Fish Farm News And Science: August 2017

I receive almost 30 global press fish farm/seafood industry newsletters every week. In these, I have found a startling amount of bad news, and decided to do a post on it. I had no idea there was as much bad news as there is.

I am at my sixth post. In little more than two years, I have found 2000 BAD NEWS BITES. Some days I am stunned by the amount of bad news in the fish farm/seafood industry. As of April 30/17, you can add another 500 BAD NEWS BITES, from this post, or more than 1,600 BAD NEWS stories since July 1/15, less than two years. Now, add 400 more from the fifth BAD NEWS BITES post: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2017/05/bad-news-bites-fifth-post.html. And that reaches 2,000.

This is the link to the fourth post, Jan 14, 2017, it has 500 BAD NEWS BITES in it: http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.ca/2017/01/bad-news-bites.html. it has links to the previous three posts since July 2015.

Here is a summary of the bad news stories:

"In one mouthful, here are the kind of stories I am finding: boom bust industry, billions made and lost, crisis in lice and disease, bankruptcy, workers fired, executives jumping company to company, dividing big bonuses, fraud, corruption, litigation, conflict of interest with government and scientists, using the ocean as a free open sewer – $10.4 Billion in BC alone, killing of whales, seals and sea lions – more than 12,000 in BC so far, slavery, unpaid labour, taxpayers paying millions for diseased, dead fish – $177 Million in Canada, dueling scientists, weakening of laws, unsustainable feed, illegal fishing, jail sentences, disasters in Norway, Scotland, Chile, Canada, bullying of scientists, governments and anyone critical of their business, cartels, collusion, price fixing, fishing down the food chain to Antarctic krill, carcinogens and persistent organic pollutants, fluoroquinolones, chicken feathers in feed, animal feces in feed, eutrophication in a time of global warming, Malachite Green fungicide in USA seafood, fake industry awards, all the wild salmon in the Pacific ocean, more than a billion, put in peril... it goes on."

Look at the last post as it shows the CEO of the company that owns Marine Harvest, John Fredriksen, selling half a billion dollars in stock on the bet that the share price will drop so he can make money buying it back.

Update 2017: of some humour, the share price went up, so I guess John made the wrong bet. Here's a thought: John, raise fish on land, thus increasing supply, thus reducing cost, then MH shares go down, and you buy them back!

Now, to add to the 2,000 bad news stories I have found, here are the BAD NEWS BITES, starting Sept 1, 2017.

Update, Dec 11, 2017. As you can see, I have found 500 BAD NEWS BITES in less than 3.5 months. That means well over 1000 in a year. That is how much bad news there is in fish farms/seafood industry. The new post is here:

500. Only On-Land Fish Farms In Future - WA, BC: http://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1085323/Northwest%2DFish%2DFarming%2DMay%2DOnly%2DBe%2Don%2DLand%2Din%2Dthe%2DFuture.

499. Fears Processing Could be Lost Like in Norway - UK, Grimsby, Brexit outcome, a 5 billion pound industry could be lost, like Norway lost its industry when it left the EU Common Fisheries Policy: http://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1085158/Grimsby%2DMP%2DNorway%2Dlost%2D90%2Dpercent%2Dof%2Dits%2DFish%2DProcessing%2DWhen%2Dit%2DLeft%2DEU%2DCommon%2DFisheries%2DPolicy.

498. More Legislation Against Fish Farms - WA: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2017/12/08/bill-coming-with-aim-to-end-salmon-farming-in-washington-state-2/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=73471e87a8-Americas_briefing_Dec_08_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-73471e87a8-92426209.

497. Norway's Largest Fish Farms - : http://www.intrafish.com/aquaculture/1392056/heres-a-list-of-norways-largest-salmon-farming-sites?utm_source=IntraFish+Aquaculture+Newsletter&utm_campaign=2e1d26045f-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ec4b681694-2e1d26045f-244877629.

496. Tofino Blood Water - Clayoquot Action, Creative chinook: https://clayoquotaction.org/2017/11/tofinos-tainted-fish-farm-blood/. Blood water contains PRV: "Campbell then drove to Tofino to see what was happening with the effluent from the plant processing Creative Salmon’s farmed Chinook salmon. He was able to sample and film a similar plume of bloodwater. Clayoquot Action was later able to obtain samples from a school of wild rockfish feeding near the outflow pipe. Both Creative’s blood water and the rockfish tested positive for PRV."

495. Seafood World - Undercurrents listing of top firms and trends. See: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/report/undercurrent-news-worlds-100-largest-seafood-companies-2017/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Subscribers&utm_campaign=bff2b2bbb6-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_483b84eead-bff2b2bbb6-92334001. See: "Whilst salmon prices and acquisition sprees fueled spectacular growth among seafood's largest firms, value-added processors and tuna firms faced more volatile fortunes.

The high salmon prices propelled Australian farmer Tassal Group to our ranking for the first time, while two Chilean salmon farmers, Agrosuper and Australis Seafoods, sported growth rates of over 80% year-on-year.

Of the 11 firms with growth rates of more than 30% last year, eight are salmon farmers.

The highest growth rate nevertheless goes to Cooke Aquaculture and Cooke Seafood USA, which climbed 25 places thanks to acquisitions that boosted its top line by 90%.

Acquisitions also lifted Royal Greenland 15 places on the list.

At the other end of the spectrum, our ranking confirms that times remain tough for value-added processors. The UK's Young's Seafood and Canada's High Liner Foods fell 15 and five places, respectively."

494. Plugging Health Benefits Not Enough - seafood needs other things.supply chain transparency, quality control, sustainability and ethical sourcing just as important: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2017/12/06/sedacca-plugging-health-benefits-of-seafood-no-longer-enough/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=a2dca49d0a-Americas_briefing_Dec_06_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-a2dca49d0a-92426209.

493. Humans are Killing the Oceans - : https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ocean-pollution-united-nations-environmental-summit/?utm_source=Watershed+Watch+Email+List&utm_campaign=224786b52d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_405944b1b5-224786b52d-166907249&mc_cid=224786b52d&mc_eid=5777c92bcd.

492. Rampant Fraud in Fish Mislabeling - CDN, Ottawa: http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/mislabelled-fish-rampant-at-downtown-ottawa-restaurants-and-sushi-vendors-oceana-canada-report-finds?utm_source=Watershed+Watch+Email+List&utm_campaign=224786b52d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_405944b1b5-224786b52d-166907249&mc_cid=224786b52d&mc_eid=5777c92bcd.

491. Aboriginals Against Fish Farms - BC, : https://www.interior-news.com/news/local-first-nation-leaders-call-for-an-end-to-fish-farms/?utm_source=Watershed+Watch+Email+List&utm_campaign=224786b52d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_405944b1b5-224786b52d-166907249&mc_cid=224786b52d&mc_eid=5777c92bcd.
"Delegates from the Heiltsuk, Haida, Gitxsan, Lax Kw’alaams and Wet’suwet’en nations visited a fish farm that was subject to an oil spill last spring to see for themselves the environmental impacts of the spill. They said they stand with other first nations trying to put a stop to the fish farm industry." And: "“We on the North Coast and in the Interior fought so hard to have a ban on fish farms. That is why we don’t have these problems in our waters on the North Coast. Now we need to stand together and shut down these fish farms in the south and let people know this is only a corporate business,” he said."

490. Blood Water Permit - BC: https://www.desmog.ca/2017/11/30/reviewing-farmed-salmon-bloodwater-discharge-permits-not-enough-protect-b-c-s-wild-salmon-critics?utm_source=Watershed+Watch+Email+List&utm_campaign=224786b52d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2017_12_06&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_405944b1b5-224786b52d-166907249&mc_cid=224786b52d&mc_eid=5777c92bcd. See: "The Brown’s Bay processing plant received a discharge permit from the B.C. government in 1989, granting the company permission to release 28,000 litres of effluent every day. There are 109 fish processing plants in B.C.; if they are all releasing roughly the same as the Brown’s Bay plant, that’s ten Olympic swimming pools of effluent being released into B.C. waters daily.

The Brown’s Bay plant was inspected in 2013, and found to be out of compliance with the province’s environmental laws. According to Heyman no further inspection took place at the time."

And: "Many of the companies operating farmed salmon open net pens in B.C. are Norwegian, the country behind many of the farmed salmon operations worldwide. Currently Norway does not allow for the discharge of fish processing waste into the ocean."

489. Highest Antibiotics Users in Chile - Austrlais, Trusal: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2017/12/04/chiles-australis-trusal-top-list-of-heavy-antibiotic-users/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=ac47a812a6-Salmon_roundup_Dec_08_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-ac47a812a6-92426209.

488. Farming Antibiotic Use Major Threat to Humans - UN: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2017/12/05/un-resistance-to-antibiotics-a-growing-health-threat/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=ac47a812a6-Salmon_roundup_Dec_08_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-ac47a812a6-92426209. See: Aquaculture is a concern in this regard, the agency wrote. Most antibiotic drugs are excreted un-metabolized along with resistant bacteria.

"This is a growing problem, since human antibiotic use increased 36 per cent this century, and antibiotic use in livestock is predicted to increase 67 per cent by 2030. Additionally, up to 75 per cent of antibiotics used in aquaculture may be lost into the surrounding environment," the report notes.

487. Lawsuit - Bumble Bee smoked salmom, is not wild, is not smoked, rather farmed, and smoke flavour added: https://www.undercurrentnews.com/2017/12/07/suit-claims-bumble-bees-smoked-salmon-is-neither-wild-nor-smoked/?utm_source=Undercurrent+News+Alerts&utm_campaign=ac47a812a6-Salmon_roundup_Dec_08_2017&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_feb55e2e23-ac47a812a6-92426209.

486. Fish Farm Salmon in Skagit River - Cooke salmon from broken Cypress Island farm are being caught in the Skagit: http://asf.ca/tribes-catch-more-escaped-atlantic-salmon-in-skagit-river.html. The Lummi Nation has caught 400,000 pounds of them. See: "“I can tell you they are free swimming and they are healthy and alive,” Scott Schuyler, Natural Resources Director for the Upper Skagit Tribe, told The Seattle Times on Thursday. He said tribal fish technicians keep on catching Atlantics as they fish with tangle nets for chum to gather broodstock for the tribal hatchery." And: "“The Skagit is a big river, and the fact we were catching that many in just a little stretch of river when they were out for just a few hours, they have got to be all over,” Schuyler said of the Atlantics, “which is very concerning …""

“The Skagit River is the largest contributor of chinook to the Puget Sound …" What this means is that farmed salmon have been found in two major salmon producing rivers, the Fraser and the Skagit.

485. Fraser Sockeye Listed as Threatened - BC: http://asf.ca/sockeye-salmon-recommended-for-listing-under-species-at-ris.html. "Now, scientists have determined that many populations of Fraser River sockeye are in such alarming decline that they should be listed under Canada's Species at Risk Act.

The recommendation, announced Monday by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, an independent scientific body that advises the federal government, is the most significant acknowledgement to date of the jeopardy facing the iconic red-bodied fish that was once the mainstay of British Columbia's salmon industry."