nothing to see here – just a farmed salmon missing half its face. All perfectly normal in the world of "responsibly sourced" salmon. Move along now #SalMar #Arnarlax #ArcticFish #NorwayRoyalSalmon #Iceland https://t.co/X0oVELF61d pic.twitter.com/vyyofcaJzu
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) August 30, 2021
Watch a horror film shot inside a salmon farm in Iceland:
Here's photos from the secret filming:
A quick dip of the GoPro in a salmon feedlot – by Against The Current Iceland.
Look familiar?
Note lice infested, diseased lumpfish. It’s not just salmon that are dying in these cages.@SSPOsays @MairiMcAllan @_KateForbes @HamishMacdonell pic.twitter.com/9lmr643fXs
— Salmon Scotland (@SalmonScotland) August 13, 2021
Read more via:
- Game Ova for Imports & Exports: Close the Borders to Stop the Spread of Diseases & Genetic Pollution!
- Infectious Salmon Anaemia Reported at Landcatch’s Ormsary Hatchery in November – was ISA imported via infected salmon eggs (ova) from Iceland?
- Iceland Slaughters ISA-Infected Salmon – is Scotland next in the firing line?
- ISA hits Scottish Sea Farms owner SalMar in Norway – how many hidden cases are lurking on salmon farms in Scotland?
- Letter to Scottish Ministers calling for a ban on ova imports from Iceland
- Revealed: Infectious Salmon Anaemia Lurking in Scottish Salmon
- Scottish Ministers with Egg on Their Faces – is it game ova for imports of salmon eggs from Iceland & Norway?
- Scottish Scamon Eggsposé: The Foreign Companies Importing Over 320 Million Salmon Eggs (Ova) Into 'Scottish' Fish Farms Since 2016!
- Press Statement: Ban All Ova Imports to Protect 'Scottish' Salmon!
- ISA in Iceland – will Scotland ban ova imports to prevent disease risks as with Norway?
- Mowi fined for breaching ISA laws in Norway – is ISA lurking at Mowi salmon farms in Scotland?
- Top story on Intrafish reports on ISA at Scottish Sea Farms!
- Salmon Farming is Like the Black Death Plague!
- Mowi's Mortality Nigthmare – Farmed Salmon is Dead in the Water!
- "Activist challenged over claim about fish virus" (Fish Farming Expert)
- Breaking News: ISA reported at RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms on the Isle of Mull
- Damning Disease Report for RSPCA Assured Scottish Sea Farms in Loch Spelve
- Letter to Scottish Ministers re. ISA in Scottish Salmon
- Media Backgrounder: Scottish Salmon’s Recurring ISA Nightmare
- Media Backgrounder: Norway’s Infectious Salmon Aquacalypse – Going Global Since 1984!
- Norway's Infectious Salmon "Horror Show" Secretly Playing Now In Scotland?
- Norwegian Salmon Egg Exports Banned Due to Disease Risks
"The lack of testing of imported ova is a serious risk to biosecurity as well as representing a threat to biodiversity" (Letter from Scottish Salmon Watch to the Scottish Government @MairiGougeon @scotgov) https://t.co/99P9Zla9l8 @ScotlandSalmon @SalmonTroutCons @AST_Salmon pic.twitter.com/vo2MPSY5Ar
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 2, 2021
ISA costs Icelandic salmon farmer $10 million as disease takes root in the country https://t.co/tHMZ3KC6qY
ISA was reported in Scotland in May 2021 @scotseafarms in Loch Spelve & in November 2021 @HGSalmonUK at Ormsary. How much will ISA cost Scotland? @ScotlandSalmon @scotgov— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 1, 2022