Norwegian Lies: the Day the Salmon Died!

The tide is turning on pharmed salmon in Norway as national TV hosts a show dedicated to the welfare, cruelty, ethical & moral SCANDAL which is now at crisis point:@MairiGougeon @GillianMSP @CVOScotland @AngusRobertson pic.twitter.com/RnfiWOgLpP

— Salmon Scotland (@SalmonScotland) November 18, 2023

The PR disaster that is Norwegian salmon farming has suffered a nightmare few weeks fuelled by damning video footage and leaked photos showcasing welfare abuse and gruesome deaths inside salmon farms in Norway as well as in Iceland where the Norwegian giants Mowi and SalMar operate.

As Norway's state broadcaster NRK – the Norwegian equivalent of the BBC in the UK or CBC in Canada – so eloquently put it in a live TV debate last week (16 November 2023): "Why are we occupied with this carnage of the seas? Well, because it all comes down to the trust in which consumers across the world have in the quality of Norwegian salmon and because Norway is the world's largest salmon farming nation. So whilst the industry claims that Norwegian salmon already is perfect we ask: is it really?"

Per Erik-Schulze from Friends of the Earth Norway Tweeted (1 November 2023):

Norwegian farmed salmon industry is in serious trouble, violating animal health and welfare standards. New photos surfacing with national broadcaster NRK today show piles of dead, gill diseased salmon in the fish pens of seafood giant Lerøy this autumnhttps://t.co/Be8sDWvLuc pic.twitter.com/Joj6Tp8smg

— Per-Erik Schulze (@PerErikSchulze) November 1, 2023

Shocking video footage of salmon infested with lice at a Mowi-owned salmon farm in Iceland went viral in early November with reports in Norway's Financial Times (Dagens Naringsliv) and the UK's Guardian newspaper.

Watch the drone footage captured by Veiga Grétarsdóttir Sulebust:

Video footage shot by Veiga Grétarsdóttir Sulebust inside Icelandic salmon farms was shared by pop superstar Bjork:

A senior executive told SalmonBusiness: “One day we will wake up & find that consumer opinion has shifted & the industry won’t know what hit it.” That moment may be happening he warned pointing to the massive publicity generated by Icelandic singer @bjork's recent interventions https://t.co/ofPNpmFjbz pic.twitter.com/iGrEIXxqXq

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 13, 2023

It's now very rock 'n' roll to speak out against salmon farming with Rolling Stone magazine featuring the global backlash against farmed salmon:

Such is the scale of the media fallout that witnessing the tragedy unfold is like watching a car crash, plane crash and train crash all at the same time.

Even the highly paid spin doctors at the Norwegian $almafia have failed divert public attention away from the horrors of salmon farming. Norway's state broadcaster NRK lifted the lid via a live TV debate last week (16 November 2023).

Watch Norway's $almafia blown out of the water live on Norwegian TV – you don't even need to speak Norwegian to understand the scale of the PR disaster! @NRKno @LeroySeafood @seafoodnorway @NFdep @fiskeridir @NorwaySeafoodUS @UK_NSC @NorwayMFA @the_gsfr https://t.co/6ufLYhSDnV pic.twitter.com/pyTxW3Ucjs

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 18, 2023

This may be looked back on as a watershed moment when the global tide turned against toxic salmon pharming in Norway. Salmon Business reported (16 November 2023):

“He basically said we don’t need to worry because sick fish is safe to eat for humans,” summarised one seething industry insider. “How can a whole industry depend on such incompetence?” @Salmon_Business https://t.co/6zTAeVWm9g @NorwaySeafoodUS @NorwayMFA @NFdep @fiskeridir

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 17, 2023

How to turn a PR crisis into a PR catastrophe?: ‘We don’t need to worry because sick fish are safe for humans to eat’ https://t.co/6zTAeVWm9g

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 17, 2023

High North News reported (17 November 2023):

"On the surface, it looks like a complete PR collapse. Below the surface of the sea, something far more serious is at stake. The salmon industry is at risk of making itself inedible" @Arne_O_Holm @HighNorthNews https://t.co/agvP12nj4k @bjork

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 17, 2023

Normally, the Norwegian $almafia are successful in ensuring that no bad news is translated into English but such is the stench coming from Norway that the bad news just keeps on seeping through the cracks in Norway's propaganda. Intrafish reported (17 November 2023):

Salmon Business reported (8 November 2023):

The debate about Norwegian salmon is set to rage on – as one of the world's best footballers Erling Haaland reveals he imports Norwegian salmon from "the best fish restaurant in Norway" to Manchester City. The Sun reported (20 November 20223):

Victoria Braathen @UK_NSC @TheSun: "I’m happy two of Norway’s most famous treasures have found each other in the UK. Our salmon is the world’s most popular fish, globally recognised for its quality & nutritious credentials" https://t.co/hS9dWE3YtN
Is the salmon pharmed or wild? pic.twitter.com/UWxq1ZiQ0E

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 20, 2023

Far from being a national treasure, the Norwegian salmon farming industry is heaping national shame on Norway all over the globe with cartel price-fixing investigations in the USA, Canada and Europe. Intrafish reported (3 November 2023):

Norway's $almafia may still have the power to pull the strings in the murky world of salmon farming but their Große Luge (Big Lie) is unravelling faster than you can say: Global Salmon Boycott.

The EU's cartel case against Norway's $almafia could prove costly – not just in financial terms but also in terms of PR. Intrafish reported in June 2022:

Leroy Seafood (co-owners of Scottish Sea Farms – real name Norskott Havbruk – along with SalMar) referenced the cartel investigations in their Q3 2023 report published on 15 November 2023:

It could be game over for Norway's $almonopoly.