Toxic Scottish Salmon - Chemical Use Doubles Since 2018!

Scottish Salmon Watch can reveal that the use of toxic chemicals at salmon farms in Scotland has more than doubled since 2018 – when the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) had planned to ban the use of Emamectin benzoate (SLICE) and restrict the use of Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos to one dose per growth cycle.

Toxic Scottish Salmon – Chemical Use Doubles Since 2018! https://t.co/TAE9KRYcZv @ScottishEPA @ScotlandSalmon @marinescotland @MowiScotlandLtd @salmon_scottish @scotseafarms @GriegShetland @kamesfishfarm @vmdgovuk @MairiMcAllan @ASC_aqua @rspcaassured @sainsburys @Tesco @LidlGB pic.twitter.com/4CUyGTHUUU

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

Since January 2018 (data up to September 2021) there's been a staggering 1,735 doses of toxic chemicals (Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate) including 868 doses of Emamectin benzoate which SEPA scientists recommended banning in 2018!

Here's the data sourced from monthly returns submitted by salmon farming companies to SEPA and published via Scotland's Aquaculture website:

Since 2018 there's been a staggering 1,735 doses of shellfish-killing toxic chemicals (Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos & Emamectin) including 868 doses of Emamectin which scientists @ScottishEPA recommended banning in 2016 (with a two-year phase out)! https://t.co/TAE9KRYcZv pic.twitter.com/JQWbipHHcR

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

The increase is driven by the use of the lobster-killing chemical Azamethiphos but there have been significant increases in the use of both Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate (both also shown by peer-reviewed science to be lethal to shellfish) across salmon farms in Scotland since 2018:

Even without data for Q4 2021 (October to December) which is expected to be published in March, the use of toxic chemicals (Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate) on salmon farms in Scotland has almost doubled since 2018 with the use of Emamectin benzoate already on a par with 2018 use (the date when SEPA proposed a ban) and the use of Deltamethrin (shown by recent scientific research to be lethal to lobsters up to 39km away!) already significantly higher than in previous years:

Toxic Scottish Salmon – why are salmon pharms permitted to use lobster-killing chemicals across Scotland (even @SoilAssociation @ASC_aqua certified & @rspcaassured sites)? @ScottishEPA @nature_scot @marinescotland @ScotGovNetZero @vmdgovuk @scotgp @MairiMcAllan @MairiGougeon pic.twitter.com/CVqp5pup7D

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

Back in 2016, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) proposed to ban the use of the toxic chemical Emamectin benzoate (SLICE) and restrict repeated doses of other toxic chemicals (including Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos) to "one use per growth cycle".

However, after lobbying by the Salmafia – the Norwegian salmon pharmers, Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation/Salmon Scotland, US chemical giant Merck and pro-salmon farming shills inside the Scottish Government – the ban on the use of Emamectin benzoate (SLICE) was shelved and a damning scientific report by the Scottish Aquaculture Research Forum was buried.

As @TerryAHearn looks back on his 7 year tenure in charge of SEPA his legacy is so toxic that it may require years of rehab to recover from! https://t.co/agiEHPr1tF @ScottishEPA @ScotlandSalmon @MowiScotlandLtd @scotseafarms @scotgp @marinescotland @MairiGougeon @nature_scot pic.twitter.com/qN6HCREVII

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 23, 2022

Scotland's Environmental Watchdog is Dead in the Water – read how @ScottishEPA was sliced to death by the Salmafia @ScotlandSalmon @MowiScotlandLtd @scotseafarms @marinescotland
Is @TerryAHearn now going to work for the salmon pharming lobby? https://t.co/sZLwL103qc @FerretScot pic.twitter.com/cw08a05rxZ

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 22, 2022

Data published online via 'Scotland's Aquaculture' shows the scale of toxic chemical use on salmon farms acrosss Scotland. Since January 2018 (data up to September 2018) there have been 198 doses of Deltamethrin (a lobster-killing chemical with a lethal range of up to 39km!), 669 doses of the organophosphate Azamethiphos (another chemical shown by peer-reviewed science to kill shellfish) and a staggering 868 doses of Emamectin benzoate (shown by SEPA scientists to be a crustacean-killer). Here's the highest reported monthly uses of Deltamethrin, Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate since January 2018 (data up to September 2021):

The data published online via Scotland's Aquaculture (download Excel spreadsheet via clicking on CSV Export) shows repeated doses of toxic chemicals – here's 17 doses of toxic chemicals used by Norwegian-owned Mowi (known as Marine Harvest until 1 January 2019) at their aptly-named Muck salmon farm since January 2018 including 7 doses of lobster-killing Deltamethrin:

Here's photos of morts being disposed of in Mallaig from Mowi's Isle of Muck salmon farm in 2019:

Mowi is a Toxic Brand – how can @MowiScotlandLtd market itself as "responsibly farmed" @Tesco @sainsburys @LidlGB @AldiUK when it uses a lethal cocktail toxic chemicals which kill shellfish & marine life under salmon farms? @rspcaassured @Folketrygdfond @ScotlandSalmon @ASA_UK pic.twitter.com/JD6istzdST

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

Mowi reported 14 doses of toxic chemicals at their deadly Ardintoul salmon farm in Loch Alsh (a site located within a Special Area of Conservation and currently being audited by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) including four repeat doses of crustacean-killing Emamectin benzoate between March and August 2021 (something which would have been banned if SEPA's scientists had been listened to back in 2016):

Mowi's Caolas a Deas East salmon farm in Loch Shell (another site currently being audited by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) has reported a shocking 24 doses of toxic chemicals since January 2019 including doses of Azamethipos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate all in the month of August 2021!:

Norwegian giant Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) reported the use of 10 doses of Emamectin benzoate and one dose of Azamethiphos over two cycles at Lismore East salmon farm in 2020 and 2018:

Here's another 10 doses of crustacean-killing Emamectin benzoate and one dose of lobster-killing Azamethiphos at the Norwegian/Faroese-owned Scottish Salmon Company's salmon farm at Aird in Loch Shieldaig over two harvest cycles since March 2018:

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited The Scottish Salmon Company's Aird salmon farm in June 2019 it was a very ugly sight indeed:

Norwegian-owned Grieg Seafood (bought by Scottish Sea Farms in 2021) reported 14 doses of toxic chemicals since September 2018 including three doses of Emamectin benzoate between January and July 2021:

Mowi's Colonsay salmon farm – the centre of bribery allegations when it was first established in 2012 – has reported 20 doses of toxic chemicals since January 2018 including 9 doses of lobster-killing Deltamethrin:

Another Mowi salmon farm in Loch Duich (a site located within a Special Area of Conservation and currently being audited by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) reported three consecutive doses of the lobster-killing chemical Deltamethrin between July and September 2021 and three consecutive doses of lobster-killing Azamethiphos between June and August 2019:

The Loch Duich salmon farm is a contentious site which Mowi claimed in 2019 would be closed down and which reported the highest use of the antibiotic Florfenicol (according to data disclosed by SEPA via FOI).

Norwegian giant @MowiScotlandLtd accounted for 57% of antibiotic use (Oxytetracycline & Florfenicol) between 2015 & 2019 with @GriegShetland accounting for 34% & @CookeScotland 8%. Zero antibiotic use was reported by @scotseafarms & @salmon_scottish @ScotlandSalmon @scotgov pic.twitter.com/wzt4TOq1fk

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) December 9, 2021

Mowi's lice-infested North Shore East salmon farm in Loch Erisort has reported 16 doses of toxic chemicals since March 2019:

The Daily Mail reported in January 2018 on mass mortalities at Mowi's salmon farms in Loch Erisort:

The Scottish Salmon Company's salmon farms at Eughlam South and North have reported 22 doses of toxic chemicals including a staggering 19 doses of crustacean-killing Emamectin benzoate since April 2019 (the use of which would have been banned if SEPA's scientists had been listened to):

Such repeated use of Emamectin benzoate (SLICE) continued despite a paper co-authored by scientists working at SEPA published in Science of the Total Environment in June 2019 detailing statistically significant impacts on benthic communities even at low concentrations:

Mowi's ASC-certified salmon farm at MacLeans Nose in Loch Sunart has reported a crustacean-killing 23 doses of toxic chemicals since January 2018 including the triple whammy of Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin and Emamectin benzoate use in August 2021 and 10 doses of toxic chemicals in the first nine months of 2021:

Mowi's RSPCA Assured Loch Greshornish salmon farm has reported a staggering 23 doses of toxic chemicals since February 2018 including four doses of Emamectin benzoate in 2021 (data up to September) and a 10-month period between October 2019 and July 2020 which saw Mowi use the lobster-killing organophosphate Azamethiphos over 9 months (just March 2020 was missing):

Mowi's Grey Horse Channel salmon farm (another site currently being audited by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) has reported a staggering 20 doses of toxic chenicals since May 2019 including doses of both Emamectin benzoate and Azamethiphos in September 2021 with doses of Azamethiphos used in May, June, August and September 2021 with Emamectin benzoate used in July 2021:

Mowi's Groatay salmon farm (yet another site currently being audited by the Aquaculture Stewardship Council) has reported 19 doses of toxic chemicals including Azamethiphos use in May, June, August and September 2021 with the use of Emamectin benzoate in May, July and September 2021:

Mowi's Rum salmon farm – the source of disease-ridden fish spilled onto the A86 in September 2019 – has reported 14 doses of toxic chemicals including 11 doses of lobster-killing Deltamethrin since August 2018:

Here's photos of Mowi's farmed salmon from the Isle of Rum – as published by the Scottish Government in 2019:

Kames Bay fish farm – operated by Kames Fish Farming in Loch Melfort – has reported 21 doses of toxic chemicals since January 2018 including doses of both Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate in Juy 2021 and doses of both Azamethiphos and Deltamethrin in January and March 2021. A staggering 16 doses of the lobster-killing organophosphate Azamethiphos have been used since January 2018 (Kames Bay is licensed by SEPA for salmon, halibut and trout):

The ongoing use of Azamethiphos has persisted despite increasing scientific evidence of impacts lethal and sublethal impacts on lobsters and a scientific paper published in Nature in 2019 (co-authored by Stuart Cannon of Kames Fish Farming) on the welfare and health of rainbow trout subjected to repeated chemical treatment.

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Kames in September 2021 and September 2020 we discovered mass mortalities:

Mowi's Port Na Moine fish farm in Loch Craignish – understood to be operated by Kames Fish Farming as an informal exchange for Mowi operating a Kames-owned site at SW Shuna – has reported an eye-popping 24 doses of toxic chemicals since February 2018 including 16 doses of Azamethiphos (the site is licensed by SEPA for both salmon and trout but is understood to be currently farming rainbow trout):

Surely @seawilding should raise hell over shellfish-killing chemicals @MowiScotlandLtd @kamesfishfarm in Loch Craignish? Deltamethrin kills lobsters 30km away according to peer-reviewed science & Azamethiphos & Emamectin are lethal too!https://t.co/TAE9KRYcZv @TheSoundOfJura pic.twitter.com/IXNMzWRdev

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

Kames Fish Farming's Rubh an Trilleachain salmon farm in Shuna Sound – operated by Mowi as SW Shuna as an informal exchange for Kames Fish Farming operating Port Na Moine in Loch Craignish – reported 11 doses of toxic chemicals between March 2019 and December 2020:

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited the salmon farm in July 2021 we were shocked at the state of lice infestation:

The Mail on Sunday reported in July 2021:

Scotland's salmon farming horror show (as sponsored by @rspcaassured) is going mainstream – here's today's Mail on Sunday https://t.co/hsagGhRtB1 @MowiScotlandLtd @SSPOsays @HamishMacdonell @tavishscott @sainsburys @LidlGB @AldiUK @ciwf @onekindtweet @MairiGougeon @seaspiracy pic.twitter.com/JcsVLHILuq

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 25, 2021

Kames Fish Farming's Shuna Castle fish farm – licensed by SEPA for salmon and trout – has reported a stomach-churning 21 doses of toxic chemicals including 8 doses during the first 9 months of 2021:

When Scottish Salmon Watch visited Shuna Castle in September 2021 we were shocked at the state of mortalities and lice infestation:

The Scottish Salmon Company's disease-ridden salmon farm at Taranaish in Loch Roag has reported 14 doses of toxic chemicals since May 2018 including five doses of Emamectin benzoate in 2019:

Data published by the Scottish Government's Fish Health Inspectorate earlier this month (12 January 2022) reported over 200,000 dead salmon at The Scottish Salmon Company's Taranaish salmon farm.

New data – 700,000+ dead Scottish salmon reported in December 2021 @marinescotland @scotgov by @MowiScotlandLtd @scotseafarms @salmon_scottish & @LochDuartSalmon headed by 200,000+ at Taranaish salmon farm in Loch Roag & 130,000+ in Loch Ness @ScotlandSalmon @rspcaassured pic.twitter.com/H950qiQeDJ

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 17, 2022

Scallastle Bay salmon farm – operated by Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) in the Sound of Mull – has reported 13 doses of toxic chemicals since August 2018 with four doses of crustacean-killing Emamectin benzoate in the first nine months of 2021 and five doses between March and November 2019:

Scottish Sea Farms (Norskott Havbruk) – who has former SEPA compliance officer Anne Anderson now working for them as a 'Sustainability Champion' – has reported 31 doses of Azamethiphos and Emamectin benzoate at Vidlin North and Vidlin South salmon farms since April 2019 with Vidlin Outer reporting the use of toxic chemicals every single month during 2021 and Vidlin North only missing February:

How greenwashing works – Anne Anderson leaves @ScottishEPA in 2018 to join @SSPOsays (after being wined and dined by lobbyists https://t.co/PYSHIAfAcU) and now joins Norwegian salmon farming giant @scotseafarms @LeroySeafood https://t.co/WeEvq6Xe6m

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 29, 2021

Scottish Sea Farms has been in hot water for misreporting the use of toxic chemicals. The Sunday Times reported last month (5 December 2021):

In May 2019, an investigation by BBC Panorama also suggested Mowi may have not reported all their use of toxic chemicals:

Please note that even if the reporting of toxic chemical use on salmon farms is complete, the data set published via Scotland's Aquaculture does NOT include toxic chemical use via wellboats. Hence the data ignores a significant amount of Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos use (as well as completely ignoring the use of the shellfisk-killing and seaweed-killing chemical Hydrogen peroxide).

Conveniently for polluting sectors like salmon farming, SEPA's Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory for 2021 is not yet available and it is impossible to search for SPRI data for 2018, 2019 and 2020:

Scottish Salmon Watch reported in November 2020:

The Devil is in the Data – why no published figures on the use of the toxic chemicals Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin, Hydrogen Peroxide & Imidacloprid via wellboats? @ScottishEPA @marinescotland @nature_scot @salmon_scottish @FergusEwingMSP @SSPOsays @scotgp https://t.co/ylOo17mBul pic.twitter.com/CDPHpSfBTX

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 10, 2020

Click on SEPA's Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory (SPRI) and you will discover that the little devils have still not disclosed all data for 2019 let alone 2020.

For example, if you search for the use of 'Azamethiphos' (a lobster-killing organophosphate) in 2019 you will find a series of salmon farms where data is N/A (Not Available):

If you search for the use of 'Deltamethrin' (another lobster-killing chemical) in 2019 you will find a series of salmon farms where data is N/A (Not Available):

During "streamlining" will you please publish data on the use of Azamethiphos, Deltamethrin, Hydrogen Peroxide & Imidacloprid via wellboats? Data for use on salmon farms is published up to July 2020 but wellboat data is still not available for 2019! https://t.co/ylOo17mBul pic.twitter.com/Pfq9fGygWd

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) November 10, 2020

Some data on toxic chemical use via wellboats has been extracted via Freedom of Information. SEPA's FOI disclosure (F0192092) detailed use of the toxic chemical Azamethiphos via wellboats during 2018 – here's the Top 10 biggest users of this toxic organophosphate:

Deltamethrin – a toxic chemical shown by a recent scientific paper to be "a significant risk to lobster larvae living near fish farms" – was used by the following sites in 2018 via wellboats.

Further information was disclosed in November 2019 by the Scottish Government via FOI-19-02442 – including well boat data disclosed via Dropbox (note that Salmonsan and Azasure is Azamethiphos and AMX is Deltamethrin):

In June 2020, Scottish Salmon Watch called for a public register of ALL toxic chemicals used on salmon farms (including use via wellboats, the use of Hydrogen Peroxide, Formaldehyde/Formalin, disinfectants and antibiotics):

A public register of ALL toxic chemicals used on salmon farms in Scotland could be in the pipeline according to a FOI reply from @vmdgovuk https://t.co/Rl0jZZ21Cc @ScottishEPA @marinescotland @nature_scot @SSPOsays @FergusEwingMSP @strathearnrose @WeAreBenchmark @MowiScotlandLtd pic.twitter.com/7NJRLbJOb5

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) July 2, 2020

Peer-reviewed scientific research over the last few decades has provided a weight of evidence proving lethal impacts of Emamectin benzoate, Azamethiphos and Deltamethrin on shellfish and sediment-dwelling marine life.

You don't need to be a rocket scientist to work out that toxic chemicals designed to kill sea lice (members of the crustacean family) also kill other crustaceans such as lobsters! https://t.co/TAE9KRYcZv @ScottishEPA @vmdgovuk @nature_scot @marinescotland @PAN_UK @PFreeScotland pic.twitter.com/QdxOXOTbPs

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) January 25, 2022

Scientific evidence on the lethal impacts of Deltamethrin and Azamethiphos was published in the journal Environmental Pollution in September 2020:

The use of toxic chemicals on salmon pharms does not merely have environmental impacts but there are also health concerns. The Ferret reported (13 August 2020):

Even so-called 'organic' salmon certified by the Soil Association is not chemical free.

Think 'organic' salmon = zero toxic pesticides? Nope. "Parasite treatments, including Deltamethrin, are permitted in the organic standards" admit @SoilAssocScot @SoilAssociation
Please boycott 'organically' farmed #Scottish #Salmon as well as @rspcaassured @ASC_aqua @SaumonLabel pic.twitter.com/oAcSVpNM4V

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 30, 2021

Scottish Salmon Watch reported in March 2021:

Please ban Deltamethrin use by Scottish salmon pharmers! @ScottishEPA https://t.co/X81m8zYm5c
Over 2,000 doses of the lobster-killing chemical have been used by salmon farms in Scotland since 2008!@ScotlandMowi @salmon_scottish @kamesfishfarm @scotseafarms @GriegShetland @scotgp pic.twitter.com/TgagUNSJVa

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 24, 2021

"Dangerous doses of Deltamethrin typically drifted between 5 & 15 km. In rare cases, the anti-sea lice agent could travel 20-30 kilometres before it was sufficiently diluted to pose no risk to lobster larvae" https://t.co/oqcZ7yEH0f @Havforskningen @SoilAssocScot @SoilAssociation pic.twitter.com/Qif2FaZneo

— Don Staniford (@TheGAAIA) March 21, 2021

The escalating chemical warfare on salmon farms – dubbed the 'Silent Spring of the Sea' – has been going on for decades as salmon pharmers fight an unwinnable war against sea lice. The Ferret reported in October 2020:

The front page of The Sunday Times in January 2017 reported:

The Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture reported in January 2017:

Ten-fold Increase in Toxic Chemical Use in Ten Years!

Exclusive data obtained from the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) reveals that the use of toxic chemicals on Scottish salmon farms is now ten times higher than a decade ago. Fifteen years of data (2002-2016) obtained via Freedom of Information (FOI) by the Global Alliance Against Industrial Aquaculture (GAAIA) reveals that nearly 4,000 kg of Azamethiphos, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Emamectin benzoate and Teflubenzuron has been used on Scottish farmed salmon in over 8,400 separate chemical treatments since 2002.

The data obtained from SEPA in December 2016 (made available as a 7MB Excel spreadsheet with over 54,000 lines of data entries – download summary online here) reveals that:

467 kg of Azamethiphos, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Emamectin benzoate and Teflubenzuron is expected to be used in 2016 compared to 45 kg in 2006 (39 kg was used in 2005 compared to 367 kg in 2015)

In the last decade (2006-2016), whilst salmon farming production increased only 35% (up from 131,847 tonnes in 2006 to 177,857 tonnes in 2016) the use of toxic chemicals increased a whopping 932%
Since 2002, a staggering 3,990 kg of Azamethiphos, Cypermethrin, Deltamethrin, Emamectin benzoate and Teflubenzuron has been used on Scottish salmon farms (Azamethiphos accounted for 2,036 kg representing 51%; Teflubenzuron accounting for 920 kg representing 23%; Emamectin benzoate accounting for 792 kg representing 20%; Deltamethrin accounting for 125 kg representing 3%; and Cypermethrin accounting for 118 kg representing 3%)
Since 2002, Scottish farmed salmon has been subjected to a total of 8,416 separate chemical treatments (with Emamectin benzoate responsible for 3,831; Deltamethrin responsible for 1901; Cypermethrin responsible for 1330; Azamethiphos responsible for 1313 and Teflubenzuron responsible for 41)

The Guardian reported in September 2012:

Here's a news story reported by Severin Carrell in The Guardian in September 2012: