Fish Fraud: Catch of the Day – Exposing Salmon Scams!

Fish Fraud: Catch of the Day – Exposing Salmon Scams!
Complaints filed vs @asda @LidlGB @marksandspencer @Tesco & @sainsburys with the @CMAgovUK for false green claims of "responsibly farmed" Scottish & Norwegian salmon @wirraltsd @DefraGovUK
Details via https://t.co/K7rwr1QMo1 pic.twitter.com/fYgXvSrhRQ

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 10, 2024

$camon $cotland is calling on consumers to publicly expose illegal labeling, deceptive marketing and false advertising of ‘responsibly sourced’ Scottish salmon in supermarkets, restaurants and online retailers.

As part of the ‘Catch of the Day: Exposing Salmon Scams’ campaign, shoppers in supermarkets and diners in restaurants are being asked to take photos and video evidence of salmon scammers.

Today (10 April), $camon $cotland submitted a complaint against supermarkets to the Competition and Markets Authority:

Read the complaint in full online here

More details are presented in a news release (10 April) online here

“Salmon farming is a welfare nightmare and environmental pariah,” said Don Staniford, Director of $camon $cotland. “So much so that even the world’s most prestigious stores don't want the public finding out the horrific truth about factory farmed salmon. It’s scandalous that Harrods, Selfridges and Fortnum & Mason have all been caught breaching labeling laws. If the world’s best retailers are illegally marketing salmon then the scale of the fish fraud must be off the charts. Trading Standards around the UK need to close the net on salmon scammers.”

Calling Consumer Vigilantes!
Here's how we caught Fortnum & Mason's posh food hall scamming gullible tourists in London @Fortnums
If @London_T_S & @CMAgovUK don't police labelling laws on Scottish salmon then it's up to everyone to step up to the plate https://t.co/3yDW4rahZG pic.twitter.com/gpS79AxAHK

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 10, 2024

John Robins of Ethical Promotions told The Ferret in October 2023:

“Salmon farmers in Scotland have long sought to mislead the public into thinking of their product as the same as wild salmon migrating back to Scottish rivers and lochs and leaping up waterfalls to reach their traditional spawning grounds. Such scenes have often been used to promote the product and mislead consumers. Because the public are becoming more aware of the many negative aspects of salmon farming the industry wants to distance itself from their own failings by dropping the word ‘farmed’ from the description of their product. Like the use of the phrase ‘responsibly sourced’ this is a calculated and deliberate attempt to confuse and mislead shoppers.”

The Times reported in October 2023:

“Abigail Penny, executive director of Animal Equality, which has filmed salmon in Scottish fish farms being eaten alive by lice, said the industry’s attempt to eliminate “farmed” from its PGI labelling was “deeply troubling”. “This move poses a serious risk of misleading consumers, jeopardising their ability to make truly informed choices,” she said. “The inescapable reality is that tens of millions of Atlantic salmon suffer at the hands of the Scottish farmed salmon industry every year. These naturally migratory animals are confined in cramped underwater cages that act as a hotbed for disease and lice outbreaks.”