Over One Million Morts for Scottish Salmon in September 2020!

Over 1 Million dead salmon in September 2020! https://t.co/VWeqgu0zc6
Diseased Scottish salmon is piling up higher than Ben Nevis (Scotland's highest mountain)!@rspcaassured @salmon_scottish @LeroySeafood @GreenerScotland @scotgp @onekindtweet @ciwf @ProfCMDwyer @PETAUK pic.twitter.com/o0DqbHWApz

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 9, 2020

Data published by the Scottish Government on Friday (6 November 2020) details mass mortalities on salmon farms in Scotland up to the end of September 2020 and the dead bodies are piling up higher than Ben Nevis (Scotland's highest mountain)!

During the month of September 2020 there were 89 'Mortality Event Reports' totaling 1.1 million dead farmed salmon submitted by salmon farming companies in Scotland (note that just 6 companies – all foreign owned/controlled – account for 99% of 'Scottish' salmon farming production).

Since January 2017 from when the data is available a staggering 1,709 'Mortality Event Reports' have been submitted by salmon farming companies totaling 19.8 million dead farmed salmon (with 281 cases where numbers have still not been provided/disclosed or are listed as To Be Confirmed) dying from Amoebic Gill Disease, Proliferative Gill Disease, Fungus, Pancreas Disease, Cardiomyopathy Syndrome, Anaemia and other reasons.

Of the 89 'Mortality Event Reports' for September 2020 (6 cases have still to provide/disclose numbers), here's the worst 10 incidents headed by The Scottish Salmon Company with 83,413 dead salmon in Loch Langavat due to Fungus (with the fish treated with the carcinogenic chemical Formalin/Formaldehyde) closely followed by Grieg Seafood at Leinish in Loch Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye with 81,247 morts (both Loch Langavat and Leinish have multiple entries):

The disease-ridden Scottish Salmon Company accounted for 496,505 morts in September 2020 followed by Grieg Seafood with 318,600 morts, Mowi with 236,086 morts and Loch Duart with 35,556 (Scottish Sea Farms reported 6 mortality events in September 2020 but did not provide numbers with Cooke and RSPCA Assured Kames not reporting at all). Video footage of mass mortalities at Grieg Seafood on the Isle of Skye in September 2020 and at Mowi's Loch Torridon salmon farm in September 2020 graphically illustrates the shocking number of dead salmon:

It is unclear why Kames Fish Farming has not officially reported mass mortalities to the Scottish Government for September 2020 when video footage suggests welfare abuse and significant mortalities (the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has rated Kames as 'Poor' for non-compliance in terms of recording and reporting of toxic chemicals so perhaps it is standard practice for Kames not to fully disclose mass mortalities).

Fishy Figures – why has @kamesfishfarm not reported ANY mass mortalities during 2020 in Loch Tralaig (subject of a welfare abuse investigation @APHAgovuk)? https://t.co/VWeqgu0zc6 @marinescotland @GreenerScotland @Feorlean @FergusEwingMSP @strathearnrose @ScottishEPA @SSPOsays pic.twitter.com/5zqAygq8Wx

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 9, 2020

Video footage and photos published by Corin Smith in October 2020 suggest that October could be even worse than September for mass mortalities on Scottish salmon farms.

“You can’t help a suffering animal once it’s dead”.https://t.co/eg8coVRiwe

A crime under the Animal Health & Welfare Act 2006, Animals & Wldlife Bill, and Welfare of Farmed Animals 2010.👇@strathearnrose @MairiGougeon @ChrisGPackham @claudiabeamish @markruskell @StaceyDooley pic.twitter.com/Bha0UocQ9Q

— Salmon Research (@salmonresearch) November 5, 2020

Remember that the 'Mortality Event Reports' published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate on a monthly basis only relate to mass mortality events and therefore do not capture all dead salmon.

Scottish Salmon Watch has written to the Scottish Government to explain why so many cases (281) still have incomplete data – including 'Mortality Events' with huge mortality rates (the first case at Loch Spelve – Scottish Sea Farms – details a cull of 199,124 and 177,588 morts but does not give a figure for total mortality).

Loch Duart has 9 mortality events with numbers not provided; Cooke has 4; Kames Fish Farming only two and Grieg Seafood only one. However, Mowi/Marine Harvest has 23 mortality events with numbers not provided; The Scottish Salmon Company has 106 events with missing numbers and Scottish Sea Farms has a staggering 140 mortality events with numbers not provided.

Out of 1709 'Mortality Events' published since 2017 there are still 281 cases with missing figures (16%) @salmon_scottish has 106 & @scotseafarms has 140 with numbers not disclosed https://t.co/VWeqgu0zc6
Why? @marinescotland @SSPOsays @MairiGougeon @FergusEwingMSP @scotgov pic.twitter.com/oSMwgKgCMf

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 9, 2020

In 2013, lobbying from the Scottish salmon farming industry stopped data on numbers of mortalities being reported publicly as it was deemed "commercially damaging".

If you're looking for data on numbers of @rspcaassured dead farmed salmon in Scotland they don't exist – in 2013 @SSPOsays lobbied @ScottishEPA not to disclose mortalities as it was deemed commercially damaging! https://t.co/cDEyvS04dO @strathearnrose @salmon_scottish @scotgp pic.twitter.com/FICRbrpGXJ

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 2, 2020

Read more via:

It begs the question: are the surviving fish fit for human consumption?

Maybe @scotfoodjames @JulieHL @tavishscott @Feorlean @FSScot could answer this before the public find out? https://t.co/D2UTjS5Z6h

— Salmon Social Distancer (@Salmoncon) November 9, 2020

Addendum:

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Nov 9, 2020 at 9:54 AM
Subject: FOI re. mortaltities at Loch Tralaig (Kames Fish Farming) since 1 January 2017
To: <ceu@scotland.gsi.gov.uk>

Please provide information on mortalities at Loch Tralaig (operated by Kames Fish Farming) since 1 January 2017.

Please include data, Excel spreadsheets, emails, letters, reports, photos and any other information relating to mortalities at Kames Fish Farming since 1 January 2017.

Scottish Salmon Watch has recently analysed the data published on 6 November 2020 by the Fish Health Inspectorate via https://www.gov.scot/publications/fish-health-inspectorate-mortality-information/

In view of the mass mortalities and welfare abuse reported at Kames Fish Farming in Loch Tralaig in September 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch is surprised to see no reports from Kames in Loch Tralaig. In fact, since 1 January 2017 (when it seems the data was first made available) Kames Fish Farming has only reported 6 'Mortality Event Reports' and none from Loch Tralaig.

It is known that Kames Fish Farming has been rated 'Poor' by SEPA for their failure to record and report the use of toxic chemicals: https://donstaniford.com/poor-kames-/

Is Kames also guilty of the failure to report mass mortalities? Is the failure to report mortalities an offence? Perhaps Kames has been slow in reporting and merely needs a helpful reminder from the Fish Health Inspectorate?

It is noted via: https://www.gov.scot/publications/fish-health-inspectorate-mortality-information/

"Voluntary mortality reporting thresholds were agreed between Scottish Government and industry stakeholders through the Healthier Fish Working Group. Further information relating to the reporting requirements has been adopted within the Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture (CoGP)."

Since Kames is not a member of the SSPO (https://www.scottishsalmon.co.uk/about-us/our-members) does that mean Kames is not obliged to report mortalities?

Since Loch Tralaig is a freshwater salmon farm it does not seem to be governed by reporting requirements, in terms of mortalities by weight, via Scotland's Aquaculture:

http://aquaculture.scotland.gov.uk/data/site_details_record.aspx?site_id=FS0468

Hence this FOI request for data on mortalities at Kames Fish Farming in Loch Tralaig.

Please consider this an official FOI request under the relevant FOI and Environmental Information regulations.

Please provide this information electronically.

Please provide a receipt.

Thanks,

Don Staniford

Director, Scottish Salmon Watch

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Nov 9, 2020 at 11:18 AM
Subject: Missing mortality numbers for Scottish salmon?
To: <directormarinescotland@gov.scot>, <scottish.ministers@gov.scot>, Beamish C (Claudia), MSP <Claudia.Beamish.msp@parliament.scot>, Ruskell M (Mark), MSP <Mark.Ruskell.msp@parliament.scot>, Gougeon M (Mairi), MSP <Mairi.Gougeon.msp@parliament.scot>, MSP <Roseanna.Cunningham.msp@parliament.scot>, MSP <Gillian.Martin.msp@parliament.scot>, MSP <Alex.Rowley.msp@parliament.scot>

Why are salmon farming companies (in particular, Scottish Sea Farms and The Scottish Salmon Company) being allowed to report 'Mortality Events' without disclosing numbers?

Scottish Salmon Watch has looked at the mortality data published by the Scottish Government on Friday (6 November 2020): https://www.gov.scot/publications/fish-health-inspectorate-mortality-information/

Please look at the data yourself but by our calculation 281 cases reported since January 2017 still have incomplete data – including 'Mortality Events' with huge mortality rates. The first case cited below (Loch Spelve, Scottish Sea Farms) details in 'Action taken by FHI' a cull of 199,124 and 177,588 morts but does not give a figure for total mortality. Other cases provide zero information at all on numbers:

Of the 1709 'Mortality Event Reports' published since 1 January 2017 there are still 281 cases with missing figures – that's 16% of cases where numbers are not provided, not disclosed or are to be confirmed.

Scottish Salmon Watch fully recognises that the 'Mortality Event Reports' published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate on a monthly basis only relate to mass mortality events and therefore do not capture all dead salmon.

However, it appears that some companies are routinely providing less information than others. According to the data published on Friday 6 November 2020 by the Scottish Government, Mowi/Marine Harvest has 23 mortality events with numbers not provided; The Scottish Salmon Company has 106 events with missing numbers and Scottish Sea Farms has a staggering 140 mortality events with numbers not provided. At the other end of the spectrum, Loch Duart has 9 mortality events with numbers not provided; Cooke has 4; Kames Fish Farming only two and Grieg Seafood only one.

This could be explained away as merely a function of the size of the company (i.e. smaller companies will obviously report less) but there does seem to be a culture of non-disclosure at Scottish Sea Farms and The Scottish Salmon Company (smaller companies than Mowi for instance).

Would it be possible for the Scottish Government to chase up the missing numbers (especially in relation to Scottish Sea Farms and The Scottish Salmon Company)?

It was only in February 2018 via the Scottish Parliament's salmon farming inquiry that the SSPO pledged to publish reports on mortalities. Read via: Holyrood: "Salmon producers agree to publish reports on fish deaths"

Surely it is important for transparency and public disclosure for the data published by the Scottish Government to be accurate and complete?

Scottish Salmon Watch appreciates that salmon farming companies may not always know with 100% certainty the exact number of morts but if 15% of their stock is dying, for example, then surely they have a rough indication of their losses (I am sure they are duty-bound to report such financial losses to their shareholders and the Norwegian stock exchange)?

The issue of mass mortalities on salmon farms is an ongoing one which Scottish Salmon Watch is focusing on – more details via:

Over One Million Morts for Scottish Salmon in September 2020!

Survival of the Unhealthiest Scottish Salmon – New data reveals shocking mortality rates!

Yours sincerely,

Don Staniford

Director, Scottish Salmon Watch