Revealed: 30+ Million Dead Scottish Salmon Since 2017 - over 8 million morts reported last year & over half a million in first two weeks of 2022!!

Revealed: 30+ Million Dead Scottish Salmon Since 2017 – 8m morts reported last year & half a million in first two weeks of 2022!! https://t.co/tBz56oIRHK @ScotlandSalmon @tavishscott
Anyone for yummy "responsibly sourced" Scottish salmon? @rspcaassured @ASC_aqua @SoilAssociation pic.twitter.com/K8cU8Bo64Y

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 18, 2022

Data published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate earlier this month (7 February 2022) is enough to out you off eating 'healthy' and "responsibly sourced" Scottish salmon for life – here's a summary of the data which is sourced from 'Mortality Event Reports' submitted by salmon farming companies in Scotland. Note that ca. 70% of salmon farming production is certified as 'wefare friendly' via RSPCA Assured with another 12,500 tonnes certified as 'organic' via the Soil Association and 14 salmon farms certified as "farmed responsibly" by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council with a further 12 Mowi and Scottish Sea Farms sites undergoing an 'initial audit' for ASC certification:

Already during the first two weeks of 2022 there have been 30 'Mortality Event Reports' reported to the Fish Health Inspectorate totalling in excess of half a million dead farmed salmon (510,163) headed by The Scottish Salmon Company's Russel Burn hatchery near Applecross (which received £5 million in public funding in December 2021) - data for the rest of January should be published in early March online here:

Already during the first two weeks of 2022 there have been 30 'Mortality Event Reports' reported to the Fish Health Inspectorate totalling in excess of half a million dead farmed salmon (510,163)! https://t.co/oZtlH0CRpV @marinescotland @ScotGovNetZero @scotgov @ScotlandSalmon pic.twitter.com/K4O41FLA5l

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 18, 2022

According to the Fish Health Inspectorate data published on 7 February 2022, Norwegian giant Mowi has reported 3.1 million mortalities since 1 January 2021 (data up to mid-January 2022) via 184 'Mortality Event Reports' – here's the biggest mass mortalities in sea cages or freshwater cages headed by over 100,000 dead salmon at Grey Horse Channel Outer in North Uist:

Norwegian giant Mowi has reported 3.1 million mortalities since 1 January 2021 via 184 'Mortality Event Reports' – here's the biggest mass mortalities in sea or freshwater cages headed by 100,000+ dead salmon at Grey Horse Channel Outer https://t.co/tBz56oIRHK @ScotlandSalmon pic.twitter.com/IuujrPURVk

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 18, 2022

According to the Fish Health Inspectorate data published on 7 February 2022, The Scottish Salmon Company reported 4.1 million mortalities since 1 January 2021 (data up to mid-January 2022) via 293 'Mortality Event Reports' – here's the biggest mass mortalities in sea cages including West Strome salmon farm in Loch Carron (where Scottish Salmon Watch filmed in September 2021):

The Scottish Salmon Co report 4.1 million mortalities since 1 January 2021 via 293 'Mortality Events' headed by Druimyeon Bay salmon farm off the Isle of Gigha with 148,628 morts in one week in October 2021! @salmon_scottish @Folketrygdfond @ScotlandSalmon https://t.co/tBz56oIRHK pic.twitter.com/eHI9EZxIr1

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 18, 2022

According to the Fish Health Inspectorate data published on 7 February 2022, Norwegian-owned Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) reported 815,746 mortalities since 1 January 2021 (data up to mid-January 2022) via 135 'Mortality Event Reports' – including mass mortalities at Toyness and Westerbister (sites which are currently being audited for certification by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) and in Loch Spelve where secret filming by Scottish Salmon Watch in May 2021 exposed welfare abuse and led to an official report of Infectious Salmon Anaemia to the World Organization for Animal Health in September 2021:

Anyone for M&S’s Virus-Laden Scottish Salmon (don’t worry, it’s “responsibly sourced” & @rspcaassured)?!https://t.co/A1AHbV9xFs @marksandspencer @scotseafarms @LeroySeafood @RSPCA_PATeam @Ecohustler
How many ISA-ridden Scottish salmon have been sold by M&S? #marksandspencer pic.twitter.com/kkNz7OcV1F

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 14, 2022

If you look at the worst mortalities by number (where numbers are provided – over 20% of cases don't) the list of shame is dominated by mass mortalities in freshwater hatcheries headed by Mowi with over 1.5 million morts at Lochailort in March 2019. However, The Scottish Salmon Company's Druimyeon Bay salmon farm off the Isle of Gigha makes it into 13th place with 148,628 morts reported on 25 October 2021 and in 20th place with 116,680 morts at the same site reported a week earlier on 18 October 2021 (no wonder Driumyeon Bay salmon farm recently reported a cummulative mortality figure of over 80%!):

If you look at the mortality data published by the Fish Health Inspectorate since 1 January 2021 (i.e. all of last year and the first two weeks of 2022) here's the worst mass mortalities reported by salmon farming companies headed by Mowi's Inchmore Hatchery (the same site where 500,000 farmed salmon died in the Autum of 2018):

Note that the mortalities reported via 'Mortality Event Reports' are not a comprehensive list and only include mass mortality events above the salmon farming industry's reporting threshold (understood to be 1%) – as the Scottish Government explains on their webpage:

Note that total numbers of mortalities has not been reported since 2013 when lobbying by the Scottish salmon farming industry stopped disclosure 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

Scottish Salmon Watch reported in March 2021 that Scottish Sea Farms had failed to report mortality numbers in 61% of cases:

Revealed: Scottish Sea Farms fail to report mortality numbers in 61% of 'Mortality Event Reports' @marinescotland – that's 167 missing cases which could be over 2 million @rspcaassured farmed salmon! @scotseafarms @marksandspencer @LeroySeafood @SSPOsays https://t.co/pvZAMsdhqC pic.twitter.com/vWsKR4apLC

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 9, 2021

The mortality data published on 7 February 2022 has missing information in terms of numbers of morts for over 600 'Mortality Event Reports – that's over 20% of the case where we simply do not know how many farmed salmon died. That could be another 6 million dead fish in mass mortalities unaccounted for – not to mention all the other mortalities which come under the reporting threshold of 1%. Annual mortalities of well in excess of 10 million farmed salmon – perhaps as high as 20 million – have been guesstimated and even the salmon farming industry admitted in 2017 a figure of "between 6 and 10 million fish, depending on their size" dying each year on salmon farms in Scotland.

Scottish Salmon Watch reported in November 2020:

Alexa, how many salmon die each year on Scottish salmon farms? 42 million* https://t.co/jRQzhheju6
Sadly we don't know for sure as the answer is deemed "commercially damaging" by @sspo!
Will @ScottishEPA & @marinescotland force disclosure? @salmon_scottish @rspcaassured pic.twitter.com/fua9nkM6g3

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 11, 2020

"Scottish Salmon Watch reckon ca. 20 million farmed salmon die each year in the sea phase of production with another 20 million fish dying each year in hatcheries and freshwater farms. So from hatch to catch (i.e. from import as eggs into the hatchery to harvest out of sea cages for processing to supermarkets) there could be ca. 40 million morts (maybe even 42 million)."

Whatever the true number of dead salmon, it's an incontrovertible fact that the weight of dead farmed salmon has increased. Scottish Salmon Watch reported in July 2021:

Here's the worst monthly mortalities (by weight) reported on salmon farms during 2020 – headed by the Faroese/Norwegian owned 'Scottish' Salmon Company followed by Isle of Skye Salmon (owned by Norway's Grieg Seafood) and Norwegian-owned giants Mowi and Scottish Sea Farms.

Scamon Scotland reported earlier this week (15 February 2022):

Breaking News: 82.1% mortality rate (i.e. four out of every five fish dying) @salmon_scottish in Druimyeon Bay; 66% (i.e. two out of every three fish dying) at Vacasay on Lewis & 50% mortality @LochDuartSalmon in the Sound of Harris @ScotlandSalmon https://t.co/kjNDyAMgKa pic.twitter.com/l2umcA571d

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 15, 2022

Scottish Salmon Watch reported in December 2021:

Is there a simple reason why some salmon farming companies have higher mortality rates than others? Why is @salmon_scottish & @LochDuartSalmon double that of @WesterRossSalmo & @CookeScotland? https://t.co/YP7xPmmrFt @ScotlandSalmon @MowiScotlandLtd @GriegShetland @scotseafarms pic.twitter.com/ToPcn8BFdD

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 13, 2021

Here's the worst performing companies and sites – as judged by cummulative mortality rates reported during 2021:

Congratulations @MowiScotlandLtd who report @ScotlandSalmon an average mortality rate of 12.6% in 2021 (data up to Oct). That's a fall from 23.6% in 2020 – but still a quarter of all fish are dying at some sites like Torridon, Sconser Quarry & Colonsay! https://t.co/YP7xPmmrFt pic.twitter.com/loaltPklPq

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 13, 2021

In April 2021, Salmon Scotland's chief executive Tavish Scott denied that farmed salmon were dying of infectious diseases:

Lobbyist for 'Scottish' Salmon Caught Telling Pack of Lies on BBC Scotland! https://t.co/L0V3L4ubNu @tavishscott @SSPOsays @mmgeissler @BBCScotNine @marinescotland @salmon_scottish @seaspiracy
Maybe Tavish Scott should just stop talking bollocks? pic.twitter.com/Kz2vNM0NvE

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 7, 2021

MILLIONS of farmed salmon are dying from lice infestations, chlamydia, heart disease, anaemia etc.

The CEO of the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation @SSPOsays, Mr @TavishScott says it's a

"Pack of lies".

Make up you own mind who's the LIAR here. pic.twitter.com/C0T1aId4pn

— Salmon Scotland (@SalmonScotland) April 19, 2021

Scottish Salmon Watch revealed last month (11 January 2022) that mass mortalities at ASC-certified salmon farms were piling up even higher than Tavish Scott's bullshit:

EXPOSED: Over 100,000 dead farmed salmon @scotseafarms in one month at Toyness in Orkney @marinescotland – surely @ASC_aqua "farmed responsibly" certification is dead in the water? @Acoura_UK @lloydsregister @The_Orcadian @LeroySeafood @Folketrygdfond https://t.co/sl7E4vmN5y pic.twitter.com/XoH5hkCsqu

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 11, 2022

EXPOSED: Mowi's ASC-certified salmon farm off the Isle of Rum experienced 160,000 morts with anaemic "fish bleeding out during lice counts" in a four week period in Sept/Oct 2021 @marinescotland – how can @ASC_aqua still certify @MowiScotlandLtd as "farmed responsibly"? pic.twitter.com/GIaw6leVuh

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 11, 2022

Even faced with the facts – including data published by the Scottish Government sourced from returns submitted by salmon farming companies – Tavish Scott struggles to grasp the lethal reality of salmon farming in Scotland.

"I don't recognise your figure (26% mortality)" says @tavishscott to @joe_crowley @BBCCountryfile https://t.co/orFCNlIgG7
Even Mr Magoo would recognise the fact that over a quarter of all Scottish salmon are dying in just the sea-phase of production! @marinescotland @SSPOsays pic.twitter.com/OwDboVoqgA

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 7, 2020

Mortalities at disease-ridden 'Scottish' salmon farms are piling up higher than Tavish Scott's bullshit! https://t.co/tBz56oIRHK
Since last April's denial @tavishscott @BBCScotNine that salmon were dying of infectious diseases https://t.co/LKYZtFDWmP over 8 million have died! pic.twitter.com/zfzAzuyJPn

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) February 21, 2022