The Catch with Landcatch - how Lithgows sold Scottish salmon down the river to Dutch & US investors!

The Catch with Landcatch – how Lithgows sold Scottish salmon down the river to Dutch & US investors! @HGSalmonUK @BetterBreeding @kamesfishfarm @WeAreBenchmark @ScotlandSalmon @scotgov https://t.co/7WsT6ju1Gv pic.twitter.com/uy5Vc3oCPq

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 1, 2021

Thankfully, unlike The Scottish Salmon Company, the general public don't need to hire a private investigator to uncover the fishy goings on inside 'Scottish' salmon farming. You just need to follow the Salmoney, the trail of dead salmon, reports of carcinogenic chemical use, carcasses of seals, photos and videos of welfare abuse and shipments of salmon eggs (ova) imported into Scotland.

Anyone for disease-ridden Scottish salmon fresh from Landcatch marinaded in antibiotic & cancer-causing Formalin? https://t.co/rSvO6Hz6V7 @HGSalmonUK @salmon_scottish New 'Case Information' published today @marinescotland The horror of #Scottish #Salmon @ciwf @PETAUK @APHAgovuk pic.twitter.com/NWDVRGdb4Y

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) April 6, 2020

Sometimes this involves filing Freedom of Information requests and getting out into the field but most of the time it involves tracking media reports and piecing together snippets of news. This blog details the story of how Landcatch sold 'Scottish' salmon down the river to foreign investors and it will have generations of Lithgows (the founders of Landcatch) turning in their graves. No wonder the heir to the Baronecty of Ormsary – Sir James Lithgow – did not want Scottish Salmon Watch filming at Landcatch's Ormsary Hatchery when we visited in September 2020!

This cowboy – James Lithgow (Chairman of Lithgows & heir to the Baronetcy of Ormsary – the son of Sir William) – was warned by @policescotland for harassment & intimidation https://t.co/9ffifnT4wz What does @HGSalmonUK have to hide? @BetterBreeding @FergusEwingMSP @Feorlean pic.twitter.com/MYDe3W4fut

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 1, 2020

Police Scotland issue warning to Ormsary Estate for intimidation & harassment @HGSalmonUK pic.twitter.com/Kh3jSFhjfd

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 13, 2020

How Landcatch went from aggressively opposing imports of ova from Norway to leaping onto the bandwagon is a story of fishy politics and the battle for hegemony over 'Scottish' salmon. And it all starts with a FOI disclosure by the Scottish Government in May 2018 which revealed that Hendrix Genetics (the Dutch owners of Landcatch since 2011 when they bought operations from Lithgows) had lobbied Scottish Ministers against the import of ova from AquaGen in Norway due to the risks of spreading Infectious Salmon Anaemia. A front page exclusive by The National reported in May 2018:

Scottish Salmon Watch reported in a press release (31 May 2018):

Fastrack to a FOI disclosure by the Scottish Government in August 2021 which suggests that Hendrix Genetics is now seeking to import ova from Norway and Chile:

The intent by Hendrix to import ova from Chile was also evidenced in an email dated 14 March 2018 disclosed via FOI by the Scottish Government in February 2020:

How Landcatch turned from opposing ova imports to embracing them requires a wee bit of detective work but it's all there via FOI documents to piece together. Scottish Salmon Watch reported in October 2020 (sourced from a FOI disclosure by the Scottish Government):

"Norwegian interests risk bringing the whole rotten edifice of 'Scottish Salmon' crashing down" warns @HGSalmonUK to @Feorlean & @FergusEwingMSP https://t.co/7leCLZarz1 @GAA_Advocate @salmonfarming1 @IntraFishNorge @thefishsite @Salmon_Business @GreenerScotland @fiskeridir pic.twitter.com/79CBueZzXB

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 1, 2020

Scottish Salmon Watch's press release dated 1 October 2020 a history of hypocrisy at Landcatch:

A FOI disclosure in February 2020 detailed a confidentiality agreement between Landcatch, AquaGen and Scottish Sea Farms (the confidentiality agreement was not disclosed in full and is dificult to view):

Sadly, the depth of our knowledge about the fishy world of 'Scottish' salmon is not always as deep as we would like.

Rumsfeldian Fish Philosophy – Things We Know We Know, Things We Now Know We Don't Know & Things We Don't Know We Don't Know About 'Scottish' Salmon! https://t.co/m6HljzNkKS @RumsfeldOffice @FOIScotland @FerretScot @ScottishEPA @rspcaassured @Folketrygdfond @ciwf @onekindtweet pic.twitter.com/9qFUKDC12O

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) May 1, 2021

But Scottish Salmon Watch did win a landmark FOI victory in December 2019 when the Scottish Government was forced by the Scottish Information Commissioner to disclose where Scottish Sea Farms sourced their ova. Here's the 'commercially damaging' information which included three shipments into Landcatch's Ormsary Hatchery from Marine Harvest (Mowi) in Ireland and two from Stofnfiskur (Benchmark) in Iceland:

In June 2021, Fish Farmer reported that Neil Manchester was leaving Hendrix Genetics (Landcatch) to join Kames Fish Farming:

Given Mr Manchester's anti-Norwegian stance, the source of ova imported by Kames from Norway via JS Salmon's Allt Mor hatchery at Clachan in Argyll may change when he takes the helm as managing director of Kames in February 2022.

Fish Farming Expert reported yesterday (30 November 2021) that AquaGen's chief executive Nina Santi was also moving on to pastures new:

AquaGen and Landcatch have waged an ova war for decades as they sought to control the global market. As Infectious Salmon Anaemia spread in Chile – traced back by a scientific paper to imported ova from AquaGen in Norway – Landcatch claimed that their salmon eggs from Scotland were ISA-free:

Far from being disease-free, Landcatch was cited in relation to outbreaks of Furunculosis in Norway and Canada in the 1990s:

And Landcatch's export business suffered as Chile banned ova imports in 2008/9.

The Herald reported in June 2011:

The Herald reported in 2012:

Hendrix Genetics reports on the 'History' of Landcatch:

Now US-investment firm Paine Schwartz has bought 50% of Hendrix Genetics. Salmon Business reported (23 November 2021):

Fish Farmer published an article on Landcatch's heritage in March 2021:

The article ends with a quote from Landcatch's general manager Jarl van den Berg (who may be the son of Antoon van den Berg who co-founded Hendrix Genetics in 2005):

When I first visited Ormsary in December 2019 it was in the dark:

And again in July 2020, when I visited Hendrix Genetics (Landcatch) at Clachbreac and Ormsary the lights were on but nobody was home:

When I visited Ormsary in September 2020 – there is a public beach with public access – I was assaulted by Landcatch's general manager Jarl van den Berg who objected to filming and tried to grab my Go Pro camera.

Hendrix boss Jarl van den Berg plays it heavy like Jimmy! https://t.co/0M4VvZGbaB When filming at Landcatch's salmon hatchery at Ormsary I was assaulted by @HGSalmonUK & @policescotland issued a warning @BetterBreeding Is Jarl the son of Hendrix CEO Antoon van den Berg? pic.twitter.com/yvx3ZQ4TLw

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) September 18, 2020

Landcatch's general manager Jarl van den Berg objected to Scottish Salmon Watch taking samples of salmon hatchery effluents being discharged onto a public beach on Loch Caolisport in Argyll.

Scottish Salmon Watch asked Police Scotland to give the 29-year old a warning rather than file a formal complaint that may have led to an assault charge.

Sir James Lithgow – who sold Landcatch to Hendrix Genetics in 2011 – was so intimidatory when I visited later in September 2020 that I felt scared for my safety and called Police Scotland (who warned the baron for intimidation).

As I wrote in a blog in September 2020:

What dirty secrets are hiding at the Dutch-owned Hendrix Genetics Landcatch salmon hatchery at Ormsary on the shore of Loch Caolisport in Argyll?

It seems that the Lithgow family via Hendrix Genetics and the "very private" Ormsary Estate have privatised a public beach and blocked public access of Loch Caolisport.

The waste effluents spewing out of the Ormsary Hatchery onto the beach are visible in this drone footage promoting the beautiful scenery of Loch Caolisport.

In October 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch asked the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) for information on testing of salmon farm effluents at Ormsary but as of 1 December 2021 there has been no reply!

From: Don Staniford <salmonfarmingkills@gmail.com>
Date: Mon, Oct 5, 2020 at 10:20 AM
Subject: FOI re. salmon farm hatchery effluents since 1 January 2016
To: AccesstoInformation <foi@sepa.org.uk>

Please provide information on salmon farm hatchery effluents since 1 January 2016.

Please include sampling results, testing for pollutants, photos, video footage, data and any other information such as emails, letters and correspondence.

Please certainly include the salmon farm hatcheries detailed via FOI/19/02663; namely:

As specific context to Landcatch's Ormsary Hatchery please read: Testing Hatchery Effluents for Viruses, Pathogens, Diseases & Chemical Pollution

Please consider this a formal request for information under the relevant FOI and Environmental Information regulations.

Please provide the information electronically.

Please provide a receipt for this FOI request.

Thanks,

Don Staniford

Director, Scottish Salmon Watch

It seems that SEPA is still suffering from the cyber attack on Xmas Eve 2020 and it may be years before they recover.

SEPA’s responding to a significant cyber attack affecting our contact centre and internal systems. Core regulatory, monitoring, flood forecasting & warning service continue but communication into organisation is significantly impacted. More information at https://t.co/KBFs7KbyKM pic.twitter.com/j9iHnnE2Mg

— Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) (@ScottishEPA) December 24, 2020

But at least Hendrix Genetics is doing their bit to keep the beaches clean!