Google: Consumers Don't Buy Farmed Salmon

For interest's sake, go Google: consumers don't buy farmed salmon.

This is the link that comes up: https://www.google.ca/#q=consumers+don%27t+buy+farmed+salmon&hl=en&prmd=imvns&ei=gcB3T_iPBuiKiALym5GnDg&start=50&sa=N&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.,cf.osb&fp=bd3320c5af24bc29&biw=1012&bih=531.

I scrolled through the list of pages and stopped at page 52 - Google was offering still more; this means that consumers are well aware of the environmental and chemical issues with farmed salmon.

Key Document - Agrimarine Losses - Updated March 30, 2012

Agrimarine is a mostly-closed in-ocean fish farm. It sustained a breach of its Middlebay facility near Campbell River, BC in March, 2012. They say losses were less than 5% of chinook escaped.

I wish this company well, as it represents a real step forward from the old-tech dinosaur Norwegian derivative open-pen fish farms that use the ocean as a free open sewer. But you need to know there have been stories circulating that they lost a crop of fish last year. All my requests for information from the company and closely associated individuals have received no reply, so I am asking readers for leads to this story. If the story were untrue, I would bet that every request for information would have received a reply.

Here are Agrimarine's financial statements for 2010 and 2011: http://agrimarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IntMDA-Q3-20111231.pdf.

See Table 5. Results from Operations on page 10. You will notice that they ended 2010 with a $3.99 million loss and in 2011 with a $3.59 million loss. Do note that the explanatory Note 22 is not in these financial reports. I have asked for it.

Agrimarine has replied promptly and here are the financial reports with Note 22: http://agrimarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/IntFin-Q3-20111231.pdf.

I will get back to you with details.

KEY DOCUMENT - Farmed Fish Prices Will Tank in 2012 - Updated April 30, 2012

The latest article on fish farm prices has finally seen the light and is predicting a huge drop in fish farm fish prices in 2012: http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/16734/2012-salmon-price-outlook-negative-as-production-up.

Go back to the post on share prices and scroll to the bottom, to find articles as recent as Mid-March, 2012 predicting a rise, when it is obvious that with Norway being released from a 26% countervailing duty for dumping fish on the US market, and mounting fish supply, and Chilean product back at 500,000 tons that Marine Harvest, Cermaq/Mainstream, Grieg Seafood and so on will have their share prices back in freefall in 2012: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2011/10/key-links-fish-farm-share-prices-and.html.

And, now, in early April, here is the first article on falling Atlantic salmon sales, and price drops, in Norway: http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/16859/seafood-exports-declined-in-first-quarter

And now, in mid-April, an article on falling Atlantic salmon prices. Gee I must be psychic: http://www.thearcticsounder.com/article/1215fish_factor_salmon_markets_get_all_shook_up.

"the average price of $3.17/lb. was a drop of 19.3 percent to from $3.93/lb. in January, 2011."

And still in April, Marine Harvest's Q1 sales (EBITs) compared with Q1 2011 is K270 versus K963 or only 28% of last year. And the big Chilean numbers have yet to be harvested - (now estimated as high as 700,000 tonnes). See: http://www.fishnewseu.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8034:marine-harvest-q1-preview&catid=46:world&Itemid=56

April 30 - And Russia's denying import of Norwegian farmed fish as it found salmonella and ecoli will further depress sale prices:  http://www.fsvps.ru/fsvps/press/2584.html?_language=en.

Key Document - EU Welfare Platform - Mar 17, 2012

The EU has just released a major report on problems needing solving in fish farming: The European Animal Welfare Platform (EAWP) has highlighted the key welfare issues in salmon production, with sea lice, vaccines and medicines and water quality being the top three concerns.

See: http://www.animalwelfareplatform.eu/documents/EAWPStrategicApproachDocuments-SalmonProduction.pdf.

Comments:

1. While Norwegian fish farms in Europe concede that sea lice are a problem, for ex, a $30 million annual loss in Scotland alone, but here in BC, the same Norwegian derivative fish farms are doing a five year study in the Broughton Archipelago, to prove that lice do not cause problems in fish farming.

This practice of only focusing on the area the company is operating in, is a global strategy. They don't acknowledge that their own company, or parent company concedes lice or whatever problem in another part of the globe. The purpose of this is to stall having to move out of the water by calling for science to 'prove' sea lice are a problem. Why get out of the water if lice cause no problem?

2. The study notes that there are no vaccines for many fish farm diseases, and they need to be developed. The point of this one from the point of the environment is that fish farms will do any scientific fix - again could take 10 years to develop a vaccine - to avoid having to get out of the ocean. They say good things about on-land facilities, but their actions show they don't want to get out of the water. It is fair to say in BC, they have to be on land because Pacific salmon are too important to lose.


Secondly, they completely miss the point: it is wild fish that need vaccines against fish farm diseases, but their is no way to deliver those vaccines and the industry doesn't care about fish outside of their own nets.


3. The most important water quality parameters that may affect fish farm welfare are dissolved oxygen levels, dissolved carbon dioxide (hypercapnia), pH levels, ammonia, temperature, aluminium, copper and suspended solids.

Again, the effects on the environment and wild fish are irrelevant to fish farms. They are not talking about solving the problems by getting out of the water, but on the contrary, they are calling for technological fixes to allow them to remain in the ocean using it as a free, open sewer.

Do read the report and satisfy your own conclusions.