Mowi's Lice Wellboat Not A Technological Wonder, Just the Same Old Hype, Updated May 2, 2019 - Job Numbers

Hi CHEK

Your piece on Mowi’s lice wellboat gives a false impression about the technology, and the fish farm press have a similar piece: https://www.fishfarmingexpert.com/article/canadas-most-technologically-advanced-wellboat-makes-a-splash/?utm_campaign=newsletter__24_04_2019&utm_source=netflex&utm_medium=email.

Company people, like Chris Read, don’t seem to know that wellboats are commonly used in Europe, and they aren’t that spectacular.

Last year Marine Harvest lost 150,000 fish in one wellboat treatment in Scotland. Mowi employees here don’t seem to know that.

This is not a technological marvel, only the lengths they go to after lice have become resistant to all their chemicals and they don’t work anymore. Look at the graphs of Clayoquot Sound lice last summer and they show the peaks and troughs of chemical resistance. They released 2 million litres of Paramove 50 - in a UNESCO Biosphere no less - and still had a problem. This post gives you the link to the Clayoquot graphs: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2019/04/cermaq-takes-aim-at-nova-scotia.html.

Here is the graph for Ross Pass: 

If they wanted to do anything worth while, they simply need to use one of the hundreds of systems for on-land production and move out of the water.

My list now has 276 on-land systems around the world. This is standard operating practice, but here, Mowi, disingenuously claims it can’t be done. See my list: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2016/05/152-different-on-land-fish-farm-systems.html.

Lice are a billion dollar problem for fish farms. See item 447  below in one of my lists of on-going problems in the ocean.They are not investing in BC or anywhere else by using a wellboat, only trying to rid themselves of their share of the $1B problem called lice.

My post is: https://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2018/12/bad-news-bites-global-problems-in-fish.html. I am up to nearly 4,500 problems in the global fish farm/seafood industry press on the subject. Yes, almost 4,500 problems - in only the past three years.

Intrafish has a new report out on lice, the billion dollar problem. 447. Intrafish Lice Report: http://info.intrafish.com/intrafish-sealicereport-s19s.

DC (Dennis) Reid

And finally, here is a post on the 34% of wild salmonids lost in Ireland to farmed fish:  http://fishfarmnews.blogspot.com/2013/12/sea-lice-kill-34-of-wild-salmon-smolts.html.

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Extra note: Mowi Harvest says it has 600 employees in the first article above, making the industry/DFO number of 7,000 look pretty unreal, as I have noted before. I don't think Mowi has 600, more like about 530. And Cermaq and Grieg are much smaller operations.

Google this for several takes on Mowi employment numbers: https://www.bing.com/search?q=number+of+Mowi+employees+in+BC&pc=MOZD&form=MOZLBR. And the Mowi figure is for a vertically integrated number, including processing.

253 jobs for Cermaq, dec 2016: https://www.cermaq.com/wps/wcm/connect/cermaq/cermaq/our-company/annual-report/sustainability-report-16/gri-indicators-16/workforce. 250 jobs in 2017: https://www.cermaq.com/wps/wcm/connect/cermaq-ca/cermaq-canada/Business+and+People/work-with-us/. 250 jobs in 2018: https://www.cermaq.com/wps/wcm/connect/cermaq-ca/news/employees-help-cermaq-achieve-new-asc-milestone/. Also 250 jobs in this, 2018: http://seawestnews.com/employees-help-cermaq-achieve-new-salmon-milestone/.

664 jobs for Grieg worldwide: https://craft.co/grieg-seafood. 150 jobs in BC, 2019, company quote: https://www.bclocalnews.com/business/grieg-seafood-awarded-for-employee-wellness/.

So 530 + 250 + 150 = 930 jobs. Not 7,000 as industry claims. And I think the Mowi figure is inflated.