Could salmon from polluting fish factories end up on UK shelves?

This Christmas you might be looking forward to tucking into smoked salmon sandwiches, gravlax, or salmon on blinis. However, never has it been so obvious that where the salmon we buy originated from really matters.

Most of us will look at the salmon we buy and think "Norweigian" has an authentic ring to it, or "by buying Scottish Salmon, we're supporting a local industry." Maybe we wouldn't even think to draw a distinction with "Canadian" salmon. After all, Canada is a developed country and has an enormous salmon industry.

The film below made by Tavish Campbell, Steve Schellenberg, and Farlyn Campbell (credit: www.tavishcampbell.ca) shows graphic content of blood being pumped from a salmon processing facility in British Columbia directly into a bay where 1/3 of all British Columbia salmon swim past.

Norway has strict laws against this activity and it is recognised that blood from salmon risks introducing Picene Reovirus - a disease which can cause Heart and Skeletal Muscular Inflamation (HSMI) in wild salmon, potentially damaging the wild fish's population (more information on Picene Reovirus is available from British Columbia's Ministry of Agriculture here).

Consumers care where their salmon comes from - now more than ever. If you are in the salmon industry, or know someone that it, Agroisolab can help develop a system to authenticate the origin of salmon to build a more transparent supply chain and demonstrate the integrity and care that should go along with producing salmon.