End of the Line for Open Net Cage Salmon Farm

MEDIA ADVISORY – 12th November 2009
The End of the Line for Open Net Cage Salmon Farming?
New film premieres around the world during this week’s Global Week of Action

A new short documentary produced by Canadian film-maker Damien Gillis lifts the lid on the problems caused by open net cage salmon farms worldwide. “Farmed Salmon Exposed: The Global Reach of the Norwegian Salmon Farming Industry” reveals the pervasive nature of the issues plaguing salmon aquaculture and features testimonials by witnesses discussing the environmental and socio-economic damage caused by poorly managed salmon farms.

The film features ghillie Brian Fraser from Scotland; John Mulcahy from Save The Swilly in Ireland; Orri Vigfusson from the North Atlantic Salmon Fund in Iceland; Alexandra Morton and Dr Daniel Pauly from British Columbia; Dr Matthias Gorny from Oceana in Chile as well as Sven Helge Pedersen, King Harald and Vegard Heggem in Norway.

Premieres will take place in Edinburgh (9th), Dundonnell (10th) and Oban (11th) in Scotland; Dublin (12th) in Ireland; Santiago (11th) in Chile; Washington DC (12th) in the United States; Vancouver (12th) in Canada; and Oslo (13th) and Bergen (16th) in Norway. Further screenings in Orkney, Shetland, Arran, London, Las Vegas, Santa Cruz, Puerto Varas, Ancud and on Vancouver Island are planned later in November.

A 3 minute excerpt is online now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eggrGn0V0fg.

Including:

Alexandra Morton, biologist, Raincoast Research (Canada) featured in our PBS/KQED special, Call of the Killer Whale: “Fish farms are killing off wild salmon”.

Alex Munoz, Vice President of Oceana Chile (Chile): “Their shareholders should know that their businesses are having a great impact on our Chilean environment”.

John Mulcahy, Chairman of Save the Swilly (Ireland): “What gives them the right to destroy livelihoods in countries far away?”

Orri Vigfusson, Chairman of the North Atlantic Salmon Fund (Iceland): “It's not sustainable. That is why I would like to see the salmon farms taken out of the sea where they cannot be controlled and put on the coast or the land where they can be controlled”.

Brian Fraser, Scottish ghillie (fishing guide): “How long can we keep raping the seas of these white fish to produce food to produce salmon. I don't think it's sustainable”.

Damien Gillis, Canadian film-maker: “All of these issues have led to an undeniable tipping point and the pressure is now on the industry to either to continue repeating the same mistakes of the past or chart a new course to a more sustainable future”.

The Pure Salmon Campaign is a global project with partners in Scotland, Ireland, Norway, United States, Canada, Australia and Chile all working to raise standards on salmon farms.

For more information, please visit: Farmed Salmon Exposed