The Norwegian Food Safety Authority passes a harsh verdict on SalMar’s handling of sick and weak fish. It is about the facility “Hjortøya” on the Trøndelag coast. The money is tight Because instead of slaughtering the fish and taking the financial loss, the company has chosen to let the salmon live on with the suffering it has caused. “In this case, our assessment is that you have placed too much emphasis on reducing economic losses, and have not considered large, open wounds on a large number of fish in relation to fish welfare,” writes the Norwegian Food Safety Authority in the decision. Winter sores cause great pain for farmed salmon. Photo: Norwegian Food Safety Authority The background for the record fee is an unannounced inspection. This was done by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority together with the Coast Guard in mid-April on the coast of Trøndelag. The agency appeared at ten different facilities belonging to different companies. Painful for the fish SalMar’s facility “Hjortøya” came out worst. Here the inspectors found large quantities of dead farmed salmon, or fish that were damaged by so-called winter sores. This often occurs after the salmon is exposed to deworming. That is, it is either rinsed, brushed or sent through hot water to get rid of the lice. The result can be major damage to the fish’s skin. The Norwegian Food Safety Authority and head of department John Bjarne Falch believe Salmar has placed too much emphasis on reducing financial losses rather than thinking about animal welfare. Photo: Kjartan Trana / news When news discussed the case in June, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority’s head of department in Namsos, John B. Falch, said the following about the suffering the fish are exposed to: – Living with such large wounds in seawater causes great pain. This causes considerable stress to the fish. The fish leaks body fluids from the wounds and becomes dehydrated. The wounds are gateways for new diseases. It is well documented that fish experience pain. This is very bad animal welfare. Record-high fee Now the head of department has concluded the case and is giving SalMar the highest fee the Norwegian Food Safety Authority can give: “Kroner 1,672,155 will be appropriate in this case.” Salmar is the world’s second largest salmon farmer. The company’s head office is located on Frøya and the main owner is Gustav Witzøe. A key question in the case has been whether SalMar should have slaughtered the entire cage 4 on Hjortøya. There was a clear recommendation from fish health personnel to remove the fish. This was not followed by the company. Samples taken in February this year showed that 85 percent of the examined fish in this cage had ulcers. It is well known in the industry that salmon put on the most weight at the end of the farming cycle. By not slaughtering, you can achieve a higher weight of the fish and thus a greater profit. Making money from suffering Department director Falch writes this in the decision: “It must therefore be assumed that the business has made a significant profit by not destroying cage 4 during the period when a great many fish were exposed to unnecessary and significant stress, and died.” The conclusion from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority is that SalMar has broken the law with intent: “The consequence of the violation has been extensive damage, suffering and mortality to large quantities of fish, a total of over 64,000 individuals.” Accepting the fee SalMar, for its part, claims that “The fish in cage 4 have received proper treatment, and thorough and proper assessments have been made of the issue of destruction.” In a press release, the company writes the following: “SalMar strongly disagrees that there is a basis for imposing an infringement fee after handling this complicated disease situation. SalMar nevertheless chooses to let the fee stand without appealing. Both the employees and the management of SalMar will continue the continuous work to develop and improve efforts for increased animal welfare.” Hello! We are currently working a lot on matters concerning the farming industry. Do you have tips for us, or know something about the industry that you think we should know or check out? Feel free to send us an email! Alternatively, you can call us on 95.22.30.63. You can use the same number on the encrypted Signal app.
ttn-69
Record fee for SalMar – news Dokumentar
