Anyone for 'Scottish' salmon? Imported as eggs from Norway & Iceland and bankrolled by £££$$€€s in #Norway, #Faroes, #USA, #Denmark & #Belgium
'Exclusively from Scotland' claims @salmon_scottish "Provenance guaranteed" @waitrose @wjhm93 @Folketrygdfond https://t.co/NusyErqUWk pic.twitter.com/H2CZUVJEjD— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 13, 2020
Who owns The Scottish Salmon Company? You'd be forgiven for thinking it was a Scottish company but dare to peek under the tartan kilt and look past the 'Scottish Provenance' advertising and you'll find Norwegian, Swedish* and Faroese investors along with a shady history involving a Ukrainian banker, an anonymous Swiss bank account and an office in the tax haven of Jersey.
Whilst out walking the dog last month I came across an old box for transporting salmon with the logo of Bakkafrost – the owner of The Scottish Salmon Company – still visible under the pile of poo bags. In order to discover the money men behind this foreign-owned company, you need to dig deep and need a strong stomach!
Spotted on our beach walk today – the piles of dog poop are collected in an old farmed salmon box. Very apt since Bakkafrost (owners of The Scottish Salmon Company) are used to dealing in complete crap! @salmon_scottish @Folketrygdfond pic.twitter.com/e6my7ikgvG
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 14, 2020
If you look at the web-site of The Scottish Salmon Company it positively oozes Scottishness with brands including 'Lochlander', 'Native Hebridean' and 'Tartan'. This foreign-owned company (which imports millions of salmon ova from overseas) claims 'Scottish Provenance'. "Our Provenance Guaranteed logo is our trademark symbol which guarantees our customers 100% traceability, complete confidence in our supply chain and underscores our values of Scottish quality, sustainability and authenticity," claims The Scottish Salmon Company (a claim recently called into question).
Search The Scottish Salmon Company's web-site and you will struggle to discover who is lurking under the tartan kilt of this "Scottish standard bearer".
Follow the Salmoney and you quickly find your way down to the murky depths of the Salmafia who are playing a high stakes game of Salmonopoly – with the owners of The Scottish Salmon Company pitted against Mowi's billionaire Norwegian owner John Fredriksen, Norwegian-owned 'Scottish' Sea Farms and Norwegian-owned Grieg Seafood!
Not everyone is buying into The Scottish Salmon Company's high risk strategy.
Islanders camp out over Arran salmon farm plans https://t.co/X7oc15jPkx @salmon_scottish @ArranCoast @FergusEwingMSP @howardlwood @chandlerfish
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 21, 2020
Oh dear – Salmon farming in @PrivateEyeNews again!
Death, disease, destruction, a demonstration and a decision for @North_Ayrshire to make on @salmon_scottish farm expansion!
In a 'real' civilised country, these farms wouldn't even get to the planning stage. pic.twitter.com/WLF97QfSUH
— Salmon Research (@salmonresearch) November 19, 2020
A web-link to The Scottish Salmon Company's 'Investor Relations' (at a web-site located in the tax haven of Jersey where the company is registered with Companies House) is broken and no news has been posted since January 2020. The fact is that The Scottish Salmon Company is owned by Bakkafrost who agreed to buy 68.6% of shares in September 2019, upping their stake to 78% later in September 2019, increasing their share to 95.6% in December 2019 and then via a compulsory acquisition of minority shares in January 2020 taking 100% control in February/March 2020.
Bakkafrost's head office is located in the Faroe Islands but their largest shareholder is the Norwegian Government Pension Fund (Folketrygdfondet) which is strangely now registered in Sweden* followed by Regin Jacobsen and his mother Oddvor (the first billionaire family in the Faroe Islands and the only Faroese featured in Berlingske’s list of the 100 richest people in the Danish Kingdom). Here's a list of their major shareholders:
Salmon Business reported in July 2020 (note that the largest shareholder was then registered in Norway not Sweden):
In line with their foreign ownership, The Scottish Salmon Company has imported tens of millions of salmon eggs (ova) from Iceland and Norway which are hatched in freshwater hatcheries to be farmed into 'Scottish' salmon. Here's data sourced from a Freedom of Information reply from the Scottish Government:
Hi Will. Native Hebridean Salmon is bred from wild Hebridean Salmon and farmed only in Hebridean waters. It has complete traceability to the Scottish Hebridean Islands. – Mark
— Waitrose & Partners (@waitrose) October 13, 2020
For public clarification, can Waitrose please come clean on the "complete traceability" of Hebridean Salmon? Is it sourced from @salmon_scottish ? Is it sourced from salmon eggs imported from Norway or Iceland? @marinescotland @WeAreBenchmark @HGSalmonUK https://t.co/3spFPTDB93 pic.twitter.com/cq0i5uZQBY
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 15, 2020
Bakkafrost was registered on the Oslo Stock Exchange in Norway in 2010. Here's a list of 'primary insiders' at Bakkafrost.
Bakkafrost's web-site details the Group Management – including CEO Regin Jacobsen:
And CEO of The Scottish Salmon Company, Odd Eliasen:
According to Wallmine, Regin Jacobsen earns slightly more than your average salmon farmer.
Wikipedia reports on Bakkafrost:
The Q3 2020 presentation included reference to the "strategic rationale" of Scotland including the claim that it is a region characterised by "high quality salmon from Scottish Provenance priced at a premium" (i.e. foreign companies like Bakkafrost can exploit Scotland's image to make more profits):
MarketScreener reports on Bakkafrost:
Local reported last month (30 October 2020):
Bakkafrost's largest shareholder is Folketrygdfondet – described on their web-site as "professional investment manager whose main task is to manage the Government Pension Fund Norway on behalf of the Ministry of Finance".
The Norwegian Government is effectively bankrolling – via their shareholding in Bakkafrost – environmental impacts in Scotland as well as welfare abuse on salmon farms.
Folketrygdfondet is also the second largest shareholder in Mowi – Scotland's largest salmon farming company.
And the second largest shareholder in Grieg Seafood which is reporting colossal mortality problems on the Isle of Skye:
And the second largest shareholder in Leroy (co-owner of Scottish Sea Farms):
And second largest shareholder in SalMar (co-owner of Scottish Sea Farms – another Norwegian-owned company experiencing welfare and mortality problems in Scotland):
Folketrygdfondet claimed in April 2020 that is was "staying vigilant" to the "multiple challenges and dilemmas" of the salmon farming industry:
Scottish Salmon Watch today (13 November 2020) asked Bakkafrost's largest shareholder to investigate ongoing welfare abuse and mass mortalities at The Scottish Salmon Company.
As largest shareholder in Bakkafrost, @Folketrygdfond should surely divest @salmon_scottish or exert influence to end welfare abuse! Norway's Pension Fund demands ethical & environmental investmenthttps://t.co/NusyErqUWk @NorwayMFA @fiskeridir @NFdep @erna_solberg @Stortinget pic.twitter.com/Fcc06y5hPD
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 13, 2020
Back in February 2019, Scottish Salmon Watch revealed that 99% of 'Scottish' salmon farming production was controlled/owned by six foreign companies including The Scottish Salmon Company (then owned/controlled by Ukrainian banker Yuri Lopatinsky via Northern Link and an anonymous account registered at the Swiss Stock Exchange).
The Ferret reported in February 2019:
In June 2019, lawyers representing The Scottish Salmon Company's controlling shareholder Yuriy Lopatynskyy threatened legal action against Scottish Salmon Watch for publishing information via 'Scottish Scamon'. Here's the legal threat served in June 2019:
Read the section of the report on The Scottish Salmon Company which lawyers for Yuri Lopatinsky objected to (Scottish Salmon Watch did not remove the offending report and stands by the published information).
The report included:
Download report in full online here
BBC News reported in September 2019:
Salmon Business reported earlier in September 2019 that the 'Ukrainian investor' selling his stake in The Scottish Salmon Company to Bakkafrost was Yuri Lopatinsky:
Yuri Lopatinsky has registered businesses in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, next door to the First Minister of Scotland (according to Insider he owns Bute House, the residence of the First Minister of Scotland).
Insider reported in June 2019:
The Scotsman reported in March 2010:
Fish Farming Expert reported in January 2020:
Fish Farming Expert reported in December 2019:
Read more via:
Over 5 Million 'Scottish' Salmon Mortalities Sponsored by Investors from Norway, the Faroes etc!
Stornoway Gazette: "Campaign group accuse local salmon farm of welfare issues"
"No Unauthorised Access – Keep 15m Away" warn Scottish Salmon Company. Nothing to See Here (Honest)!
The Camera Never Lies About Scottish Salmon!
Ongoing Welfare Abuse & Unnecessary Suffering on Salmon Farms – Why No Prosecutions?
Waitrose Challenged on "Complete Traceability" of Native Hebridean Salmon
Massive Attack on "Rotten Edifice" of 'Scottish' Salmon
Norway's Infectious Salmon "Horror Show" Secretly Playing Now In Scotland?
Secret Filming Lifts Lid on Sickening Scottish Salmon
Maaey Day for The Scottish Salmon Company
The Severely Damaged Scottish Salmon Company – For Sale Now!
Mmmm Blind Scottish Salmon with Boils, Anyone?
Ground-Truthing Disease-Ridden Scottish Salmon
‘Sick’ salmon film prompts government probe into Scottish fish farm
Blowing the Whistle on Scottish Salmon – whistleblowers leak gruesome photos of farmed salmon
Sick salmon at Scottish fish farm revealed on film
Horror photos of farmed salmon spark legal threat
Disease-ridden Scottish Salmon
Viking invasion taints 'Scottish' salmon – 90% of eggs now imported
For public clarification, can Waitrose please come clean on the "complete traceability" of Hebridean Salmon? Is it sourced from @salmon_scottish ? Is it sourced from salmon eggs imported from Norway or Iceland? @marinescotland @WeAreBenchmark @HGSalmonUK https://t.co/3spFPTDB93 pic.twitter.com/cq0i5uZQBY
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 15, 2020
New Scottish Government survey reveals that 89.7% of 'Scottish' salmon are derived from foreign sources (Norway, Iceland & Ireland) https://t.co/LX57bm5nfV @marinescotland @GreenerScotland @SSPOsays @WeAreBenchmark @HGSalmonUK @FergusEwingMSP pic.twitter.com/NH9CrYu1JK
— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) October 19, 2020
Addendum:
Date: Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 12:02 PM
Subject: The Scottish Salmon Company
To: <folketrygdfondet@ftf.no>
Cc: <marika.burvald@ftf.no>
From: Høgni Dahl Jakobsen <hodj@bakkafrost.com>
Date: Fri, Nov 13, 2020 at 12:13 PM
Subject: RE: Komið umvegis heimasíðuna
To: dstaniford@gaaia.org <dstaniford@gaaia.org>
Thank you for your question. This is clearly a mistake from our side – apologies for that. Folketrygdfondet is Norwegian and this will be corrected on our webpage.
Vh / Br
Høgni Dahl Jakobsen
|
Oops – Bakkafrost wrongly gives #Sweden not #Norway as the origin of Norwegian Government Pension Fund @Folketrygdfond
"This is clearly a mistake from our side – apologies for that. Folketrygdfondet is Norwegian and this will be corrected on our webpage" https://t.co/NusyErqUWk pic.twitter.com/Yq47zE5wMg— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 13, 2020
Date: Mon, Nov 16, 2020 at 11:43 AM
Subject: Folketrygdfondet registered in Sweden not Norway?
To: <folketrygdfondet@ftf.no>
