Author: Rob Edwards
Fish farms have broken environmental rules more than 100 times in the last two years, according to Scottish Government regulators.
Figures released by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) suggested that the industry’s record was one of the worst in Scotland. Breaches included waste discharges, pesticide misuse, seabed pollution, misplaced fish cages and excessive numbers of fish.
The biggest offender was Norwegian-owned salmon farming company, Mowi, which had 60 breaches at 40 sites. Other salmon multinationals with significant numbers of breaches were Scottish Sea Farms with 22, Bakkafrost with nine and Cooke Aquaculture with eight.
THE FULL, EXCLUSIVE STORY IS IN THE FERRET TODAY.
Salmon fish farming in Scotland is an utter environmental disaster kept from the public eye.
The public perception of wholesome salmon from pristine waters is far from reality. Rather, the reality is quite different, not that the corporate profiteers who run the industry would let you know.
For them brutal legal inhibition against anyone who tries to expose just how polluted and disease ridden many of these fish farms are.
Ever heard of a SLAPP. Most people most certainly won’t have. .it’s an acronym for Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation which as the name suggests is a strategy to stop and public criticism or questioning into the industry..
And the concept was applied against on individual called Don Staniford who was a critic about the level of disease ridden and grotesquely disfigured salmon being reared in pesticide laden cages.
Folks don’t hear of the death rates in pens which can be as high as 75%, where the disease ridden carcasses are taken to destinations unknown, and from pens that pollute the marine environment with nasty pesticides.
And to keep it that way Mowi sought an interdict against Don Staniford inhibiting him from speaking to the press, blogging, and in fact disbarring him from making any comment about his concerns on any social media platform whatsoever
He was also inhibited by court order from taking pictures,from flying a drone over the airspace of a fish pen. Even his right to paddle his canoe on the open seas anywhere near a fish pen was inhibited. And the penalty for breach, straight to jail.
And folks think that chlorinated chicken reared on disease ridden conditions is only an American thing.