Mowi’s Royal Warrant revocation should trigger Canadian scrutiny

St. Andrews, N.B – Mowi is no longer included on the list of Royal Warrant holders following the release of video showing company employees violating animal welfare standards at a salmon farm in Scotland.

The video, taken in May at a Mowi salmon farm near the Isle of Skye, shows people netting fish from a sea-cage and repeatedly bludgeoning them—a violation of U.K. standards. The incident, which led to Mowi’s product being temporarily pulled from supermarket shelves, involved 18 fish, according to reports.

In Newfoundland and Labrador, Mowi has been dealing with more than 1.8 million dead salmon at six of its sites. According to public reports, the first incident happened in late July, with the most recent reported on October 1^st.

Residents have complained about slicks of fat and fish oil on the surface of the ocean from the dead fish, and journalists in the area have been threatened and had their tires slashed.

“Losing this mark of quality reflects on Mowi’s global operations,” said Nathan Wilbur, President of ASF. “This reinforces our long-standing concerns about the industry and its serious impacts on ecosystems and wild salmon. We’re glad to see it come off the royal table.”

In addition to Mowi’s 1.8 million mortalities, Cooke Aquaculture has reported 209,000 deaths at four of its Newfoundland sites.

In the middle of this summer’s mass die off, which follows a government ordered clean-up of hundreds of tons of discarded aquaculture plastic in southern Newfoundland, provincial leaders just approved a major expansion for Mowi, giving the company access to new sites next to wild salmon rivers where the industry is not currently present.

“Canadian authorities are turning a blind eye to violations and poor performance from salmon farming companies, not holding this industry to required environmental or business standards,” said Neville Crabbe, ASF’s Vice-President of Communications.

To learn more about the issue visit www.salmon.info

To join a movement of chefs and home cooks making a difference visit: www.offthetable.org

For interviews contact:

Kristen Noel | knoel@asf.ca | (902) 499-1801