In response to the secrecy and suffering of salmon at Mowi – E24

Rasmus Hansson, of the Millennium Development Goals, fears that the industry and the state are risking the reputation of Norwegian salmon by allowing the fish to continue to suffer. Maui doesn't recognize himself and says they take the challenges seriously.

Maui's results this year were affected by the historically high number of injured and damaged fish. The main cause is winter canker disease, a rare major attack by pearl mites.

At the same time, salmon farms stop reporting the proportion of undamaged, i.e. better quality, fish.

Rasmus Hansson, who is responsible for the Millennium Development Goals, reacts strongly to this. He believes the results and secrecy are unacceptable.

– It seems that Moi has entered a complete dead end and is constantly presenting ugly results, he said, referring to the high rate of mortality and damage to fish.

The reason Mowi has stopped being open about fish quality is because poor numbers are “competitively sensitive”, according to Mowi CEO Ivan Windheim. As long as the numbers were relatively stable, there was no problem.

-We have been very clear about our problems this year. The only thing we don't mention is the person The finestThe finestThe fish is of the highest quality.– Numbers, Windheim told E24 on Wednesday.

Windheim also asks for understanding that natural phenomena like jellyfish attacks can come like lightning out of the blue.

– Don't enter it

The salmon industry has received a lot of criticism after the mortality rate and the amount of spoiled fish rose to new records last year.

– Maui clearly didn't take the problems seriously enough, says Hanson.

– It is a fundamental problem, because they are the largest agricultural company, and therefore they create a problem for the entire industry, he continues. (See Mowi's answer below)

He has extensive experience in animal welfare issues in agriculture, also from his time at WWF.

– The industry has been saying the same thing for over 20 years; That things will improve and that there is no need for new rules and requirements. But we don't see any improvement.

Hanson also places the responsibility on the government, which he believes has allowed animal rights abuses to go further.

– It can take years

Admittedly, former Fisheries Minister Cecily Merseth (AP) invited the industry into the fold last year. However, the government did not want to impose restrictions in anticipation of parliamentary announcements to be made this year and next.

Parliamentary messages may be a collection of views that does not constitute concrete policy, so it may take years before anything happens, says Hanson.

– If the welfare of individual salmon plays a role in practice, it is extremely urgent, so that new generations of salmon are not exposed to the same thing. The question, he adds, is how long what most people now consider unacceptable suffering will be allowed to continue.

Rasmus Hansson is concerned about the reputation of what is gradually becoming Norway's second largest export industry.

“I'm amazed that the industry and the country, so interested in advertising pure, brilliant quality around the world, is so willing to risk its reputation,” he says.

Moi doesn't recognize himself

– We don't recognize ourselves in the intimidating picture that Hanson is trying to paint for the aquaculture industry, says Ola Helge Hetland, communications director at Moi.

Having said that, Maui takes the challenges facing the industry seriously and uses significant resources to improve fish welfare and reduce mortality, he adds.

Hetland also says he hopes politicians will want to talk about real solutions “instead of this kind of rhetoric in the media.”

– Very suspicious

Nature and Youth (NU) believes the solution is closure Cages.Cages.Pens/nets at sea for storing farmed fish.

– The agricultural industry facing huge problems when it comes to caring for animals in facilities is nothing new, says NU leader, Gitis Blazevicius, after today's news from Mowi.

He believes it is “highly questionable” that Mowi would not be honest about the number of spoiled salmon found in its facilities, and that the company justifies this by saying such information is competitively sensitive.

-Moi clearly has something to hide, and we know that the agriculture industry has bigger problems than Pearl Norman. “We demand complete transparency in the industry, and that the authorities step in and take responsibility,” Blazevicius says.

– Closed facilities will solve many of the industry's problems, because not only is it struggling against jellyfish attacks, the situation is also critical for the environment and animal welfare. He adds that it is urgent to start moving to closed cages, and here it is the responsibility of politicians to control the industry.