Mowi's Pure Bullshit (#1 in a regular series): "hardly any chemical treatments at all"

Mowi's Pure Bullshit (#1 in a regular series): "hardly any chemical treatments at all" https://t.co/1HZq7f4tcs @MowiScotlandLtd @PtmurtonG @ASC_aqua @BBCScotland @ScotlandSalmon @rspcaassured #GrandToursOfScotland #MowiBullshit #Mowi pic.twitter.com/EsW4Qhci2n

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 3, 2022

First up in a new series called 'Mowi's Pure Bullshit' is the claim that the Norwegian-owned giant is "hardly doing any chemical treatments at all" due to the use of cleaner fish (wrasse and lumpfish) and 'flushers' (freshwater and mechanical treatments such as a Hydrolicer, Thermolicer and Optilicer). This preposterous claim was made with a straight face by Mowi's Loch Sunart manager Rosie Curtis in a BBC show called 'Grand Tours of Scotland's Lochs' (fronted by Paul Murton – not to be confused with comedian Paul Merton). Watch the show on BBC iPlayer online here (it was originally broadcast in September 2018 but was repeated on Sunday 30 January 2022):

Scamon Scotland have captured Mowi's claims (in case BBC iPlayer deletes the show) – watch online here

Here's a transcript from the BBC broadcast:

“I’ve got lumpfish and wrasse – so that’s cleaner fish which help to eat the lice of the back of the salmon,” said Rosie Curtis.

“Well, that means if the lice are being picked off by the cleaner fish then you’re using less pesticides,” said Paul Murton.

“Yes, absolutely, between wrasse and lumpfish and also now ‘flushers’ coming in you’re hardly doing any chemical treatments at all now.

“Well, that’s brilliant,” said Paul Murton.

It’s fantastic. It’s the future” said Rosie Curtis.

Sadly, the story of cleaner fish use on salmon farms in Scotland is a horror story not the rosy picture presented by the biased BBC. Scamon Scotland pointed out in a press release on Tuesday (1 February 2022):

Why is @scotgov turning a blind eye to welfare abuse of 'cleaner fish' on salmon farms? @ScotlandSalmon @MowiScotlandLtd @salmon_scottish @scotseafarms https://t.co/Rt1GYWAoxV
Please end the welfare nightmare! @scotgp @ciwf @PETAUK @HSIGlobal @Animallawyersuk @onekindtweet pic.twitter.com/n3SID7Iy7B

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 1, 2022

Scottish Salmon Watch filmed serious welfare problems in lumpsucker 'cleaner fish' at RSPCA Assured Mowi's 'Bay of the Dead Heads' salmon farm in July 2019 – with lumpsuckers dead and dying on the surface of the cage.

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi’s Loch Torridon salmon farm in November 2018 we found dead cleaner fish – both wrasse and lumpfish – dumped in mort bins along with diseased farmed salmon:

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi’s Sconser salmon farm on the Isle of Skye in November 2018 we found dead lumpfish in bins with farmed salmon:

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi’s RSPCA Assured and ASC-certified Gorsten salmon farm in Loch Linnhe in November 2018 (as featured on Netflix’s Seaspiracy) in November 2018 we discovered dozens of dead cleaner fish in a skip full of diseased salmon:

In July 2021, when Scottish Salmon Watch visited Mowi’s RSPCA Assured salmon farm at Poll Na Gille in the Sound of Jura (rated by OneKind as the worst salmon farm in Scotland) we found dead lumpfish on the surface of the cages:

And wild fish swimming inside the cages with lice-infested salmon (a lumpfish can be seen on the side of the cage ignoring the lice-infested salmon):

As well as dead cleaner fish, video footage shot at Mowi's Poll Na Gille salmon farm on 17 July 2021 shows lumpsuckers foraging near a dead farmed salmon floating on the surface of a cage:

An episode of ‘Grand Tours of Scotland’s Lochs’ broadcast by the BBC in September 2018 (and repeated on 29 January 2022) presented an altogether rosier picture of cleaner fish during a visit to a Mowi salmon farm in Loch Sunart. “Between wrasse and lumpfish….you’re hardly doing any chemical treatments at all,” claimed Mowi’s Rosie Curtis in an interview with Paul Murton.

Scottish Salmon Watch revealed last month the endemic use of toxic chemicals at salmon farms – including Mowi’s ASC-certified salmon farms at MacLeans Nose and in Loch Sunart. Mowi’s MacLeans Nose salmon farm – managed by Rosie Curtis – reported a staggering 17 doses of Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate between January 2019 and June 2021:

Scottish Salmon Watch wrote to the Aquaculture Stewardship Council last month (6 January 2022) asking them to withdraw ASC certification for Mowi's "farmed responsibly" Scottish salmon (including at Mowi's Loch Sunart salmon farms at MacLeans Nose and Invasion Bay):

Open letter to the ASC: Please cancel all certification of Mowi's toxic Scottish salmon! https://t.co/N9MwDaN0kQ @ASC_aqua @MowiScotlandLtd @fms_scotland @SalmonTroutCons
Scottish salmon is farmed irresponsibly not responsibly! @rspcaassured @ASA_UK @sainsburys @Tesco @LidlGB pic.twitter.com/3L76as7mTY

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 6, 2022

Scottish Salmon Watch's email to the ASC dated 6 January 2022 included:

The use of the toxic chemicals Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin, Emamectin benzoate, Formaldehyde (Formalin) and Hydrogen peroxide on ASC-certified salmon farms and sites currently being audited for ASC-certification should be enough to blow ASC certification out of the water.

Scottish Salmon Watch has number-crunched published data on toxic chemical use by Mowi since 1 January 2019 and the worst Mowi salmon farms in terms of the use of the shellfish-killing chemicals Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate is Caolas a Deas West and East (both currently being audited via the ASC) with 18 doses of toxic chemicals (data up to June 2021).

In July 2021, Mowi's Caolas a Deas West salmon farm in Loch Shell reported two more doses of Azamethiphos (950g) and Deltamethrin (40g) and Mowi's Caolas a Deas East salmon farm reported two more doses of Azamethiphos (2750g) and Deltamethrin (40g).

In September 2021 (the latest data available), another 510 grams of Azamethiphos was used by Mowi at Caolas a Deas East in Loch Shell and another 570 grams at Caolas a Deas West:

Other Mowi salmon farms reporting over a dozen doses of toxic chemicals between January 2019 and June 2021 include the ASC-certified MacLeans Nose in Loch Sunart (17), ASC audited Grey Horse Channel (16), ASC-certified Invasion Bay in Loch Sunart (13), and ASC audited Camus Glas in Loch Sunart (13):

Other Mowi salmon farms reporting 12 doses of toxic chemicals between January 2019 and June 2021 include Groatay and Ardintoul – both currently audited for ASC certification:

Mowi's Groatay salmon farm reported another dose of Emamectin benzoate in July 2021; another dose of Azamethiphos in August 2021 and doses of both Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate in September 2021.

Mowi's Stulaigh salmon farm is already certified by the ASC despite using 10 doses of toxic chemicals between September 2019 and May 2021:

Far from reducing the use of toxic chemicals as demanded by the ASC Salmon Standard v1.3 (July 2019), the latest data published by Scotland's Aquaculture shows that the use of toxic chemicals has increased at Mowi salmon farms. During 2021 (data only up to September 2021 – i.e. missing for Q4) Mowi used more Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate than in 2020 – with treble the amount of lobster-killing Deltamethrin used by Mowi in 2021 compared to 2020! If you focus on ASC-certified Mowi salmon farms (Linnhe/Ardgour, Gorsten, Leven, Marulaig Bay, Rum, Harport, Stulaigh, MacLeans Nose and Invasion Bay) or Mowi salmon farms undergoing an 'initial audit' for ASC certification (Camus Glas, Caolas a Deas West & East, Alsh/Sron, Duich, Ardintoul, Groatay, Greanem and Grey Horse Channel) then a picture of increasing not decreasing toxic chemical use emerges. For example, Mowi's Camus Glas salmon farm used 66% more Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate in 2021 than in 2020 even though data for the last three months of 2021 is not yet available:

Mowi's Caolas a Deas East salmon farm in Loch Shell has used more double the amount of Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate in the first nine months of 2021 than in the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined!

Mowi's Duich salmon farm – located in a 'Special Area of Conservation' – used the lobster-killing chemical Deltamethrin in 2021 but not in 2020 or 2019:

Mowi's Grey Horse Channel salmon farm has used more Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate in the first nine months of 2021 than in the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined:

Mowi's Groatay salmon farm has used 49% more Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate in the first nine months of 2021 (17,115 grams) than in the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined (11,466 grams):

Mowi's ASC-certified salmon farm off the Isle of Rum used four times more Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos in the first nine months of 2021 compared to the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined!

Mowi's ASC-certified MacLeans Nose salmon farm in Loch Sunart used more Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin in the first nine months of 2021 (21,391 grams) compared to the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined (19,849 grams):

Mowi's ASC-certified Marulaig Bay salmon farm in South Uist used four times more Azamethiphos in the first nine months of 2021 than in the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined:

Mowi's ASC-certified Stulaigh salmon farm used four times more Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate during the first nine months of 2021 (10,900 grams) compared to the whole of 2020 and 2019 combined (2,458 grams):

The chemicals data presented above is just the tip of the iceberg. Read the smallprint in the Scotland's Aquaculture dataset and you will see that it does NOT include toxic chemical use via wellboats. The data therefore ignores ALL use of Hydrogen Peroxide as well as use of Azamethiphos and Deltamethrin via wellboats:

Data was disclosed in November 2019 by the Scottish Government via FOI-19-02442 – including well boat data disclosed via Dropbox on the use of lobster-killing Deltamethrin at Mowi's ASC-certified Gorsten salmon farm in Loch Linnhe:

Data on toxic chemical use by salmon farms via wellboats for 2019 was published by the Scottish Government in November 2020 (Salmosan Vet is the toxic organophosphate Azamethiphos) – including at ASC certified Rum and MacLeans Nose and ASC audited Loch Alsh, Camus Glas and Caolas a Deas West and East:

Revealed: Mowi's toxic salmon – farms currently being audited @ASC_aqua as "responsibly farmed" have reported over a dozen doses of lobster-killing Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos & Emamectin benzoate since 2019! @MowiScotlandLtd @rspcaassured @ScotlandSalmon https://t.co/cxEj1GFxlh pic.twitter.com/My2mwNlmBg

Mowi's "responsibly farmed" Scottish salmon is sold in Sainsbury's and Tesco (currently being investigated by advertising and trading standards following a complaint filed by Scottish Salmon Watch in November 2021) and over the festive season it was marketed as 'Host'.

Mowi's "responsibly farmed" Scottish salmon sold by @tesco & @sainsburys is subject of a complaint filed by campaigners with advertising & trading standards @ASA_UK @CMAgovUK @TSScot @SSC_seafood https://t.co/XjkuDA7WsB
Scottish salmon is irresponsibly farmed! @ScotlandSalmon pic.twitter.com/PzmQeFu5D3

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 22, 2021

Scottish Salmon Watch reported last month (25 January 2022) how the use of toxic chemicals on salmon farms across Scotland was increasing:

Toxic Scottish Salmon – Chemical Use Doubles Since 2018! https://t.co/TAE9KRYcZv @ScottishEPA @ScotlandSalmon @marinescotland @MowiScotlandLtd @salmon_scottish @scotseafarms @GriegShetland @kamesfishfarm @vmdgovuk @MairiMcAllan @ASC_aqua @rspcaassured @sainsburys @Tesco @LidlGB pic.twitter.com/4CUyGTHUUU

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

Here's the data sourced from monthly returns submitted by salmon farming companies to SEPA and published via Scotland's Aquaculture website:

Since 2018 there's been a staggering 1,735 doses of shellfish-killing toxic chemicals (Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos & Emamectin) including 868 doses of Emamectin which scientists @ScottishEPA recommended banning in 2016 (with a two-year phase out)! https://t.co/TAE9KRYcZv pic.twitter.com/JQWbipHHcR

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

Even without data for Q4 2021 (October to December) which is expected to be published in March, the use of toxic chemicals (Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate) on salmon farms in Scotland has almost doubled since 2018 with the use of Emamectin benzoate already on a par with 2018 use (the date when SEPA proposed a ban) and the use of Deltamethrin (shown by recent scientific research to be lethal to lobsters up to 39km away!) already significantly higher than in previous years:

Toxic Scottish Salmon – why are salmon pharms permitted to use lobster-killing chemicals across Scotland (even @SoilAssociation @ASC_aqua certified & @rspcaassured sites)? @ScottishEPA @nature_scot @marinescotland @ScotGovNetZero @vmdgovuk @scotgp @MairiMcAllan @MairiGougeon pic.twitter.com/CVqp5pup7D

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

Data published online via 'Scotland's Aquaculture' shows the scale of toxic chemical use on salmon farms acrosss Scotland. Since January 2018 (data up to September 2018) there have been 198 doses of Deltamethrin (a lobster-killing chemical with a lethal range of up to 39km!), 669 doses of the organophosphate Azamethiphos (another chemical shown by peer-reviewed science to kill shellfish) and a staggering 868 doses of Emamectin benzoate (shown by SEPA scientists to be a crustacean-killer). Here's the highest reported monthly uses of Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate since January 2018 (data up to September 2021):

The data published online via Scotland's Aquaculture (download Excel spreadsheet via clicking on CSV Export) shows repeated doses of toxic chemicals – here's 17 doses of toxic chemicals used by Norwegian-owned Mowi (known as Marine Harvest until 1 January 2019) at their aptly-named Muck salmon farm since January 2018 including 7 doses of lobster-killing Deltamethrin:

Mowi reported 14 doses of toxic chemicals at their deadly Ardintoul salmon farm in Loch Alsh (a site located within a Special Area of Conservation and currently being audited by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) including four repeat doses of crustacean-killing Emamectin benzoate between March and August 2021 (something which would have been banned if SEPA's scientists had been listened to back in 2016):

Mowi's Colonsay salmon farm – the centre of bribery allegations when it was first established in 2012 – has reported 20 doses of toxic chemicals since January 2018 including 9 doses of lobster-killing Deltamethrin:

Another Mowi salmon farm in Loch Duich (a site located within a Special Area of Conservation and currently being audited by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) reported three consecutive doses of the lobster-killing chemical Deltamethrin between July and September 2021 and three consecutive doses of lobster-killing Azamethiphos between June and August 2019:

Mowi's lice-infested North Shore East salmon farm in Loch Erisort has reported 16 doses of toxic chemicals since March 2019:

Mowi's ASC-certified salmon farm at MacLeans Nose in Loch Sunart has reported a crustacean-killing 23 doses of toxic chemicals since January 2018 including the triple whammy of Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate use in August 2021 and 10 doses of toxic chemicals in the first nine months of 2021:

Mowi's Rum salmon farm – the source of disease-ridden fish spilled onto the A86 in September 2019 – has reported 14 doses of toxic chemicals including 11 doses of lobster-killing Deltamethrin since August 2018:

Mowi's RSPCA Assured Loch Greshornish salmon farm has reported a staggering 23 doses of toxic chemicals since February 2018 including four doses of Emamectin benzoate in 2021 (data up to September) and a 10-month period between October 2019 and July 2020 which saw Mowi use the lobster-killing organophosphate Azamethiphos over 9 months (just March 2020 was missing):

Mowi's Grey Horse Channel salmon farm (another site currently being audited by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) has reported a staggering 20 doses of toxic chenicals since May 2019 including doses of both Emamectin benzoate and Azamethiphos in September 2021 with doses of Azamethiphos used in May, June, August and September 2021 with Emamectin benzoate used in July 2021:

I could go on – and on. Suffice to say:

Mowi is a Toxic Brand – how can @MowiScotlandLtd market itself as "responsibly farmed" @Tesco @sainsburys @LidlGB @AldiUK when it uses a lethal cocktail toxic chemicals which kill shellfish & marine life under salmon farms? @rspcaassured @Folketrygdfond @ScotlandSalmon @ASA_UK pic.twitter.com/JD6istzdST

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022